The Roadkill Observation and Data System (ROaDS) project, developed through a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, provides a user-friendly data collection system to monitor wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) and identify safe crossing locations on roads managed by federal land management agencies (FLMAs). This report outlines recent outreach efforts and successful implementation of the ROaDS system with external partners, including the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Custom surveys were developed for these agencies to address specific data collection and conservation goals, resulting in improved capacity to monitor WVCs and identify high-risk areas for targeted mitigation. The project has garnered interest from several other state transportation agencies, showcasing the adaptability of the ROaDS system for diverse road and wildlife management applications. The successful deployment in Nevada and Indiana demonstrates the system’s potential to support data-driven decision-making and enhance wildlife connectivity across the country.
This multi-phase project seeks to facilitate the standardization of wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) data so the National Park Service (NPS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and their stakeholders are able to collect, store, share, and retrieve data as it is needed for their organization. This phase will focus on customizing the ROaDs Survey Template to fit the specific needs of our non-DOI partners – tribes, states, local government, non-governmental organizations, citizen scientists, etc. This will include changing the species list and adapting the survey questions to meet their research goals. The WTI Team will also teach our partners how to change their survey questions in the future.
Benefits: This project will benefit any agency that wants to set up the ROaDS survey. We have currently had discussions with Nevada DOT and Indiana Department of Natural Resources. We have been contacted by North Dakota DOT, New Mexico DOT, and North Carolina DOT, but have not had a meeting with them yet.
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