Reports & Other Publications on Utah Wildlife
See below for links to reports and pubs. Click on the image of the report cover to access link to report.
Identification of Wildlife-Vehicle Conflict Hotspots in Utah
Cramer, P., E. Vasquez, and A. Jones. 2019. Identification of wildlife-vehicle conflict priority hotspots in Utah. Final Report to Utah Department of Transportation. 177 pages
This research project began to address priority locations for wildlife-vehicle conflict, based on areas of the greatest number of reported wildlife-related crashes, all animal crashes, and domestic animal crashes, carcasses reported along roads, and available data on wildlife movements and habitats near and across Utah roads. The researchers conducted statewide Geographic Information Systems (GIS) hotspot analyses with Getis-Ord Gi*, of all animals, wildlife, and domestic animal-related crash data, and carcass data to delineate and prioritize wildlife-vehicle conflict hotspot areas across Utah and within UDOT Regions. The crash modeling identified 25 top priority hotspots for past crashes based on crashes/mile/year with: all animals, wildlife, and domestic animals on highways and local roads. The top five locations for animal and wildlife-vehicle crashes on highways were: 1. US 191 North and South of Monticello; 2. US 89/North State St. in Lindon; 3. US 40 from Heber north to Jordanelle Reservoir; 4. US 189 Deer Creek State Park; and 5. SR 224 Kimball Junction-SR 248 Park City. Recommendations were included in the report detailing past and potential future wildlife mitigation solutions for these five and 20 other top hotspots.
U.S. Highway 89 Kanab-Paunsaugunt Wildlife Crossing and Existing Structures Research
Cramer, P. and R. Hamlin. 2019. US 89 Kanab-Paunsaugunt Wildlife Crossing and Existing Structures Research Project. Final Report to Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, Utah. 77 pages. https://trid.trb.org/view/1659701 and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Afa51pEELIcja5aKUqFla3m7dCjJUuGQ/view
The U.S. Highway 89 Kanab-Paunsaugunt Project was constructed in 2012-2013 to help reduce mule deer-vehicle collisions and provide connectivity for the Paunsaugunt Mule Deer herds and other wildlife in their north-south movements across the highway. UDOT and partners placed 12.5 miles (20.1 km) of fence to guide wildlife to four existing structures and three new wildlife crossing culverts. The study used motion sensitive remote cameras to photograph wildlife at the structures and determine the success of each structure and the changes in mule deer movement around the fenced ends. The study cameras recorded 4.56 million photographs, 102,517 mule deer total movements at the seven structures, and 78,610 mule deer Success Movements through the seven structures. The US 89 Kanab-Paunsaugunt project is one of the most successful mule deer mitigation projects in all of North America.
Testing New Technology to Restrict Wildlife Access to Highways: Phase 1
Cramer, P. and J. Flower. 2017. Testing new technology to restrict wildlife access to highways: Phase 1. Final Report to Utah Department of Transportation. 70 pages.
Wildlife mitigation systems are as good as the weakest link. Often this is the wildlife exclusion barriers at vehicle access points in wildlife exclusion fencing (8 feet, 2.4 m high). The objective of this research was to find new technology solutions to reduce wildlife access to highways at single cattle guard barriers by augmenting the guards with a product that was as effective as the best deterrents, double cattle guards and wildlife guards. The study first looked at effectiveness of existing barriers with camera traps at 14 locations. In the second step, electric pavement strips were placed in front of single cattle guards. Double cattle guards and wildlife guards were the most effective design at excluding mule deer from entering roadways; effectiveness was 87 -94 percent in deterring the individual animal approaches. Recommendations include further research on widths of electric pavement in various settings, and standards within UDOT that include double cattle guards and wildlife guards as the current preferred barrier, and escape ramps near all barriers because no barrier is 100 percent effective in keeping wildlife from entering fenced roads.
Testing New Technology to Restrict Wildlife Access to Highways: Phase 2
Cramer, P. and R. Hamlin. 2017. Testing new technology to restrict wildlife access to highways: Phase 2. Final Report to Utah Department of Transportation. 35 pages
The objective of this research was to evaluate the ability of electric pavement installations to reduce mule deer breaches into wildlife exclusion fenced areas of highways. Overall, electric pavement treatments were 46 to 50 percent effective in deterring mule deer from entering fenced areas of highway, similar to single cattle guards in their effectiveness in deterring mule deer from entering fenced road areas (53 percent). The cameras at the fence ends at US 191 and 89 documented ten times more mule deer in the right-of-way than were documented moving near the electric pavement. Recommendations include exploring wider widths of electric pavement, delivering electric shock at the edge of the pavement and asphalt, and evaluating if such barriers are needed. UDOT should continue to use double cattle guards and wildlife guards as the preferred wildlife barriers at fence ends and access roads along wildlife fence.
Determining Wildlife Use of Wildlife Crossing Structures Under Different Scenarios
Cramer, P. 2012. Determining wildlife use of wildlife crossing structures under different scenarios. Final Report to Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, UT. 181 pages.
This research evaluated Utah‟s wildlife crossing structures to help UDOT and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources assess crossing efficacy. The results support the statements: 1) mule deer will use bridges to pass under Utah highways, and the bridged overpass to pass over Interstate 15; 2) mule deer prefer shorter culverts, mule deer rates of repellency increased with culvert length, wildlife crossing culverts should be less than 120 feet (36.5 m) long ; 3) culvert width, as animals pass under the road, is more important to mule deer than culvert height, they prefer wider spaces; 4) mule deer, elk, and moose will rarely to never use existing concrete box culverts under interstates unless wildlife fencing (8 feet, 2.4 m high) is present, but once wildlife fencing is present, will only use these structures in limited numbers; 5) all US 6 and Interstate-70 wildlife crossing bridges, culverts, and arch bridges passed mule deer; 6) elk rarely used culverts and bridge structures, it is extremely difficult to build wildlife crossing structures for elk passage; and 7) overall wildlife crossings are working for mule deer. Future crossings that are predicted to work best should be short in length, and wide in span.
Wildlife Crossing Structures in Utah: Determining the Best Designs
Cramer, P. 2014. Wildlife crossing structures in Utah: Determining the best designs. Report to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah. October, 2014.331 pages.
A camera trap study was conducted along Utah roads to determine how wildlife reacted to and used 35 bridges and culverts to move under and above roads. The main reason for the study was to learn of wildlife preferences for different types of structures and provide recommendations that assist in the design of future wildlife crossing structures and the retrofit of existing multiple-use structures to facilitate the passage of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), elk (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), and other wildlife.
Utah’s US 191 Monticello Wildlife Crossing Structure and Double Cattle Guard Monitoring Project
Cramer, P. and R. Hamlin. 2019. US 191 Monticello Crossing Structure and Double Cattle Guard Monitoring Project. Final Report Submitted to Utah Department of Transportation. 21 pages.
The US Highway 191 Monticello Wildlife Mitigation Project was completed by Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in 2016. It included a new wildlife crossing structure (a corrugated steel culvert, 10 feet high x 15 feet wide, x 94 feet long) , a retrofitted existing culvert (7 feet high x 7.5 feet wide x 81 feet long), numerous double cattle guards, and 3.5 highway-miles of wildlife fence on both sides of the highway. Mule deer moved through the new crossing almost 23,000 times, with a success per camera day of 47.5, more than any other structure monitored by Dr. Cramer.
Utah’s US 189 Wildlife Crossing Structures and Escape Ramp Monitoring
Cramer, P. and R. Hamlin. 2019. US 189 Wildlife Crossing Structures and Escape Ramp Monitoring. Final Report to Utah Department of Transportation, 2019.
Utah Department of Transportation worked with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions along U.S. Highway 189 at Deer Creek State Park with two wildlife crossing structures, wildlife exclusion fence, escape ramps, and double cattle guards. The escape ramps were installed at an angle slightly less than 180 degrees relative to the wildlife exclusion fence-line. The mule deer interception rate at the escape ramps was 88 percent (n=461 interception movements). The escape rate was 70 percent (n=365 escape movements). Wildlife-vehicle collision crash rates decreased by 69 percent in Mitigation Section 1 and decreased by 74 percent in Mitigation Section 2. Overall, there was good evidence that the mitigation had an effect on the crash rates within the mitigation sections. Recommendations for adaptive management were made.