Characterizing Moose–Vehicle Collision Hotspots in Northern British Columbia

Abstract

To have a better understanding of the ecological factors that may contribute to moose Alces alces and vehicle collisions in northern British Columbia, we analyzed Wildlife Accident Reporting System data that were collected between 2000 and 2005 by highway maintenance contractors. We delineated 29 moose-vehicle collision hotspots and 15 control sites at which we assessed environmental and road infrastructure attributes through field surveys and remotely sensed data. A logistic regression model including both coarse- and fine-scale environmental factors suggested that hotspots were more likely to be characterized by the number of roadside mineral licks and bisection of the highway corridor through black spruce forest–sphagnum bog habitat and swamps. The absence of rivers within 1 km and less lake area within 500 m of the highway also better characterized hotspots than controls. At the fine scale, deciduous forest cover along the highway edge and the proportion of browse to nonbrowse vegetation between the road shoulder and forest edge were also related to collision sites. Based on these data, the mitigation of collision hotspots should include decommissioning roadside mineral licks where they occur and cutting roadside brush to improve driver visibility and reduce browse resprouting and attractiveness. Where new road construction or road realignments are being contemplated, we recommend considering routes with more lake area, more rivers, fewer swamps, and fewer black spruce forest–sphagnum bog habitats to help reduce collisions. We discuss the utility of installing novel warning signage in areas where collisions are recurrent.

Animal Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity Pooled Fund Study – Literature Review

“…In addition, cover or vegetation clearing adjacent to the road did not affect the probability of collisions with moose ). It appears changes in the landscape beyond the right-of-way, and the timing and frequency of mowing or cutting and potential regrowth contribute to varying effectiveness in collision reduction , Rea et al 2010, Rea et al 2014, Canal et al 2019). In addition, increasing grass-herb vegetation in a forested environment could also attract large herbivores to the right-of-way rather than reduce their numbers and presence along the transportation corridor (review in .…”

The effectiveness of decommissioning roadside mineral licks on reducing moose (Alces alces) activity near highways: implications for moose–vehicle collisions

“…Fraser and Thomas (1982) also found less concentrated moose activity at freshwater sources along roadsides when compared to salt pools (i.e., licks) in Ontario, Canada. Further, the occurrence of roadside licks, but not roadside ponds, has been previously associated with MVCs in northern British Columbia (Rea et al 2014).…”

“…Greater use of roadside licks in late spring and early summer has been associated with an increase in MVCs in multiple jurisdictions (Fraser and Thomas 1982 Mountrakis and Gunson 2009). Therefore, decommissioning licks is likely to have the greatest effect on reducing MVCs in late spring and early summer (Rea et al 2014) but may not decrease the number of MVCs during December and January, when MVCs are most frequent in BC (Sielecki 2010;O'Keefe and Rea 2012). Although licks might, at times, be accessible in warm winters or after a mid-winter thaw, natural mineral licks in BC are most often covered with ice and snow and inaccessible from December through March (Rea et al 2013).…”

Spatial activity and road crossing abilities in Alces alces and Cervus elaphus: a review (Artiodactyla: Cervidae)

“…jeho vhodnost pro výskyt losů -tento parametr většina publikací uvažuje jako samozřejmý a spíše se zabývá podrobnějším vymezením konkrétního biotopu. Kromě údolí a niv, které jsou nejčastěji zmiňovanými geomorfologickými tvary v souvislosti s migrací losů, nalezli Rea et al (2014) v místech kolizí a náhodně zvolených bodech u silnic tyto odlišnosti prostředí: v místech kolizí byla u silnice větší koncentrace soli, v okolí bylo více mokřadů, listnatého lesa a rašelinišť, místa byla více než 1 km od řeky a také dál od jezer.…”