Animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) have a growing impact in the United States in terms of safety, economic loss, and species conservation. According to estimates from insurance claims, Virginia has consistently ranked as one of the top seven states for deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) since 2002. Of the state's estimated 43,500 to 47,700 DVCs in 2006, less than 14% were reported to the police and stored in the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) accident database. Virginia has no standardized method of sufficiently tracking AVC occurrences and locations, creating difficulty in researching and implementing mitigation efforts to reduce accidents. Valuable AVC data can be obtained from documenting the instances and locations of animal carcasses from the roadway, but most transportation organizations do not systematically record these removals. This project entailed testing a personal data assistant (PDA) enabled with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for the collection and analyses of animal carcass removals (CRs) from the roadway. Using GPS-enabled PDAs and software developed by Western Transportation Institute, maintenance personnel from a VDOT area headquarters in Rockbridge County collected 8 months of spatially accurate CR data. Rockbridge County DVC estimates derived from the CR data collected for this study were more than 9 times greater than the number of AVCs reported in police records. These spatial data can be easily used for density analyses to determine "hotspots" of AVCs. Implementing mitigation at these areas can ultimately lead to fewer AVCs and associated reductions of human deaths, injuries, and financial losses; improved traffic operations; a reduction in maintenance costs related to carcass removal and disposal; and wildlife conservation. VDOT is currently undergoing changes to its method of documenting roadway maintenance activities, including the deployment of GPS-enabled PDAs to all area headquarters. These PDAs provide a mechanism for collecting spatially accurate and standardized CR data, but collecting and reporting CRs are currently not requirements. Given the PDA's ease of use and the benefits these data would provide, the study recommends that this procedure be integrated into regular practice by VDOT area headquarters. As VDOT is receiving added regulatory pressure to implement measures to reduce AVCs, improving CR data collection using the technology described in this report can help provide an objective method for deciding whether and where mitigation is needed.

Safe Passages brings together in a single volume the latest information on the emerging science of road ecology as it relates to mitigating interactions between roads and wildlife. This practical handbook of tools and examples is designed to assist individuals and organizations thinking about or working toward reducing road-wildlife impacts. The book provides: an overview of the importance of habitat connectivity with regard to roads current planning approaches and technologies for mitigating the impacts of highways on both terrestrial and aquatic species different facets of public participation in highway-wildlife connectivity mitigation projects case studies from partnerships across North America that highlight successful on-the-ground implementation of ecological and engineering solutions recent innovative highway-wildlife mitigation developments Detailed case studies span a range of scales, from site-specific wildlife crossing structures, to statewide planning for habitat connectivity, to national legislation. Contributors explore the cooperative efforts that are emerging as a result of diverse organizations—including transportation agencies, land and wildlife management agencies, and nongovernmental organizations—finding common ground to tackle important road ecology issues and problems. Safe Passages is an important new resource for local-, state-, and national-level managers and policymakers working on road-wildlife issues, and will appeal to a broad audience including scientists, agency personnel, planners, land managers, transportation consultants, students, conservation organizations, policymakers, and citizens engaged in road-wildlife mitigation projects.