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Roads obstruct wildlife movements, and wildlife-vehicle collisions are a hazard to both animals and humans. Wildlife and transportation managers often consider reducing the speed limit to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, but there is little empirical data to support or refute this measure. We experimentally reduced the nighttime speed limit from 70 to 55 mph on six stretches of highway that cross mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter range or migration paths. Drivers consistently reduced their speeds, but only by 3-5 mi/h. Reduced speed limit did not make it any easier for deer to cross the road, indicating no benefit for habitat connectivity. At winter sites, the number of deervehicle collisions was not affected by the reduced speed limit whereas at migration sites, collisions were modestly lower under the reduced speed limit.Given the small reduction in vehicle speeds, it is not surprising that there was little benefit of reduced speed limit for deer or people. We conclude that reduced nighttime speed limit is not an effective way to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions or make roads more permeable to wildlife due to poor compliance from motorists.

In November 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, now referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes multiple provisions related to conserving fish and wildlife. One of the most exciting elements of this historic legislation is a dedicated $350 million competitive grant program called the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. In order to assist eligible applicants and partners to understand and take advantage of these new funding and policy opportunities, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation’s Corridors & Crossings Program has created “A Toolkit for Developing Effective Projects Under the Federal Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program.” The document provides: An overview of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program and other fish and wildlife provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, suggestions for how applicants and their partners can engage, best practices, examples, and resources for designing effective wildlife crossing projects in accordance with each of the grant application criterion of the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program.