In October, hundreds of volunteers participated in the 2026 Roadside Wildlife Count, a project of Environment America Research & Policy and our state organizations.
Volunteers were trained to use phone based apps to collect information about animals seen along roads, alive or dead. The goal was to expose participants to the impact of roads on everyday movement or wildlife.
As one participant noted, “I think I will be a much more aware driver. Had I not been actively looking for wildlife I’m not sure I would have seen half of the animals I saw.”
Roads that cut up habitat make it difficult for wildlife to find food, water and mates without making dangerous jaunts across traffic. According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, most animals won’t even attempt to cross roads with more than 10,000 vehicles per day. Such roads disrupt historic wildlife migrations, and lead to genetic deterioration of populations, as seen in populations of mountain lions in California.
Then there is the direct mortality that roads cause. It is estimated that 1 million vertebrate animals die on roads every single day while there are between 1 and 2 million vehicle collisions with large animals such as deer, elk and bear every year in the U.S.
Our volunteer count only represented a small snapshot of the carnage on the road. But based on our communication with state departments of transportation our counts can supplement other data collection methods helping states get a clearer sense of where conflict hotspots may exist.
The Results
In total, volunteers collected 1,452 wildlife observations along roads. Observations were found in 33 states during the count period.
Of these, approximately 61% of animals were dead. Another 28% were alive but within 100 yards of a road, while another 10% were alive but on or crossing the road.
Of the animals that lost their lives on roads, over 30% were raccoons (total of 271). Deer, both white-tailed and mule deer, represented over 15% of road kill, or 133 deer. There were also 108 opossums, 57 striped skunks, 21 coyotes, three elk and one bear found dead during the count.
To view results of the count you can zoom into any location on this map. Each location represents an animal observed. Different colors represent different animal species.
* Note: Oregon data not included. More information on the Oregon Roadside Count can be found here.
What can the Roadside Wildlife Count teach us?
The Roadside Wildlife Count has its limitations. For instance, we only have data for the roads that the volunteers traveled, and maybe other roads unvisited have it worse. Nonetheless, the count highlighted that all across the country roads are a problem for wildlife.
With 4.2 million miles of public roads in the U.S. and millions of dead animals, roads are severely impacting wildlife. No one thought much about this as America built highways and freeways over the last century. But now that we know the dramatic impact of roads on wildlife, we must act.
Going forward, we need to incorporate wildlife crossings into road building or maintenance projects. These crossings, e.g., bridges, culverts and more, can significantly reduce the number of wildlife killed on roads. Wildlife crossings can reduce wildlife vehicle collisions by over 90%.
The numbers tell a story… that where animals and roads come together there is conflict. And this conflict is nationwide.
What comes next?
Given the interest in the count, and the data that was collected, we plan to conduct the Roadside Wildlife Count again 2027. We will work to make it even larger.
Additionally, participants can continue to collect data using the applications used for the count. That data will continue to be added to a database. Data collected from the Roadside Wildlife Count, along with additional data now collected throughout the year will be provided to state transportation and wildlife agencies to supplement their existing data. Here is a tutorial from our Roadside Wildlife Count webinar.
Next time you’re on the road make sure to pay a little more attention to the sides of the roads, wildlife can be anywhere.
Environment America Research & Policy Center would like to thank all of the volunteers who participated, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, and all of the organizations that supported and promoted the 2026 Roadside Wildlife Count.
