Safe Wildlife Crossings Camera Trap Image Observations

As part of the Safe Wildlife Crossings Initiative, local and regional conservation groups began working in collaboration with Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) to provide pre-construction monitoring of proposed wildlife crossings along Jackson South Highway 89/191 using remote camera traps at locations identified for their importance for connectivity in a planned highway redevelopment project that will begin in 2017.

WYDOT is building six large underpasses and many smaller structures to facilitate wildlife movement, reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, and improve highway safety. The camera traps are monitoring current wildlife use of these proposed locations.

Using these camera traps, we are collecting baseline data at the proposed crossing sites and will be comparing wildlife movements across this highway corridor before and after structures are built. These data have already been used to inform decisions during the design phase of construction on species use and seasonality. This database will also provide pivotal information for land-use planning and private land conservation efforts in Teton County.

We are seeking the assistance of trained Nature Mappers to integrate these images into the Nature Mapping Database. Your recorded observations ensure that we obtain valuable data from our images. After your data input, the images are verified by the Nature Mapping Jackson Hole Scientific Advisory Committee. These verified observations may inform future wildlife crossing solutions.

The Safe Wildlife Crossings Initiative and the camera trap project are collaborative efforts that include many local and regional partners. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Center for Large Landscape Conservation, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation are primary partners. These organizations work with many agency partners to advance innovative solutions to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

This project was generously supported by Teton Conservation District and Cross Charitable Foundation and made possible through Wyoming Department of Transportation.