Conservation Northwest

Roads and wildlife Many, many animals use the vegetated wildlife overpass at Banff National Park, Canada, including this Canada lynx. The Rock Knob wildlife bridge just funded for I-90 in Washington will serve a similar purpose. Photo Highwaywilding.org "Leaders in road ecology," continued Fencing is key. Without fencing to guide them, wildlife are no more likely to use crossing structures than, say, a 3-year-old child is inclined to use a crosswalk! But in the end, both wildlife and people have reaped profound benefits in Banff. Since the first underpasses were built and new fencing was added in 1988— and with 40 structures now in place—roadkill has dropped by 80%. To learn more about WTI's efforts in Washington, Banff, and elsewhere, please visit: wti.montana.edu, cascadesconnectivity.org, i90wildlifewatch. org, and highwaywilding.org "Carnivores on the move," continued emigrating from the Teanaway—should it choose to do so—could find itself right smack at the edge of Interstate 90, where it would then be faced with either trying to cross multiple lanes of high-speed traffic or altering its course. Each year, the former option turns out to be fatal for the millions of animals (and roughly 200 motorists) killed in wildlife-vehicle collisions across the country. Perhaps less obvious, however, are the population-level risks that result when roads hinder the natural movement of wildlife. Highways fracture the landscape and can serve as partial or even complete barriers to wildlife movement—potentially thwarting access to necessary habitats, or dividing animal populations into isolated subpopulations that are more vulnerable to inbreeding and other threats to population viability. Reduced landscape connectivity can also impede the recolonization of wide-ranging species, like wolves and grizzly bears. Since 2008, my colleagues and I have been collaborating with several partner organizations (including Conservation Northwest) to evaluate the effects of I-90, Route 2, and Highway 20 on carnivores in the Cascades. More specifically, the Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project is using noninvasive methods (methods that do not require that animals be captured or handled) to collect hair samples from American black bears and American martens from I-90 all the way up to North Cascades National Park. Those tiny hair follicles, which are an excellent source of DNA, will enable a big-picture analysis of how highways and other landscape features may be affecting gene flow—and thereby carnivore movement—throughout the ecosystem. Ultimately, we hope that our results will help inform transportation and conservation planning. Meanwhile, there is a silver lining for wildlife on I-90. The Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) efforts to enhance habitat connectivity at I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East are well underway, with several wildlife crossing 8 Spring-Summer 2012 structures already under construction (see page 6). Once these structures and associated fencing are in place—and with a little time and patience—wildlife will no doubt move more freely and safely through the I-90 corridor. Indeed, the Western Transportation Institute's longterm monitoring of wildlife overpasses and underpasses at Banff National Park has shown that animals of all sizes and shapes regularly travel across and through them (see sidebar). It's exciting to think that, in the not-too-distant future, wolves and other wildlife approaching I-90 near Snoqualmie Pass will not have a lifeor-death decision to make. And we'll be one step closer to restoring habitat connectivity in the Cascades. A black bear visits a hair-snagging station in the Cascades near I-90. (Barbed wire used for snagging hair can be seen in the foreground.) Photo WTI www.conservationnw.org

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