Entry bubble Hit the Road, Not the Wildlife

By: Stephanie | April 28, 2008 | Category: Travel

Passing a dead armadillo on a road in Orlando last week, I began to wonder about roadkill. ants crossing signI mean, should I have reported the stiff little critter? Is there anything being done to prevent such accidents?

I learned later from USA.gov's FAQs that I could have contacted the police or the local, county, or state road commission to report the roadkill. And if an endangered species is injured or killed in traffic (not an issue in this situation), I should call the state fish and wildlife agency or the nearest FWS Ecological Service field office.

To avoid hitting the animal that we so often see dead on the side of the road—deer—the U.S. Forest Service suggests keeping a close watch for them at dawn and dusk; flashing your lights or honking your horn to frighten deer that are near the road; and looking for other deer after one has crossed the road. If you hit a deer, don't get near it, remove your vehicle from the roadway if you can, and call the police.

Some agencies are using innovative ways to make thoroughfares more wildlife friendly. The Federal Highway Admininstration's website, "Critter Crossings: Linking Habitats and Reducing Roadkill," presents strategies that range from goat bridges to salamander tunnels to help keep animals from being hit by vehicles.

And "Keeping It Simple: Easy Ways to Help Wildlife Along Roads" allows you to search for wildlife friendly road projects in your state. Iowa, for example, has put up a fence along a highway that protects threatened turtles, and Alabama has created a boardwalk to help keep the endangered Perdido Beach Mouse from being stepped on.

Even NASA has to deal with roadkill of a sort: apparently the Space Shuttle hits a few birds on its way up. The agency is looking at an avian radar detection system to solve the problem.

But in spite of an agency's best efforts, roadkill is inevitable sometimes. The results can still be dealt with in an environmentally friendly way, though. So talk about "going green": the Montana Department of Transportation offers a manual on composting roadkill such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. One of their better composting tips: "The more remote the site, the better."

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