Wildlife Movement Across Highway 3: A Citizens Approach

Wildlife Movement Across Highway 3: A Citizens ApproachMike Quinn, Tracy Lee and Danah Duke

Miistakis Institute, University of Calgary

Highway 3 Transportation Corridor Workshop, January 28-29 2008

Bob Pisko

Ian Cocks

Addressing an Information GapAddressing an Information GapAddressing an Information GapMiistakis has developed three wildlife spatial datasets to increase the information base on where large mammal species are crossing Highway 3 on the Alberta section of the highway

1. Road Watch in the Pass dataset: A 3 year citizen derived dataset of wildlife point observations along Highway 3.

2. Wildlife Traffic Mortality dataset: A 10 year dataset developed at Miistakis from data collected by Volker Stevins, highway maintenance contractors.

3. Large Mammal movement areas: derived from interview with 26 local citizens.

Road Watch in the PassRoad Watch in the PassRoad Watch in the Pass

July 2006 May 2007 Sept 2007

Road Watch is a community based monitoring project that enables citizens in the Pass to enter their wildlife observations into an on-line monitoring tool.

Two key objectives:1. Collect, analyze and communicate information highlighting

crossing locations of wildlife along the highway based on localobservations.

2. Engage Crowsnest Pass citizens (& visitors) in local issues regarding wildlife movement and safety.

Since project implementation in November 2004, 3000 wildlife observations have been reported to Road Watch. In the last six months, 320 have been reported.

The database is predominately ungulate, deer, bighorn sheep, elk and moose, but does include rare sightings of carnivores.

Strengths of this database include, large size, diversity of observation, rare sightings and information it can provide on different wildlife conservation concerns in the region.

Results of different analysis can be found on the Road Watch website at www.rockies.ca/roadwacth. These include: raw data displayed on mapping tool, mapping products, community reports, journal articles and thesis.

Road Watch in the PassRoad Watch in the PassRoad Watch in the Pass

Limitations and SolutionsLimitations and SolutionsLimitations and SolutionsSome of the concerns about Road Watch methods include the

reporting accuracy of observation, accuracy of wildlife identification and opportunistic nature of data collection.

How have we addressed these concerns:1. Worked with a graduate student from the University of Montana (Kylie

Paul) to design and develop a one year systematic dataset to compare with Road Watch data collected at the same time period.

2. In analysis we assess to the nearest 250 m segment, this is the average distance between local landmarks displayed on the mapping tool.

3. Provided an identification page on website and assess mule deer and white tailed deer as deer. A carnivore record has traditionally been emailed directly to Fish and Wildlife so they could try and verify the record.

Data concern include the unknown positional accuracy of observations

Currently updating the dataset to include 2007 and assessing thecurrent placement of existing wildlife warning signs based on this dataset.

Donated a GPS unit to Volkers staff in the Pass, to increase positional accuracy

Highway Maintenance contractors drive this route on weekdays in the morning and late afternoon, wildlife are removed from the highway and species, location (distance to local landmark), date, Am/pm and M/F are recorded.

Ten year dataset (1997-2006) with 1090 wildlife traffic mortality records, mostly ungulate species (88 % deer).

Developed hard copy data into a spatial dataset and have assessed high collision zones.

Wildlife Traffic MortalityWildlife Traffic MortalityWildlife Traffic Mortality

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1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 101 111 121 131 141 151 161 171 181

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For rarer species, such as carnivores, citizens were asked to document single sighting events, identify if the bear crossed the highway or was adjacent and provide a date (year).

Strength of this dataset is the accumulation of local knowledge in a documented format and the contextual information associated with this information.

Local KnowledgeLocal KnowledgeLocal KnowledgeIn the summer of 2005, 26 local citizens, considered knowledgeable on wildlife in the region were interviewed to document large mammal movement areas across Highway 3 on base maps. Average experience in region was 33 years.

The information was digitized into a GIS and areas of overlap (similarity) between interviews were summed to identify key movement areas. The results are posted on the Road Watch website as a community report.

Comparing datasetsComparing datasetsComparing datasetsMiistakis has also shown that through comparisons of the three data

types we gain a better understanding of wildlife movement. The comparison highlights the strengths of each dataset..

Examples include:

1. Difference between successful and unsuccessful crossing zones along Highway 3 through a comparison of wildlife traffic mortality and Road Watch successful crossings. (journal article in Ecology and Society)

2. Over a 15 month period Road Watch added an additional 47 wildlife traffic mortality observations to the data collected by the Highway Maintenance contractors.

3. The importance of local contextual knowledge assisted in providing insight into movement patterns. Ie. Grizzly bears crossing near the Bohomleics to assess road mortality carcasses in a near by gravel pit.

Future DirectionFuture DirectionFuture DirectionMiistakis plans to continue working with the three datasets. Some

analysis on the horizon include:1. Assessment of current placement of wildlife warning signs along Highway

3 using wildlife traffic mortality data and Road Watch data.

2. A community report, that highlights key movement areas for the ungulates based on the three datasets.

3. Identify multi-species movement zones.

We also have plans for Road Watch: 1. Implementation of a citizen participation wildlife systematic driving survey

using Otto Driving Companion

In ConclusionIn ConclusionIn Conclusion

1. Miistakis has used three different datasets to increase our understanding of where large mammal species are crossing Highway 3. This approach has been particularly useful for ungulates.

2. Our analysis results highlight the importance of integrating data from multiple sources.

Photo series by: Kim Pearson

Road Watch is made possible through support from local citizens, Rob Schaufele (Local Project Coordinator), Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, University of Calgary and the following foundations:

Acknowledgments