Introduction: The Highway 89 Stewardship Team (Team) is a collaborative team of federal and state agencies, university educators, local government, and non-profit organizations that formed to reduce and mitigate wildlife/vehicle collisions. An alarming number of migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) die each year on a 25-mile stretch of 2-lane highway between Truckee, Nevada County and Sierraville, Sierra County, CA.
In 2002, the Team committed to a grass roots effort to reduce these losses via grant-funded research projects, community outreach, and construction of fenced underpasses. To date, the Team has completed three underpasses and associated fences and jumpouts. Federal Highway Transportation Enhancement Grants were procured for this work.
Methods: A California Department of Transportation carcass database was analyzed to evaluate hotspots for deer mortality on Highway 89. Grants were obtained to fund a deer telemetry study by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to pinpoint current crossing of the highway by collared animals and to identify movement corridors and barriers. Grants also funded remote camera arrays, which were strategically placed along the highway to capture incidental animal use near or across the highway. These combined efforts are still being used to choose ideal spots for crossing structures in conjunction with available grant money and feasibility.
Grant money was used for the outreach portion of the project in which the Team hired a teacher and built a curriculum for students in Sierra County. Students participated in many hands-on projects including the creation of interpretive panels, now on display at the first underpass.
Results: The Team found that the combination of the carcass database, GPS deer collars, and remote cameras have been ideal for informing decisions about mitigation needs. Numerous collared deer and many species have been using the underpasses with detections via collars and cameras, and mortality has been reduced within the footprint.
The outreach has brought awareness to the management required to maintain wildlife, and support for the Team's work.
Discussion: Few agencies have the funding or capacity to build wildlife passages on their own. The Team found a way to proactively mitigate highway impacts by combining resources and pursuing outside grants. Wildlife and transportation agencies have an obligation to mitigate the affects of roads to fish and wildlife. Strategic research, along with outreach, and mitigation can reverse or decrease those impacts. Through mentoring other groups and creating a change in culture within out Departments this collaboration has led to many other projects in the state and a new way of connecting habitat for wildlife.
Conclusion: The Team continues to strategize and expand our reach to further improve wildlife passage and reduce deer/vehicle collisions on Highway 89 and to serve a broader audience in the transportation ecology field.