Effectiveness of Wildlife Fencing at Reducing Crashes

Details

• Creators:
  Shea, Scott ; Goswamy, Amrita
• Corporate Creators:
  AECOM
• Corporate Contributors:
  Utah. Department of Transportation. Research and Innovation Division ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Animal Vehicle Crashes Carcass Data Countermeasures Crash Data Crash Modification Factors Crash Reduction Data Analysis Economic Analysis Empirical Methods Fences Habitat Rural Areas Safety Urban Areas Wildlife Wildlife Fencing

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  UT-25.15
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Utah
• Edition:
  Final Report: October 2024 to January 2026
• Corporate Publisher:
  Utah. Dept. of Transportation. Research Division
• Abstract:
  Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) pose serious risks to motorist safety and contribute significantly to wildlife mortality. Wildlife fencing serves as a proven countermeasure to mitigate WVCs while promoting habitat connectivity. This study evaluates the safety effectiveness of wildlife fencing installed across Utah from 2011 to 2023, using traffic volume, herd size, migration patterns, and urban/rural context as explanatory variables. A total of 54 (138 miles) treated sites and 90 (583 miles) matched control sites were analyzed using safety performance functions and empirical Bayes methods. Results indicate a crash modification factor (CMF) of 0.25 for total wildlife-related crashes equating to a 75% reduction. CMFs for fatal/injury crashes and property damage-only (PDO) crashes were 0.15 and 0.26, respectively, demonstrating reductions of 85% and 74%. The CMF for total WVCs in only migration areas was 0.13, indicating a greater reduction compared to all sites taken together. It was seen that wildlife fencing creates a greater reduction in WVCs in migration areas of about 87% in these sensitive zones compared to other areas. Low standard errors and narrow 95% confidence intervals reinforce the statistical reliability of the results. Overall, the data strongly supports wildlife fencing as a highly effective safety countermeasure with consistent impact across all crash scenarios in this study. Findings support continued investment in targeted safety interventions across migration corridors. Economic analysis yielded a benefit-cost ratio of approximately 2.0 (at a 3% discount rate), confirming that wildlife fencing is a highly effective and cost-efficient strategy for improving roadway safety and supporting wildlife conservation.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  25-8499
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b1e151d86e1aaf2a359fd117c6b71c9de5e4117ec14a091682b0f9712e391268dc9cc93a1e90e0f9f54c6794567ba3a39eb992d766266c30ed3a7661b1ec6537
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89260/dot_89260_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.95 MB ]