Can Citizens Contribute to the Safe Passage of Wildlife across Transportation Corridors?

To better understand and address safe passage for wildlife along a busy transportation corridor that bisects the Canadian Rocky Mountains and fragments wildlife populations the Miistakis Institute has used a citizen science... [ view full abstract ]

To better understand and address safe passage for wildlife along a busy transportation corridor that bisects the Canadian Rocky Mountains and fragments wildlife populations the Miistakis Institute has used a citizen science approach. Through the development of two projects, Road Watch in the Pass and Collision Count the institute has informed highway mitigation and developed a community of concerned citizens. Road Watch in the Pass is a long standing citizen science program, with over 5,000 citizen observations that have helped to inform the location of wildlife vehicle collision hotspots. Collision Count is a new citizen science project where volunteers report road kill observations using a smart phone app at identified transportation mitigations sites. In association with other partners, citizen scientists have helped transportation planners better understand why, where and how to ensure safe passage for wildlife.