Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation

Give Wildlife a Brake® | Roadway & Crossing Study | Driving Tips | Roadkill Data

Give Wildlife a Brake®

Did you know an average of 200 elk, deer and moose are killed on Teton County roads each year? As daily traffic counts continue to rise in Jackson Hole, wildlife face an increasingly difficult time traversing the valley and crossing roadways, during seasonal migration or for daily needs; too often, their attempts to cross roads end in collisions with vehicles. Collisions mean injury to motorists, costly vehicle repairs and death to an animal.

In 1994, the Wildlife Foundation launched a multi-faceted roadkill reduction campaign, designed to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and promote safe wildlife movement. The program began by compiling all available wildlife-vehicle collision data for Teton County. It became clear that many collisions were not recorded by any agency or entity, so the Wildlife Foundation began organizing volunteer data collectors to record carcasses observed along roadsides. With this information in hand, we are now better able to focus our efforts to protect both people and wildlife. Anyone interested in collecting data should call the Wildlife Foundation at 739-0968. To learn more about becoming a data collector go to the Roadkill Data Collection page.

Portable Dynamic Message Signs

Photo of highway sign that says 3 elk killed this year.

In 2003, the Wildlife Foundation completed a comprehensive study of the impact of roadways in Teton County on wildlife. The study identifies wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) hotspots, maps critical wildlife habitat and migration corridors, highlights key characteristics of crossing areas, estimates the economic costs of WVCs, and recommends effective and feasible mitigation options. This critical information will empower those responsible for approving, designing and constructing new roads to effectively incorporate the needs of wildlife. Visit the Roadway Study page to learn more about this study. In 2008, the Wildlife Foundation plans to update the Roadway Study incorporating and analyzing data through 2007.

In 2006 and 2007, the Wildlife Foundation purchased and placed five new portable message signs to mitigate roadkill in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. These dynamic signs will be moved around the valley to display various messages, alerting drivers of wildlife hotspots.

After researching all the various roadkill mitigation tools, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation believes these dynamic message signs currently give the best mitigation value in preventing wildlife-vehicle collisions. This tool can change human behavior by alerting and warning drivers of wildlife hazards. Informing a driver of a hazard increases their reaction time, giving them a significantly better chance of avoiding a wildlife collision.

Two of the new trailers have been donated from the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation to Grand Teton National Park where, according to park records, roadkill numbers increased steadily during recent years. “After the placement of variable message boards on park roads in 2006, we saw a marked decrease in wildlife-vehicle collisions during 2006 and 2007,” stated Jackie Skaggs, public affairs officer for Grand Teton National Park. “We hope that this positive trend continues, and that motorists truly pay attention to the eye-catching warnings of these flashing electronic boards.”

Three of the five trailers have been donated to Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) and are used around Jackson, outside of park boundaries. The donations to the park and WYDOT are done through a cooperative relationship and first-of-their-kind agreements which restrict use of the trailers to warning drivers about wildlife hazards. These unique relationships with both WYDOT and Grand Teton National Park have a common goal of protecting both citizens and wildlife. While is it difficult for government agencies to focus solely on the roadkill issue, by working through a cooperative agreement with the Wildlife Foundation, all groups are better able to provide proactive, wildlife-vehicle mitigation and education.

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation was able to purchase two of the new message signs through a generous donation from valley residents and wildlife advocates, Homer and Pat Luther. Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation (provide link here please) provided generous funding for one of the signs while funds for the fifth message sign came through a grant from the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust (provide link here please).

In addition, the Wildlife Foundation educates the public on avoiding wildlife collisions through newspaper advertising, radio announcements and a video public service announcement.

See the helpful Driving Tips to avoid wildlife on the road or download the Give Wildlife a Brake ® publication, which provides common sense information about how to avoid wildlife on the roads.

For more information on the most recent efforts and technology being applied by the Federal Highway Administration to decrease wildlife accidents on roads, visit the new FHWA website.