Evaluating potential effects of widening US 64 on red wolves in Washington, Tyrrell, and Dare Counties, North Carolina.

Details

• Creators:
  Vaughan, Michael R. ; Kelly, Marcella J. ; Proctor, Christine M. ; 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/2009-25
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  North Carolina
• Edition:
  Final report; Feb. 6, 2009-Dec. 31, 2011.
• Corporate Publisher:
  North Carolina. Department of Transportation. Research and Analysis Group
• Abstract:
  We used data from 16 red wolves fitted with GPS-collars between January 2009 and April 2011 to evaluate home range size and ; habitat selection, road permeability, and identify significant red wolf highway crossing locations. Home range size for red wolves ; averaged 13.7 mi2 with no significant difference between males and females. Although we found no significant difference in ; home range size among age classes, dispersers tended to have larger home ranges than adults and juveniles. Red wolf home ; ranges were larger during winter than during other seasons. Red wolves avoided wetter habitats such as pocosins, wetlands, and ; lowland forests, leaving agriculture the best predictor of red wolf presence. Red wolves also selected for the presence of ; agriculture/forest road systems for travel. Road permeability, calculated using GPS-collar data, was 100%, thus the current 2- ; lane highway does not impose a barrier effect on the red wolf population. This increases the risk of road mortality events. Using a ; 3281 ft. (1 km) buffer, construction north of the current US 64 in Tyrrell County has the potential to remove up to 0.16 mi2 of red ; wolf habitat and 6% of the home range area used by a current red wolf pack while construction to the south will impact only 0.09 ; mi2 of red wolf habitat and will not displace any current red wolf packs. East of Alligator River in Dare County, a widening of ; the current highway to the south has the potential to remove up to of 0.07 mi2 of red wolf habitat and 20% of the home range ; used by the only existing red wolf pack in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge if construction disturbs out to 3281 ft. (1 km) ; from the current road. Construction to the north of US 64 in Dare County has the potential to remove up to 0.04 mi2 of red wolf ; habitat and will not overlap with any current packs, based on 95% home ranges. Through the use of GPS-collars and remote ; camera traps, we identified 5 important red wolf crossing locations, 4 in Tyrrell County west of Alligator River and 1 in Dare ; County east of Alligator River. The presence of agricultural fields, successional fields, and/or upland forests 328 to 492 ft. from ; the road provided the most parsimonious explanation for the location of crossing sites identified using GPS-collar locations; ; trail/road width provided the best explanation for the location of crossing sites identified by remote camera traps. The presence of ; agricultural fields, successional fields, and upland forests as well as proximity to maintained agricultural/forest roads at crossing ; sites corresponds to habitat selection results. Four of the 5 red wolf crossing locations we identified are suitable for crossing ; structures. The most western crossing site is located within the town of Colombia, NC where retro-fitting a wildlife underpass is ; not practical. Well maintained trails at least 26.24 ft. (8 m) in width leading to and from underpasses, which connect habitats ; selected for by red wolves (e.g. agriculture, successional fields, and upland forests), is suggested to optimize efficacy.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/24194/dot_24194_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 12.26 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4bae3d0f7f8449b9bf625e2e35de38d3ff42f3acee691e2b4614f6a79e88de9c21b36daf4bf252dc16eb3a0e62b47304835202be8fbf3b9f3f2ec82ff69202e2