Connecting the Corridor
A look into the mitigation measures that increase habitat connectivity and the safety of motorists and wildlife alike!
Wildlife Signs
Wildlife signs are placed in areas prone to wildlife movement across roadways. These signs are beneficial in alerting motorists to be aware of specific animals that may appear near or crossing the roadway while simultaneously encouraging a reduction in vehicle driving speed in the area.
In conjunction with a mobile highway sign, an orange collar fitted with GPS technology and reflective strips helps motorists spot Eastern North Carolina’s critically endangered Red Wolves along the roadways that fragment their habitat.
Photo provided by USFWS
Wildlife Crossings
Wildlife crossing underpasses are a unique type of wildlife crossing that allows animals to safely traverse under a roadway system. Through tunnels, culverts, and designated areas underneath bridges, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians can find ways to safely navigate fragmented habitats while increasing the safety of motorists in preventing wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC’s).
Wildlife crossing underpasses are currently being used across the state of North Carolina, but many more structures are needed in the future due to rapid human development, the need for upgrading and modernizing road networks, and to increase habitat connectivity in our coastal region due to rising sea levels.
Wildlife overpasses, sometimes called wildlife bridges or green bridges, are crossings built over roadways to allow larger land mammals to safely travel into new territories. These types of crossings help reduce vehicle collision injury and death in both animals and humans while also reducing vehicle damage costs. Efficacy of wildlife crossings, both underpasses and overpasses, have reduced wildlife vehicle collisions by up to 90%.
Conservationists and organizations are currently working collaboratively to secure federal funding for research, design, and implementation in order to successfully break ground in building these types of wildlife crossings in the future.
Wildlife Fencing
In combination with wildlife crossing structures, wildlife fencing can increase success rates by helping to funnel wildlife towards the designated wildlife crossing area to help these animals travel safely across roadways. Wildlife fencing can be customized in conjunction with both wildlife crossing underpasses and overpasses and are dependent in size and design specific to the different species the wildlife crossings are built to protect.
Wildlife fencing is currently being used in areas throughout the state of North Carolina where wildlife crossing structures are in existence.
Land Connection
Protecting and connecting lands through easements and/or land trusts are some of the ways that private lands can be allocated towards increasing habitat connectivity.
