Roadkill on ‘deadly’ highways costs California at least $1 billion. Here are the hot spots
Using observations of reported traffic incidents and carcasses, the total cost of reported large wildlife-vehicle collisions in California in the last five years is estimated to be at least $1 billion, according to a new report.
When including crashes with mule deer that are claimed by insurance companies but unreported to police, the estimated cost could be as high as $2 billion, according to a 2021 report by the Road Ecology Center at the University of California, Davis.
“What we’re actually showing is the state highways.. so if we had someway of finding all of the collisions that occur on on other roads, obviously its going to be more,” said lead author Fraser Shilling, director of the Road Ecology Center. “Highways are not just the only places this occurs.”
The report follows data from 2016 to 2020.
The annual report is based on more than 44,000 California Highway Patrol traffic incidents and presents an overview of collisions with large and small animals — from bighorn sheep, deer and bears to squirrels, birds and lizards.
Roadkill hot spots
According to the report, Interstate 280 was named the “Deadliest highway in California” for wildlife-vehicle collisions. The interstate — which is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and runs between San Bruno and Cupertino — costs the state more than $178,000 per mile per year.
Here are other California areas noted as key hot spots for wildlife-vehicle collisions:
San Fransisco Bay Area: U.S. 101 through southern Marin County, I-680, I-80, SR 24 and SR 13 through the East Bay and SR 17 near Lexington Reservoir
Sacramento area: I-80, U.S. 50 and SR 49 in the Sierra Nevada foothills
Central Sierra Nevada: SR 4, SR 41, SR 88, SR 108 and U.S. 395
Northernmost region: I-5 between Lake Shasta and the Oregon border, SR 44 in Lassen County, U.S. 101 along the North Coast and SR 20 near Clear Lake
Southern California: I-405 and SR 2 in Los Angeles County, I-15, SR 67, I-8 in San Diego County, U.S. 101 and SR 154 in Santa Barbra County
The animals and why they run
Of all the animals, mountain lions, bears and Pacific newts were reported as a real problem in certain areas.
Mountain lions and black bears are vulnerable to traffic collisions because they usually cross highways due to shrinking habitats.
As a result, more than 300 mountain lions and 557 black bears were reported killed on roads in California. And those are just the cases reported because motorists aren’t required to call in bear or cougar collisions.
But every year, Santa Carla County, also known as Silicon Valley, has one the largest rates of roadkill reported for any wildlife species in the world.
Pacific newts cross Alma Bridge Road while migrating from a forest to Lexington Reservoir and return after reproducing. Along the way, about 5,000 newts are killed each winter and spring by motorists.
The report said these findings illustrate the tip of the iceberg of ecological and economic impacts that wildlife-vehicle collisions cause for California and the legislature needs to step in and help workers in transportation to fence the conflict hot spots and build many more wildlife crossings.
“Especially during a fire season...any wildlife that’s able to is running away, So they’re just going to be crossing roads without any regards,” Shilling said. “So they stay they get killed, they leave they get killed — it’s just a no win situation. “
Picking up roadkill is still illegal
Soon collecting roadkill will be legal if residents and organizations have a permit from the state and report what they take.
Currently, only authorized state or local agencies have jurisdiction over the road or highway to remove an accidental take from the roadway. But a recent state law called the Wildlife Traffic Safety Act is expected to make it legal to gather, cook and eat roadkill meat of deer, elk, pronghorn antelope or wild pig.
The bill specifically excludes animals protected by the California Endangered Species Act.
But despite the passage of the Wildlife Traffic Safety Act in January 2020, it’s still illegal to collect, possess or transport roadkill until the California Fish and Game Commission and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife establish a pilot program for the issuance of wildlife salvage permits.
The program must be developed by Jan. 1, 2022, and implemented within six months of its development.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Roadkill on ‘deadly’ highways costs California at least $1 billion. Here are the hot spots."