Wildlife Accident Reporting System (WARS) Integrating Data into Transportation Planning

Transcription

1 Wildlife Accident Reporting System (WARS) Integrating Data into Transportation Planning Leonard Sielecki, M.Sc., R.P.Bio, MCIP British Columbia Ministry of Transportation Rockies Wildlife Crossing Field Course April 11, 2005 Copyright

2 2 British Columbia Provincial Statistics Area: 365,947 square miles (~10% of Canada) (~1.4 times the size of Texas) Population: 4 Million (13% of Canada) Industries: Logging, Mining, Fishing, Tourism, Agriculture & Hi-Tech Licensed motor vehicles: 2.2 million Highway network: 26,097 miles

3 British Columbia from Sea to Sky Photo Credits: Tourism BC (copyright) 3

4 British Columbia Highway Network 4

5 Highway Traffic Volume Northern Roads: < 5,000 vehicles per day Interior Roads: > 30,000 vehicles per day Commuter Routes: > 100,000 vehicles per day Photo Credit: Alaska Highway - Tourism BC (copyright) 5

6 British Columbia Wildlife Photo Credits: Badger and Bears - Government of British Columbia (copyright) Bison and Caribou Colin Leake (copyright); All Others - Tom Hall (copyright) 6

7 Highway/Wildlife Habitat Interface Photo Credit: Bear and car Yellowstone National Park (copyright) 7

8 Wildlife-Highway Interaction Photo Credit: Big Horn Sheep - Larry Halverson (copyright) 8

9 Wildlife on Highways Photo Credits: Top Row: Caribou - Trevor Kinley (copyright); Bison Colin Leake (copyright); Bottom Row: Sheep - Tim McAllister (copyright); Moose - Richard L. Ross, Sr. (copyright) 9

10 Vehicle/Species Size Comparisons Adapted from Maine Department of Transportation 10

11 Vehicle Damage Photo Credits: Pickup Truck - Ken Child (copyright): Blue Car Colin Leake (copyright) 11

12 Multi-vehicle Wildlife Avoidance Accidents Commercial Vehicle Accidents Photo Credits: Top - Michigan Department of Transportation; Bottom - Washington Department of Transportation 12

13 Lost Wildlife Photo Credits: Bears - Sylvia Campbell; Moose - Terrace Standard (copyright); Deer - Leonard Sielecki (copyright) 13

14 Cost of Wildlife-related Accidents Estimated $43 million US a year in British Columbia for all identified costs. The financial impact components include: Insurance Claims (est. $22 million US/yr) Societal Costs (est. $16 million US/yr) Lost Value of Wildlife (est. $4 million US/yr) Accident Clean-up (est. $500,000 US/yr) Unreported Accidents ($ unknown) (Conversion Rate $1US = $1.22CAN) 14

15 Cost of Wildlife Accident Clean-up Estimated wildlife accident clean-up costs based on equipment and labour costs: $20 US to $40 US for small-sized animals (fox, porcupine, etc), $40 US to $80 US for medium-sized animals (wolves, etc), and $250 US to $400 US for large-sized animals (bear, caribou, cougar, deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, etc). In 2004, it is estimated the Ministry Maintenance Contractors spent over $500,000 US dealing with wildliferelated accident clean-up and disposal. Between 1993 and 2004, it is estimated Ministry Maintenance Contractors spent over $5 million US on wildlife related accident clean-up and disposal. (Conversion Rate $1US = $1.22CAN) 15

16 Wildlife-related Accident Claims (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia) (1997 to 2002) Claims Total $ millions US $14.7 $16.3 $17.5 $21.6 $23.2 $25.7 $119.0 (Conversion Rate $1US = $1.22CAN) 16

17 Societal Costs of Motor Vehicle Accidents (BCTFA) Accident Severity Class Societal Cost $US Fatality $3.42 million Injury $80,000 Property Damage $5,300 (Conversion Rate $1US = $1.22CAN) 17

18 Net Value of Game Animals Net Value to British Columbia Species Resident Hunters ($US) Non-resident Hunters ($US) Bear Caribou Cougar Deer Elk Moose Mountain Sheep (Conversion Rate $1US = $1.22CAN) 18

19 Lost Sheep Photo Credit: Live Sheep BC Parks (copyright); Dead Sheep Alan Dibb (copyright) 19

20 20 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Elk and Bighorn Sheep Tag Auction Results (US Dollars) Auction Item Elk tag (non-resident) $17,110 $21,529 $26,508 Bighorn Sheep tag (non-resident) $497,951 $405,738 $252,459 Source: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (Conversion Rate $1US = $1.22CAN)

21 Wildlife Accident System (WARS) Wildlife accident data is systematically collected on a daily basis by Private Maintenance Contractors on numbered highways throughout B.C. Photo Credit: Brent Persello, BCMoT 21

22 22 Components of WARS Decision Support Analysis Data Entry Report Collection Accident Reporting Accident Reporting

23 23

24 24 25 Year Trend Wildlife Accidents (1978 to 2003) Wildlife Accidents Years

25 25 Major Reporting Challenges animals die outside the highway right-of of-way, animal remains are removed by natural predators or scavengers, animal remains are obscured by snow, ice, vegetation, or roadside debris, errors and omissions in reporting accident locations and/or species type, and random and systematic errors and omissions in reporting and data processing.

26 26 Species Identification Is a bear just a bear?

27 Sub-species Identification Photo Credit: Yellowstone National Park (copyright) 27

28 Forensic Biology Photo Credit: Live coyote W. Scott Elliot (copyright) 28

29 29 Uses of WARS Data 1. quantify the magnitude of wildlife mortality by species; 2. identify accident-prone locations and accident trends; 3. direct accident mitigation efforts (such as wildlife exclusion fencing and crossing structures) to problem locations; 4. evaluate the effectiveness of accident mitigation techniques; 5. develop species-specific accident risk profiles for highway corridors; 6. support cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis of both existing and planned mitigation initiatives; and 7. establish policies and strategies for accident issues and mitigation initiatives.

30 30 Species Mortality Summaries (1993 to 2002) Total All Species Bear Deer Elk Moose Others

31 Wildlife Accident Locations 31

32 32 Regional Bear Accidents Regional Bear Accidents by Month (1978 to 2004) Bear Accidents Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month

33 33 Regional Deer Accidents Regional Deer Accidents by Month (1978 to 2004) 6000 Deer Accidents Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month

34 34 Environmental Factor Analysis New Snow and Deer Accidents ( ) Highway 3 - Segment Segment Length: km (Winter = January, February, March, November, and December) New Snow (cm) / Deer Accidents New Snow (cm) Winter Deer Accidents Non-Winter Deer Accidents

35 35 WARS Directed Wildlife Accident Mitigation Initiatives Warning Signs Reflectors Wildlife Exclusion Systems

36 Wildlife Warning Sign Inventory 36

37 Warning Signs Photo Credit: Badger Sign Sylvan Consulting Ltd. (copyright); Big Horn Sheep Sign - Larry Halverson (copyright) 37

38 38 Reflectors First installed in 1982 > 95 sites > 200 miles installed Most installations < 1 mile long

39 39 Measuring Product Effectiveness Wildlife Warning Reflector Installation Analysis Highway 3 - Segment Location: Km to Installation Length = 9.37 km - Installed March 1995 Deer Accidents to km reflectorized section of highway 9.37 km section of highway located ahead of reflectorized area 9.37 km section of highway located after reflectorized area

40 Operational Problems 40

41 41 Wildlife Exclusion Systems First constructed in installations on 4 highways > 300 miles of fencing Most effective - 97% to 98%

42 Wildlife Exclusion Fencing 42

43 43 Monitoring Mitigation Effectiveness Recorded Deer Accidents (1978 to 2004) Highway 97 - Peachland to Summerland 140 Deer Accidents Years

44 Wildlife Underpasses Photo Credit: Badger Underpass Sylvan Consulting Ltd. (copyright) 44

45 Wildlife Overpass 45

46 46 Impact of Mitigation Deer Accident Comparisons Highway 3 vs Highway 97C (1991 to 2003) Deer Accidents Highway 3 Highway 97C Year

47 47 Integrated Wildlife Management Multi-species Underpass Wildlife Habitat Ponds

48 The End 48

49 49 Contact Information: Leonard E. Sielecki Environmental Issues Analyst British Columbia Ministry of Transportation 4B Blanshard Street PO Box 9850 STN PROV GOVT Victoria BC Canada V8W 9T5 Telephone: (250) Fax: (250) leonard.sielecki@gov.bc.ca leonard@sielecki.net