Wildlife crossing structures help animals move across the landscape and mitigate the impacts of habitat fragmentation. In some cases, they allow populations to reconnect via historic migration pathways. These crossings are not only important for wildlife population connectivity, but also dramatically improve road safety—some structures in BC allow for the safe passage of over 1,200 animals per year. The BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) in partnership with SENSR is using the WildTrax platform to analyze over 50 image sets to determine wildlife crossing structure efficiency across the province.
MOTT currently has five wildlife overpasses and over 100 underpasses. To better understand how well these crossings are functioning, remote cameras have been deployed at select locations across the province. The cameras are targeting wildlife overpasses and multiple forms of wildlife underpasses including tunnels, culverts, and specially designed trails underneath bridges. Three cameras are typically deployed at each site to better understand how many animals approach the structure and how many end up successfully crossing.
Preliminary data indicate that these structures are supporting the movement of a diverse range of wildlife species. Notably, grizzly bears and bighorn sheep have been detected using underpasses, while mountain goats and cougars have been observed crossing overpasses. Data has been collected for the past 10 years, and will continue to be collected at select crossing structures.
The data collected from these cameras will provide valuable insights on wildlife behavior when interacting with crossing structures and if there is need for future adaptations to maximize structure use.
