Evaluating potential effects of widening US 64 on the black bear population of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Dare County, North Carolina.

Details

• Creators:
  Vaughan, Michael ; Kelly, Marcella ; Trent, J. Andrew
• Corporate Creators:
  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Geographic information systems
  • Global Positioning System
  • Wildlife crossings
  • Bridges and culverts
  • Environmental impacts
  • Barriers (Roads)
  • Highway safety
  • Roads--Environmental aspects--North Carolina
  • Roads--Widening--North Carolina
  • Wildlife crossings--North Carolina
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• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/NC/2009-24
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  North Carolina
• Edition:
  Final report; March 15, 2009-March 31, 2012.
• Corporate Publisher:
  North Carolina. Department of Transportation. Research and Analysis Group
• Abstract:
  This report summarizes research conducted along US Highway 64 (US 64) and US Highway 264 (US 264) in Alligator ; River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR), Dare County, NC regarding the proposed expansion of US 64. The study site ; included the areas adjacent to US 64 from the Alligator River Bridge to the US 64/US 264 intersection and from Cub Road to ; Borrow Pit Road on US 264. This report evaluates potential effects of the road improvement project on the black bear ; population, delineates significant wildlife crossing areas, and provides data on movement patterns and population dynamics of ; black bears on ARNWR. The primary focus of the research was to identify sites along US 64, frequently used by black bears ; and white-tailed deer as potential sites for wildlife crossing structures. ; It is the legal obligation of the US Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a Compatibility Determination to decide whether the ; proposed project is compatible with the purpose of the refuge. Thus we evaluated the current wildlife use patterns surrounding ; the highway and the potential short- and long-term effects of the expansion project on the entire suite of wildlife occupying the ; areas directly adjacent to US 64. We employed a variety of research methods including; roadside barbed wire hair collection, ; GPS collar deployments, remote camera trapping, road kill surveys, and driving surveys. ; The road side barbed wire surveys documented 890 black bear road crossings from March 2009 – March 2011. 83 ; individual bears (65M:18F) were genetically identified from hair samples collected. GPS collars were deployed on 49 ; individual bears (26M:23F) and detailed 15 bears (11M:4F) crossing US 64, 99 times. The GPS collars also detailed intense ; use of the areas directly adjacent to US 64. We photo-captured 170 white-tailed deer, > 200 bobcats and raccoons and an ; additional 260 black bears at 12 guard rail openings along US 64 from June 2009 – March 2011. Driving surveys provided ; additional 3 and 19 sightings of black bears and white-tailed deer respectively from March 2009 – March 2010. We identified ; 184 individual bears (132M:52F) within the study area. ; Road kill surveys documented 8 white-tailed deer (2M:3F:3U) road mortalities from November 2008 – July 2011. Including ; historical data collected by the USFWS, the cumulative total of road killed black bears on US 64 from January 1993 – July ; 2011 was 63 (35M:20F:8U: =3.32/year). Road kill data also included; 75 bats (7 species, 1 species a NC Threatened Species), ; 82 small mammals (9 species), 134 mid-sized mammals (10 species), 1,153 birds (66 species), 4,014 reptiles (44 species), and ; 7,498 amphibians (18 species). Four species recovered in our surveys were NC Species of Concern. ; This study identified 6 high priority areas for black bear and white-tailed deer crossing and an extensive network of crossing ; areas for small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/24193/dot_24193_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.71 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e39c386052e9eb13da57a4df303e33df176df0c5e4fde9197ab9f0273b16106b29216bdcb19937e83f6966b8135b696fcec2ce410b12bb5dd883d9e0a9f29146