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Wildlife Barriers at Access Roads Along a Highway in a Multi-Functional Landscape on the Flathead Indian Reservation

Project #: 4W8408
Start Date: 05/20/2020
End Date: 03/31/2022
Status: Completed
RESULTS & FINDINGS:

Key findings include:

  • Electrified mats or electrified guards can be a barrier for both ungulates and species with paws, but to prevent animals from jumping across the mat, they need to be 4.6-6.6 m (15-22 ft)) wide.
  • When used on top of existing wildlife guards, both of the electrified mats that were tested (Crosstek and BS Fabrications) resulted in a near absolute barrier for both ungulates and species with paws (97.9% barrier for the two deer species combined, 100% barrier for coyotes and black bears), which was an improvement on the wildlife guards without electrified mats (89.3% for the two deer species combined, 54.5% barrier for coyotes and 45.5% barrier for black bears).
  • Based on the images, there is evidence that a shock is delivered to the animals that touch the electrified mats and that most of the animals respond by returning to the habitat side of the barrier. If it was not for the electrified barriers, it is likely at least three black bears and one grizzly bear (not considering other animal species) would have crossed into the fenced road corridor where they would have been exposed to vehicles
ABSTRACT:

Wildlife fences in combination with wildlife crossing structures are effective strategies for reducing collisions with large mammals and providing safe crossing opportunities for wildlife. However, in rural landscapes there are access roads for agriculture, dispersed housing, and other roads, resulting in short road sections with a wildlife fence and gaps in the fences at access roads. Along US 93 North on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, wildlife guards at access roads have proved to be an effective barrier for deer species, but they are quite permeable to species with paws, such as bears. To further improve human safety and reduce road mortality of wildlife, additional measures are needed at access roads.

The objective of this project is to conduct field experiments to investigate the effectiveness of barrier designs that are more likely to keep wildlife species with paws out of the fence road corridor at access roads and fence-ends. A field experiment will be conducted at 3-5 locations along US Highway 93 North on the Flathead Indian Reservation. These sites will have a relatively low-cost electrified barrier installed, and the effectiveness of the barrier will be evaluated using wildlife cameras.

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this project is to conduct field experiments to investigate the effectiveness of barrier designs that are more likely to keep wildlife species with paws out of the fence road corridor at access roads and fence-ends.