1. Home
  2. TRID
  3. View Record
https://www.nationalacademies.org/trb/events

A Wildlife Barrier Fence North of Wenatchee, Washington: Learning Experiences Involving Rugged Country and Custom-Designed Wildlife Guards and Jumpouts

A nine mile stretch of U.S. 97 Alternate Route (US 97A), north of Wenatchee, has a long history of high rates of collisions between vehicles and deer. In this area, the highway parallels the Columbia River. In 2002, bighorn sheep began frequenting the roadsides attracted, in part, by lush irrigated landscaping plants on properties bordering the highway and lining the Columbia River shoreline. Losses of deer and sheep to collisions concerned everyone, especially the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the local Sportsmen’s Association. Annual deer carcass removals from this nine mile stretch of highway were typically 30-50 animals, with a high of 67 in 2003. Some years, as many as nine bighorn sheep were known killed here. Bighorn sheep were also known to create a driver distraction, with drivers slowing or stopping in hazardous locations, likely contributing to additional accidents. Although bighorn sheep do not comprise a significant portion of the wildlife mortalities on US 97A, their visibility, uniqueness, and relatively small numbers endear them to the public. Construction of a barrier fence was considered beneficial to both bighorn sheep and deer. Prior to making the decision to pursue funding and public support for constructing such a fence, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife determined that the animals did not need to cross the highway to get to water or other important resources in the narrow strip of land between the road and the river. Obtaining funding and permits and securing a route for the fence took years. However, a nine mile fence was eventually built, in two phases. Each phase came with its share of challenges that included excessively rocky, often steep terrain, oppositional landowners, quite a few intersecting side roads and the need to consider how to get animals out of the right-of-way once they found their way in. Contractors, engineers and biologists all had input into fence design and construction. The budget implications of designing the fence to contain bighorn sheep contributed to a cost increase on the order of 100% (or more) due largely to the ability of sheep to traverse very steep, rocky terrain. The total cost of the project was $2.8 million. It is now almost two years past completion of the last phase of fence construction. Fence ends and several wildlife guards and jumpouts have been monitored with motion-triggered cameras, with some interesting results. Reviews of carcass removal data show a 79% reduction in deer vehicle collision rates since construction was started. Collisions with bighorn sheep continued during fence construction but have ceased since the last section of fence was completed. For a more robust evaluation of fence performance, several more years of carcass removal data need to be collected and analyzed.

  • Summary URL:
  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Abstract used with permission from the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation, organized by the Center for Transportation and the Environment, Institute for Transportation Research and Education, North Carolina State University.
  • Corporate Authors:

    North Carolina State University, Raleigh

    Center for Transportation and the Environment
    Raleigh, NC  United States  27695-8601
  • Authors:
    • McAllister, Kelly
    • Reister, Mitchell
    • Bruno, Ron
    • Dillin, Lawrence
    • Volsen, David
    • Wisen, Matt
  • Conference:
  • Publication Date: 2013

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; Photos;
  • Pagination: 9p
  • Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET 2013)

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01558120
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 27 2015 5:02PM