The fall is when deer and other animals are on the move more often, leading to collisions on roads.
EUGENE, Ore. – More than 6,000 vehicle collisions a year involve deer according to both the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Transportation. October and November are peak migratory months for wildlife such as deer, who often cross busy streets on the way to their destinations.
October and November are peak months for deer-vehicle collisions to occur.
According to ODFW, migration and breeding cause these animals to follow migratory routes down from colder elevations. Beth Quillian, a Public Information Officer with ODFW, also said growing human populations and land development have posed as obstacles for deer, as GPS-collars show mule deer stay loyal to their route year after year and have no choice but to cross roads to reach food and shelter.
“There’s lots of obstacles for wildlife to navigate around and roads are one of those things,” Quillian said.
According to Quillian, deer are also typically more active during dawn and dusk. With dark hours and unpredictable weather, it can be harder to spot the animals in your line of vision.
According to ODOT more than 6000 deer-vehicle collisions are reported a year.
“Not only is it this time of year when wildlife is moving around more,” Quillian said, “We’ve got fewer daylight hours and rainy weather which just makes visibility much lower.”
According to ODOT Public Information Officer David House, this is another reason to drive safely.
“It’s a good time of year to remember to slow down for the different conditions of winter,” House said. “With deer in particular, slow down, watch out.”
With driver and deer safety in mind, tips on avoiding wildlife collisions when driving include looking out for animal crossing signs; be alert in areas with dense vegetation along the road or while going around curves; if you see one animal, stay alert because deer often travel in groups; if you see an animal on or near the road, slow down and stay in your lane because many serious crashes result from drivers losing control when swerving; and always wear your seat belt.
According to ODFW, if you end up colliding with wildlife you can call local or Oregon State Police, and there is also an option to salvage road killed deer or elk for meat.
“ODFW does have a program for roadkill salvage,” Quillian said. “If you do hit or find a deer or elk that’s been struck by a vehicle it is legal to salvage those, but you have to have a permit from ODFW and you have to surrender the antlers and head to ODFW.”
To help mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions, undercrossings are being built throughout Oregon to help wildlife pass safely.
To try and mitigate the number of wildlife collisions, ODOT and ODFW have created wildlife undercrossings to keep animals off highways and to create safer environments for animals and safer roads for travelers, with the most recent undercrossing recently completed on U.S. 97 near Gilchrist.
“Oregon has begun building into its plans undercrossings and potentially overcrossings too,” House said. “We just opened one in Central Oregon on 97 just this year and it’s already showing that wildlife is using it… Any animal that uses the undercrossing is one less animal that’s going across the road itself and putting itself and drivers in danger, so this is the kind of thing that we will be looking toward in the future as we build and maintain our highways.”
ODFW and ODOT said they are continuing to work to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and preserve long-term habitat connectivity for Oregon’s wildlife. In addition, according to ODFW, they are working to finalize the state’s Wildlife Corridor Action Plan and recently released the Priority Wildlife Connectivity Areas map which has GIS spatial modeling for 54 different wildlife species to show where Oregon can invest to provide the greatest overall benefit for wildlife movement.