Highway Wildlife Web Project Under Way

Idaho Department of Fish and Game was recently awarded federal funding by the Idaho Transportation Department for two statewide projects, both with the goal of making Idaho's roads safer for drivers and wildlife. The objectives of this project include developing a statewide map of important "wildlife linkage" areas in relation to Idaho's highways and roads. Wildlife linkage areas provide security and cover during certain seasons and an important link between larger habitat blocks. Identifying linkage areas will enable transportation officials, land managers, and other interested parties to make informed planning decisions about future highway projects that take into account the needs of wildlife, while decreasing the risks of wildlife vs. vehicle collisions. The second part of the project is to develop a statewide online wildlife vs. vehicle collision database to document and monitor wildlife related collisions. The database would help provide a better understanding of the scope of this issue statewide.