Conservation Northwest

Roads and wildlife Roads and Wildlife While working on a mapping effort with the Washington Department of Transportation last year, I came across a statistic that took me by surprise and shifted my thinking on how to approach wildlife conservation in our state. where do we go from here? Elk looks out across the broad expanse of Interstate 90. WSDOT The furthest point from a road that one can get in Washington is a mere 13.7 miles.* Now, it's important to discuss what defines a road when throwing out a number like that and claiming it matters. In this analysis a road was defined as any authorized route that a motor vehicle capable of negotiating a common street can drive along. These roads range from big, busy interstates such as Interstate 90 to smaller, Forest Service roads used to access trailheads. When the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group searched for the farthest point from any of these roads in our state using existing GIS layers, it ends up being on a remote steep slope in the Olympic Mountains at just 13.7 miles from the closest road. Roads and wildlife Roads of all sizes have a tremendous impact on fish and wildlife. Poorly located roads, too many roads, and abandoned roads can contribute to stream sedimentation and pollution, destruction of riparian habitat, and changes to water flow within our watersheds. Invasive species spread farther by road, hitching a ride on vehicles, other wildlife, or people. Wildlife suffer everything from simple disturbance to poaching, as roads bring in ever more people, shrinking the size and security of wildlife habitat. Wildlife populations become even more isolated and their *13.7 miles comes from correspondence with Albert Perez, WSDOT's lead GIS roads analyist for the Connectivity Working Group during the time of the statewide analysis 4 Spring-Summer 2012 Jen Watkins Conservation associate, jen@conservationnw.org habitats fragmented by roads and highways made impassable by frequent, high speed traffic or other barriers. Many animals are unable to cross the roadway or choose not to, while those that attempt the journey risk death. Scientists have repeatedly confirmed the harm done by roads to a range of wildlife, both immediately following their construction and in some cases long after they are retired. Early studies of elk were among the first to address effects of roads on wildlife, establishing a precedent for subsequent research on a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic species. Elk avoid roads and habitat adjacent to roads, particularly those with high vehicle traffic. Estimates are that for every linear mile of road, five acres of secure elk habitat is lost. (Read more at fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/journals/pnw_2004_rowland001.pdf ) Field reports from the Cascades and Rockies indicate that grizzly bears avoid roads even after they have been closed. Bears have a memory of the risk that the roads posed when they were still being driven. Elk and grizzly bear researchers have postulated that, once the species learns to avoid an area (since for many animals, mother teaches baby), it may take entire generations after the road is closed before the learned avoidance behavior is lost and the area becomes effective habitat once again. Creating what we want That 13.7 miles is the furthest point that one can get from a road in Washington took me by surprise—it runs contrary to my understanding of our successes to protect wild places www.conservationnw.org

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