Highway Mitigation Opportunities for Wildlife Along Highway 2 Northwestern Montana

The objective of this project is to review crash, carcass and wildlife connectivity data for U.S. Highway 2 in northern Montana; identify wildlife hotspots, and suggest potential mitigation measures.

For this project, WTI conducted a wildlife mitigation study for a segment of U.S. Highway 2 in Montana (between the Idaho border and Kalispell, MT at the junction of US 93).  WTI collected and reviewed crash data, carcass data, and wildlife connectivity data, then identified and prioritized road sections with a relatively high concentration of carcasses or crashes.  The data were used to develop "hotspot" maps and other mapping tools.  The research team conducted a cost-benefit analysis of potential mitigation measures, then suggested mitigation measures for selected road  sections based on human safety, biological conservation, and economics.