P HOTO

: T The Trans-Canada ONY

C Highway bisects the LEVENGER Bow River Valley, Alberta, a World –WTI Heritage Site.

HIGHWAYS Through Habitats

The Banff Wildlife Crossings Project

TONY CLEVENGER

anff National Park and its environs in The author is Research Alberta, Canada, are among the world’s best Wildlife Biologist with testing sites for innovative passageways to the Road Ecology mitigate the effects of roads on wildlife. The Program, Western Bmajor commercial Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) Transportation Institute bisects the park, but a range of engineered mitigation at Montana State measures—including a variety of wildlife under- University, Bozeman. passes and overpasses—has helped maintain large mammal populations for the past 25 years and has allowed the gathering of valuable data.

Push for Research Less than 100 years ago, the first car to reach Banff National Park traveled a dusty, narrow road from Cal- gary. By the early 1970s, four paved lanes of the TCH linked Calgary to the park’s east gate. In the park, vehi-

cles funnelled onto a two-lane highway section. As P traffic increased, so did the accidents. HOTO : J In 1978, therefore, Public Works Canada proposed EFF S “twinning” the highway—that is, expanding it to four TETZ lanes—from the east gate to the Banff town site. A sec- One of two overpasses constructed on the Trans-

TR NEWS 249 MARCH–APRIL 2007 ond proposal followed, to twin the highway from Banff Canada Highway in Banff National Park to maintain 14 town site to the Sunshine Road. This provoked a wildlife connectivity. TR NEWS 249 MARCH–APRIL 2007 15 Grizzly bear using a wildlife overpass in Banff National Park. One of 22 wildlife One of 22 constructed underpasses the twinning to mitigate Trans-Canada of the busy Highway in Banff National Park.

PHOTO: TONY CLEVENGER–WTI Healthy, functioning ecosystems require viable ecosystems require functioning Healthy, can Obtaining data on individuals in a population have made Modern molecular techniques, however,

viable wildlife populations. cross- of these wildlife populations. Knowing the effect is on the population levels, therefore, ing structures should enhance pop- critical. Although the structures the no studies to date have addressed ulation viability, benefits. related because wide-ranging, fragmentation- be problematic, relatively sensitive species like bears typically occur in rates. low densities and have low reproductive population-level provide Demonstrating that crossings of benefits—for example, allowing the movement dis- as well as the roads, adult males and females across of the young—usu- persal, survival, and reproduction 20 years of intensive monitoring of 15 to ally requires radio-marked mammals. sex, and it possible to identify individual animals, their only a few hairs. These inno- from genetic relatedness inexpensive, relatively a powerful, vations can provide critical information and noninvasive way to acquire with- facilitated by crossings, about genetic interchange or see the animals. out having to capture

H L : P ICKS AUREL HOTO ect research are providing information about providing are ect research In 1996, Parks Canada contracted for long-term Monitoring the track pads has shown that 10 The first twinning project was approved with the was approved The first twinning project While the first twinning phase was in construc- Monitoring Results included 24 wildlife cross- The TCH reconstruction ensure ings—22 underpasses and 2 overpasses—to Consistent evidence of the per- wildlife connectivity. is needed to of these crossings formance and effects and transportation implementation by support Although the installa- management agencies. resource some organiza- is increasing, tion of wildlife crossings skeptical about the conservation benefits. tions remain mitigation mea- highway to monitor the Banff research have employed a variety of methods Researchers sures. such as to monitor animal use of the wildlife crossings, raking the track beds clean, deploying regularly checking the struc- cameras, and infrared-operated The 10 years of days year-round. every three tures proj level of sci- at an unprecedented structures crossing is being performed the research Moreover, entific rigor. in the planning, design, that leads the world in an area assessment of wildlife crossings. and performance 24 cross- mammals have used Banff’s species of large than 84,000 times as of January 2007. The ings more suggests that the animals experience a learn- research ing curve—they need time to locate the wildlife cross- before the structures using ings and to feel secure For example, grizzly bear crossings regularly. crossing than 100 in 7 in 1996 to more from have increased 2006. Long-term monitoring demonstrates that the the traffic-related have reduced mitigation measures mammals on the TCH by more of all large mortality significant boost for maintaining than 80 percent—a debate, because many people believed that a larger many people debate, because the park, wildlife and harm kill more highway would ensure highway would that a larger argued but others was intense, but the for people. The debate safer travel was studied more highway on wildlife of a larger effect closely than ever before. safety for people and of travel goals of improving Highway fenc- kill of deer and elk. the road reducing recom- underpasses were ing and the use of wildlife of a fenced effects the however, mended. At the time, not known. Information were highway on ungulates how many to to locate the wildlife crossings, on where what kinds of underpasses deer and elk or create, the avail- would use also was limited. Although sparse, assembled to guide the decisions. able data were The debate about high- tion, the second was approved. with a way twinning in the park continued, along knowledge and improved push for scientific research on wildlife. of roads about the effects 16 TR NEWS 249 MARCH–APRIL 2007 T University isdevelopingguidelines fortheselection,configura- tiveness ofWildlifeCrossings, aresearchteamatUtahState generalize todifferent situations. kinds ofdatathathighwayplanners,engineers,orbiologists can of planning,construction,andmonitoringtoprovide the portation andecologicalservicesintoacontext-sensitiveprocess ways. Concertedandpurposefulactivityisneededtolinktrans- and toreducethenumberofanimal–vehiclecollisionson road- tiveness ofwildlifecrossingstomitigatehabitatfragmentation transportation thereforeneedguidanceontheuseandeffec- well foronespeciesmaynotothers.Statedepartments of ticular speciesinaparticularlandscape.Crossingsthat work of thecrossingsandonmosteffective measuresforapar- crossings, butadditionaldataareneededontheeffectiveness individual speciesandecosystems. corridors limitthenaturalmovementofwildlife,affecting mentation fromroadwayalignments,becausetransportation vehicles incollisionsmayexperiencehabitatlossandfrag- many smallerspeciesofanimalsthatdonotposeathreatto gation measureshavemetwithunevensuccess.Moreover, underpass. animals usingawildlife profiles ofindividual hair samplestoyieldDNA string wasusedtosnag barbed wireandsticky A two-strandsystemof Under NCHRPProject25-27,Evaluation oftheUseandEffec- Research hascontributedtothedevelopmentofwildlife from animal–vehiclecollisionsareconsiderable,butmiti- he annualcostsofpersonalinjuriesandpropertydamage Mitigating Transportation’s Disruption ofEcosystems genetic fingerprint.TheuniqueDNAallowsscientists mal’s hair, researchers cancreate theequivalentofa wildlife crossings. With DNAobtainedfrom anani- tested forobtainingDNAfrom theanimalsusing In 2004and2005,anoninvasivetechniquewaspilot- Pilot Study JOHN BISSONETTEANDCHRISTOPHERHEDGES tion thissummer. electronic decisiontool.Theresearchisscheduledforcomple- cent habitat.Theguidelineswillbereleasedasaweb-based ine theeffect ofroadsonthequalityimmediatelyadja- evaluate howtoplacethecrossings.Thestudyalsowillexam- crossing measures,toidentifycollision-pronelocations,and to data andmodelstoevaluatethesafetyeffectiveness ofwildlife the effects of transportationinfrastructure. time, theguidelinesmustallowforcost-effective mitigationof connectivity thatrestoresanecosystem’s integrity. Atthesame ical principles. a large-scale,context-sensitiveframeworkandonsoundecolog- and toreducethenumberofanimal–vehiclecollisionswillrelyon on theuseofwildlifecrossingstomitigatehabitatfragmentation monitoring, evaluation,andmaintenanceofcrossings.Guidance tion, andlocationofcrossingtypes,aswellsuggestionsforthe program officer, TRB. investigator forNCHRPProject 25-27,andHedgesissenior professor atUtahStateUniversity, Logan,isprincipal Utah CooperativeFishandWildlife ResearchUnitanda Bissonette, aresearchscientistwiththeU.S.GeologicalSurvey

The researchwillassesscurrentpractice,aswelltheuse of The guidelineswillaimforlandscapepermeability—effective

–WTI C T : P LEVENGER ONY HOTO wildlife. imental flaws,aswellanynegativeeffects onthe allowed theresearchers toidentifyandcorrect exper- the slightlymodifiedunderpasses.Thevideofootage was workingandtowatchthewildliferesponses to by video24hoursadaytoassesshowthetechnique within eachspecies. a laboratorytoidentifythespeciesandindividuals or onthestickystringwascollecteddailyandsentto the hair-sampling setup.Animalhairleftonthebarbs behind postswere usedtofunneltheanimalstoward and 75cmabovetheground. Pagewire andbrush bears; therefore thestrandswere suspendedat30cm obtain hairswithsufficient tissueforDNAanalysis. intertwined toenhance theefficiency ofthesystemto underpass (seephoto,thispage).Barbedwire was strands ofstickystringspanningthewidth of theTCHinBanff. Thesystemconsistedoftwo A hair-sampling systemwassetupattwounderpasses Sampling System ancestry. to identifyeachindividualanddetermineitssex The hair-sampling systemsalsowere monitored The target specieswere large carnivores, primarily TR NEWS 249 MARCH–APRIL 2007 17 A wolf pack with pups, A wolf pack by a photographed research remote-sensing a camera, traverses wildlife overpass along the Trans-Canada Highway.

PHOTO: TONY CLEVENGER–WTI , - New York Times New York , a popular college Tony Clevenger, Research Scientist, WTI; 403- Research Clevenger, Tony Manager, Rob Ament, Road Ecology Program www.coe.montana.edu/wti. Field trips throughout the year for professionals Field trips throughout to as an outreach A full-color poster produced An exhibit at the Whyte Museum of the Cana- and Extensive media coverage—television, radio, Seventeen peer-reviewed scientific journal arti- Seventeen peer-reviewed of the TCH Four graduate theses on the effects professionals for transportation workshops Two edition of The cover photograph on the fourth For more information on the research or the proj or the proj research information on the For more            ect, contact: Public–Private Partnership communications, outreach, Since 2005, the research, Project Crossing Wildlife and funding of the Banff a of a public–private partnership: have been the result a center, a university transportation federal agency, American North and three organization, nonprofit conservation-based include foundations. The partners Institute at Transportation Parks Canada; the Western National Montana State University; Friends of Banff and Kendall, Woodcock, Park; and the Henry P. Foundations. Wilburforce 760-1371; [email protected]; WTI; 406-994-6423; [email protected]; or and other interested individuals; and other interested high school classes; through kindergarten May to October 2006, which dian Rockies from around than 19,000 park visitors from informed more the world; and print—with stories appearing in the cles; Park; National in Banff on natural resources of highways on wildlife; on mitigating the effects Essentials of Conservation Biology B. Primack, published by Sin- textbook by Richard auer Associates; on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and in on the Canadian Broadcasting America. North many other media outlets across - - 2 ⁄ 1 The DNA data from hair samples of animals using The DNA data from monitoring continues at In addition, performance The success rate for hair capture was high for both capture The success rate for hair Outreach and Education Outreach is sharing scien- Project Crossings Wildlife The Banff venues to inform the a mix of tific findings through profes- general public, students, and transportation of the 22 underpasses sionals about the effectiveness has led to the following: and 2 overpasses. The research Following the success of the hair-snagging experi- Following the success of the hair-snagging doctoral study at Montana State ment, a three-year the popu- University was launched in 2006 to assess This crossings. lation-level benefits of the Banff animals using the cross- collecting DNA from requires contributing to which individuals are ings to ascertain between the populations gene flow and interchange separated by the TCH. DNA with will be compared structures the crossing segment of the population, to pro- a broader data from assessment of the con- vide a scientifically rigorous The servation wildlife crossings. benefits of the Banff of the will help evaluate the effectiveness results genetic and in promoting structures wildlife crossing demographic connectivity. The results in Banff. structures all 24 wildlife crossing on the value of the dif- measurable data will provide in maintaining or restoring structures crossing ferent have results research wildlife populations. The Banff to guided the design and location of 17 new crossings be built in the latest phase of the TCH twinning proj Effectiveness of Structures Effectiveness ect near Lake Louise—a prime example of yet-evolv- ing science applied to inform transportation management planning. This experience and expertise and prove should help raise international awareness worldwide. valuable for other regions Results made a total 2005 field season, carnivores During the 43 of the two pilot underpasses; to of 56 approaches 19 (24 black bears and by bears were the approaches or avoided the turned around grizzly bears). Bears of of the time—two 10 percent underpasses less than one of the grizzly bears the black bears and but did not enter. approached of the time, bears than 90 percent bear species; more the underpasses left hair—the grizzly passing through For of their crossings. percent bears left hair on 94 of the hair samples percent both bear species, 81 Nine dif- genetic profiling. DNA for yielded sufficient 3 used the two underpasses during the bears ferent month period in 2005: five grizzly bears (three month period in 2005: five grizzly bears females females, two males) and four black bears (two and two males).