About 200 Americans die each year in car accidents involving wild animals. Federal funding is helping states build safe animal crossings to reduce the carnage.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Each year, approximately 200 people are killed in vehicle collisions with wildlife in the United States. Over the past decade, efforts have been made across the country to build structures to allow animals to cross roads safely. KUNC Radio's Stephanie Daniel reports.
STEPHANIE DANIEL, BYLINE: In Larimer County, Colorado, Rick Knight stands in a dry creek bed beneath U.S. Highway 287. He explains why the area was dangerous for motorists and animals.
RICK KNIGHT: There used to be a big, old, angry fence with five strands of barbed wire.
DANIEL: This meant that deer and other wildlife couldn't cross the road, leading to collisions with vehicles. Knight, a professor emeritus at Colorado State University, lives in the area and, with the help of college students, built a wildlife-friendly crossing there that cost less than $500.
NIGHT: We stick these vertical posts into the ground. They are 15 inches apart.
DANIEL: Wide enough for deer, elk and other animals to pass through, but too close for the ranchers' cows.
KNIGHT: So we need to give wildlife a choice.
DANIEL: Giving animals a choice is important because they are involved in more than a million motor vehicle accidents each year across the United States.
JEREMY ROMERO: Roughly speaking, that equates to one vehicle-wildlife collision every 26 seconds in our country.
DANIEL: Jeremy Romero works for the National Wildlife Federation. Part of his work is to help reduce the number of such collisions by promoting wildlife crossing projects at the local, state and federal levels. He says the most successful solutions are animal-centric.
ROMERO: Like in Wyoming, where we have large and abundant herds of pronghorn. And pronghorn – fun fact – don't like to get under the road. They don't like to use tunnels.
DANIEL: So Wyoming built overpasses for their safe passage. In other areas, you can build underpasses, retrofit rectangular culverts, or use bridges or fencing to keep animals off roads. He says a lot of attention is paid to how these structures are built.
ROMERO: So, as wide and as tall as they are, they all allow wildlife to use them and travel on those roads.
DANIEL: Wildlife crossings have increased due to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021. To date, more than half the states and five Indian tribes have received funding for wildlife crossing projects. In December, one of the largest in North America opened at a cost of $15 million on Interstate 25 south of Denver.
ROMERO: It's been very helpful in getting states to take action to improve safety on our roads.
DANIEL: These crossings will also help reduce costs associated with wildlife-related vehicle crashes, which could save about $8 billion a year nationwide.
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DANIEL: Co-owner Megan Mueller at Ozzie's Body Shop in Larimer County says they regularly repair vehicles damaged in wildlife strikes, like this gray Toyota RAV4.
MEGAN MUELLER: The deer took off and hit the left rear door.
DANIEL: She estimates the renovations will cost about $10,000.
MUELLER: The door absolutely needs to be replaced. Also, the deer did touch the wheel and tire, so we will need to evaluate the alignment.
DANIEL: Research has shown that crossings can reduce costly and deadly vehicle-wildlife collisions by approximately 90%, helping people, animals and vehicles get to their destinations safely. For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Daniel in Larimer County, Colorado.
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