VICTOR, Idaho — A new collaboration to study roadkill incidents and better understand vehicle-wildlife collisions will begin soon on a stretch of ID33 south of Victor.
According to a press release, the community-driven study will be led by trained volunteer teams who will survey the stretch of highway between Trail Creek Pond and the Idaho-Wyoming state line. The teams will survey the road twice a week to document the location and frequency of roadkill incidents. When volunteers are working on the side of the road, the area will be marked with survey crew signs to notify drivers. Please give a little extra space and slow down when passing the crews.
The study is hosted by the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation (JHWF) in partnership with the Teton Valley chapter of Idaho Master Naturalists (IMN).
Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) District Six Planner Jeffrey Sneddon said via press release: “We greatly value these kinds of studies from area partners, to have current data when planning toward future improvements on Idaho roads.”
According to the statement, the study is more than just a matter of numbers, it’s about learning how roads fragment habitats and interrupt historic migration routes. Many animal species migrate in order to access seasonal food sources, find mates and maintain healthy population genetics. When natural migration routes are disrupted, it can lead to increased mortality, inbreeding and population decline.
Renee Seidler, executive director of JHWF, said in the statement that the goal of the study is to collect data on the species and locations of roadkill in order to identify “collision hotspots.”
In the orientation survey on May 31, four deceased mule deer — killed by vehicles — were recorded by volunteers in the 2.5-mile stretch. That number highlights the frequency of collisions and the urgency of addressing the issue. Every collision is not just a loss of local wildlife, but a serious safety risk for drivers.
Compiling data and attempting to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions have been at the heart of many recent local efforts, from Jackson Hole to Grand Teton National Park to Dubois.
