Blaine County
tackles road kill issue
Wildlife Crossing Mitigation
Project funds requested
By PAT MURPHY
Express Staff Writer
The Blaine County Commission Wednesday,
Jan. 28, formally requested funds to study the complicated problem of preventing
deer and elk from collisions with vehicles on state Highway 75 that leave
upwards of 50 of the animals killed each year and heavy property damage or loss
to drivers.
If approved by the Idaho Transportation
Department, the requested $64,500 would be pooled with $1,300 in county funds
and another $500 in private donations in what is titled, the State Highway 75
Wildlife Crossing Mitigation Project.
The study, according to Commission
Chairman Dennis Wright, would attempt to gather statistics on population of
ungulates that cross Highway 75, what attracts them to cross the highway—such as
water or food sources—and what technological devices might be available to warn
motorists and wildlife and avoid collisions.
The ITD has designated four hot spots in a
27-mile stretch of highway 75 between Ketchum and just south of Bellevue as
major migration crossings.
However, farther south and east of Highway
75, a wildlife crossing on U.S. 20 between Picabo and Carey has avoided road
kills for the past week or so.
Carey Mayor Rick Baird, who also is
manager of Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey, told the commissioners that a
battery-powered flashing light at the migration crossing on U.S. 20 seems to
have stemmed the road kills.
"There’ve been no road kills in the past
week," Baird said, ascribing it to the lights. He said such devices should be
installed in the spring and fall when the elk and deer migrant. If left flashing
year-round, Baird said motorists might become blasé and ignore the lights.
Commissioner Sarah Michael said the
Transportation Department plans to test a system of reflectors at Peregrine
Ranch, just north of Hailey, which is one of the four major migration routes
along Highway 75. The reflectors are designed to warn wildlife of auto traffic.
Michael also said that U.S.
vehicle-wildlife collisions have become a major factor in soaring insurance
losses. She quoted the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as reporting
collisions with wildlife in the Lower 48 states have cost $1.1 billion in
losses, 150 human lives and the loss of 1.5 million deer since the organization
began keeping statistics.
Wright said that public attention often
focuses on the plight of the wildlife but overlooks devastating property losses
and human injuries.
He described the terror a driver of a
small car would experience if a large elk or deer were struck, and perhaps
propelling the heavy animal through the windshield and into the driver’s lap.