In 2017, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and Department of Transportation (WYDOT) organized a Wildlife and Roadways Summit for agency personnel, NGOs, elected officials and members of the public. The objectives of the Summit were to improve communication between WGFD and WYDOT, identify specific problem areas with local-based experts, improve public outreach and share research to better understand the relationship between roadways and wildlife. Problem areas were further evaluated through participation in regional-based breakout groups and were included in a future prioritization process.
After this Summit an implementation team was formed to work through prioritizing 240 unique projects that were identified at the Summit. WYDOT and WGFD personnel ranked these projects into high, medium or low priority and classified them as local or statewide solutions, which was typically based on the cost and complexity of potential solutions. Eventually a Top 43 list was developed of those projects with a statewide nexus, and used for a more detailed prioritization process.
Ranking criteria included using existing data and best professional opinion to score projects based on human safety and ecological factors. The human safety score was based on the annual cost of wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC) in each project area. Utilizing the cost of a crash enabled inclusion of a weight for severity as typically costs associated with a large ungulate such as a moose or elk resulting in a higher cost than a collision with a deer or pronghorn. The combined scores enabled differentiation between moderate, high and very high human safety scores. The ecological score was weighted by four criteria including: 1) habitat; 2) ungulate herd status; 3) unique or significant ungulate herds or migration routes; and 4) improved habitat access. Lastly, the group included the expected effectiveness and feasibility of solutions in the prioritization process.
This prioritization process resulted in a ranking of the Top 43. A Top 10 list was chosen from the Top 43 to provide a more reasonable list of statewide projects for agencies to focus on. Estimated costs and preliminary solutions were developed for projects ranging from $1 million to $37 million dollars. WYDOT and WGFD are currently implementing one of these projects, actively fundraising for another, and working with stakeholders to develop detailed mitigation plans for two others. While this has been occurring, dozens of regional-level projects have been implemented since the 2017 Summit.
A follow-up Summit was completed in April 2021 to reengage WGFD, WYDOT, NGOs and other stakeholders. This Summit included sharing best available science, examples of successful solutions that have been implemented across the state and region, and engaged stakeholders in discussions regarding funding opportunities and political support for more of these projects to be implemented in Wyoming in coming years.