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Colorado Wildlife On The Move
New! View the Critter Crossings: Keeping Us Safe and Wildlife Alive School Poster Contest Winners Many of the wildlife linkages identified by SREP's Linking Colorado's Landscapes project intersect Colorado's roadways creating a safety hazard for both people and wildlife. As an education and outreach campaign to address these safety issues, SREP spearheaded the Colorado Wildlife on the Move campaign that urges drivers to watch for wildlife on Colorado highways, especially in November and December. According to statistics from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), November sees more traffic crashes involving wildlife than any other month of the year. During the period from 1993 through 2005, there were 3,444 such crashes in November and 2,355 such crashes in December. These statistics include property damage, injury and fatal crashes. There were 31,824 recorded incidents of wildlife-vehicle collisions along state and interstate highways between 1993 and 2005. The number of wildlife-vehicle collisions reported by Colorado State Patrol (CSP) is known to underestimate the actual number of animals killed because it only represents accidents actually reported. The CDOT has begun collecting data from maintenance patrols on the number of wild animals killed and removed from the roads. Preliminary maintenance patrol roadkill counts show that roughly twice as many animals are killed as are reported to CSP. This data will serve as a supplement to CSP crash data in the future. A study released in August 2004 by the Center for Disease Control found that one quarter of all animal-vehicle collisions that result in human injury nationwide occur in October and November. Animal-vehicle collisions can also result in human fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that accidents involving animals cause 200 deaths per year nationwide. From 1993 through 2005, 29 people died on Colorado highways in traffic crashes involving wild animals. Even when collisions with animals are not fatal for drivers, they often result in injury and can cause expensive damage to vehicles and other personal property. During the 11 years from 1993 through 2003, statistics from CDOT show that there were 22,387 animal-vehicle collisions resulting in property damage on Colorado roadways. The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA) reports that the average cost per claim was $2,800. In particular, the following areas are extremely hazardous for drivers and wildlife:
In an effort to educate motorists about how to avoid dangerous and costly collisions, the campaign released a Driver Safety Tip Sheet (PDF) with a list of suggestions about how to avoid hitting animals. Most important among those tips was a reminder to drivers to stay alert and slow down.
The campaign also released a road ecology poster that urges drivers to stay alert and watch for wildlife crossing roadways. The striking road ecology poster features images by famed Colorado wildlife photographers, Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski. To date, we have distributed more than 70,000 driver safety tip sheets and 500 posters in 85 cities and 175 locations across Colorado! Thanks to our partners, the driver safety tip sheets and posters will hang in Enterprise Rental Car offices, tourist information centers, highway rest stops, Forest Service visitor centers, Colorado State Patrol offices, and other locations around the state. To request copies of the poster, please call SREP at (720) 946-9653.
The diversity of partners working together in this campaign makes it an extremely unique effort. Partners include the Federal Highway Administration, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado State Patrol, Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, Enterprise Rent-a-car, and the Animal Assistance Foundation.
The Wildlife on the Move partners post press releases each November to remind Colorado drivers to watch for wildlife. Since our first release in 2004, coverage has included 12 Denver area TV stations, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Boulder Daily Camera, Colorado Springs Gazette, Aspen Times, USA Today, Montrose Daily Press, KOTO Telluride radio station, KSUT Durango radio station, and many others. To date, SREP has reached over 5 million people through our print coverage alone.
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