Could Cattle Guards Augmented with Electrified Pavement Prevent Mule Deer and Elk Access to Highways?

Motorists and wildlife are at risk when wild animals enter highways at access roads that bisect wildlife exclusion fencing. Cattle guards are common at access roads, but are ineffective wildlife barriers. Electrified pavement is an emerging technology previously untested as an ungulate deterrent. The objective with this study was to evaluate whether a standard cattle guard augmented with a strip of electrified pavement could reduce mule deer and elk intrusions through fence openings at rates comparable to specialized barriers, but at reduced cost. To determine the efficacy of the augmented guards as a barrier to wildlife movement, a two-part approach was used that included (1) a feeding exclosure trial using augmented guards deployed at entrances to baited wildlife exclosures at the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area in Northern Utah, and (2) a road trial in situ on an access road to Interstate 15 in Southern Utah. The goal was to provide a rigorous assessment of a cost-effective retrofit to standard cattle guards that could reduce wildlife intrusions to roadways and other protected areas at rates comparable to specialized guards.

• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=832
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Utah State University, Logan

  Department of Wildlife Resources, 5230 Old Main Hill
  Logan, UT  United States  84322-5230

  Mountain-Plains Consortium

  North Dakota State University
  Fargo, ND  United States  58108

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Flower, Joseph P
  • Cramer, Patricia C
• Publication Date: 2015-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 43p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Deer; Electricity; Evaluation and assessment; Pavement design; Retrofitting; Wildlife; Wildlife crossings
• Geographic Terms: Utah
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I15: Environment; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01590499
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: MPC 15-297
• Files: UTC, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 18 2016 9:26AM