New Research Reveals North Carolina’s Top 20 Priority Sites for Wildlife Road Crossings
DURHAM, N.C. (September 6, 2022) – Wildlands Network released a new report that identifies the highest priority sites for enhancing the ability of wildlife to safely cross highways across North Carolina. With significant federal funding for wildlife crossings unlocked by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, North Carolina now has an opportunity to strategically pursue grants for key projects that would increase wildlife habitat connectivity and improve public safety.
Human and wildlife interactions on North Carolina’s roadways are on the rise, due to a rapidly growing human population and associated increased pressures from development. The state’s extensive road network threatens wildlife by disrupting habitat connectivity. Furthermore, wildlife-vehicle collisions pose a constant risk to both wildlife and motorists on roadways. From 2017-2019, the North Carolina Department of Transportation reported nearly 57,000 wildlife-vehicle collisions, resulting in more than $156 million in damages — a gross underestimate that does not account for collisions with small mammals, reptiles, and other species.
Wildlife road crossing structures are a highly effective solution, allowing animals to pass over or under a roadway without crossing the flow of traffic and reducing crashes by as much as 90% when combined with guide fencing. Properly sited wildlife crossings are fiscally responsible as well, as studies show that they pay for themselves quickly over time via reduced collisions and property damage. These factors contribute to the broad and bipartisan public support for wildlife crossing projects that have been undertaken around the U.S.
To focus action on the sites in most urgent need of wildlife crossing improvements, Wildlands Network narrowed the list of 179 sites down to the top 20 highest-priority sites. Credit: Wildlands Network. Image is available for media use.
“Constructing or enhancing wildlife crossing structures can be costly, and the funds to do so come largely from competitive grant programs,” said Dr. Ron Sutherland, Wildlands Network’s Chief Scientist. “This means North Carolina needs to be strategic about investing in crossing projects that will have the greatest impact on wildlife and travelers’ safety. So, the question of the moment is: where do we need wildlife road crossings in North Carolina? This report is our answer to that question.”
Wildlands Network used geospatial analysis to identify priority road segments for crossing action based on:
Daily traffic;
Road characteristics;
Wildlife-vehicle collisions;
Proximity to protected lands or wetlands, and rare species habitat;
Connectivity models for black bears, timber rattlesnakes, and box turtles.
The team then combined this priority model with special attention to wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots and important wildlife connectivity corridors to create a list of 179 priority crossing sites across the state. With input from a panel of more than 40 North Carolina wildlife experts, they then selected the top 20 wildlife crossing priority sites detailed in the report.
“We stratified our top 20 list by region to avoid biasing our efforts to one part of the state,” said Alex Vanko, Wildlands Network’s GIS Specialist. “The stratification resulted in six sites each in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Coastal Plain and four sites each in the Piedmont and Sandhills. Within each region, we examined the top expert-voted sites and vetted each location in person to select the final sites.”
The report comes at a critical juncture, as sources of state and federal funding to build wildlife crossings and retrofit existing structures are expanding. The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed by Congress in late 2021, includes $350 million for wildlife crossing infrastructure projects through a competitive grant program. With smart investment and continued public support, North Carolina can make its roads safer for people and wildlife alike.
Wildlands Network will be hosting a webinar to present the methodology used to create this priority list on October 4 at 2 pm MDT. The discussion will include an opportunity for participants to ask questions about the report and related implementation plans. Register HERE.
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Contacts
Nikki Robinson, North Carolina Project Manager, 704-305-2511, nikki@wildlandsnetwork.org
Danielle Fisher, Communications Manager, 202-280-8318, danielle@wildlandsnetwork.org
Resources
View and download visuals from the report. All images must be credited to both Wildlands Network unless otherwise specified in the file name.
This report released in June 2022 by Wildlands Network and the National Parks Conservation Association provides an in-depth analysis of key hotspots for wildlife movement—and strategies to protect them from traffic—along a 28-mile stretch of Interstate 40 in western North Carolina and East Tennessee. This area, known as the Pigeon River Gorge, is one of the 20 top sites identified in our North Carolina wildlife road crossing prioritization report.
