Study Identifies Six Stretches of Highway Where Wildlife Need Help

An organization working to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions on Aspen-area highways has identified six stretches of road where mitigation is most needed.

Roaring Fork Safe Passages identified five corridors on Highway 82 and one on Highway 133 where it believes projects are needed to reduce collisions and aid in wildlife migration.

“Notably, all six of these prioritized wildlife corridors and highway crossing zones have been identified as areas with high driver safety concerns due to wildlife-vehicle collisions by the Colorado Department of Transportation,” said a statement from Roaring Fork Safe Passages.

The study looked at recorded collision data, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s mapping of elk and deer migration corridors and information on how easy or difficult it was for ungulates to traverse the landscape adjacent to the highway.

Three sites were deemed feasible for wildlife crossings — either overpasses or underpasses that allow ungulates and other wildlife to safely navigate the highway corridor.

Those stretches of roadway are:

—On Highway 82 between the Aspen Airport and Woody Creek, between milemarkers 32.5 and 37.3. “Migration movements and proximity to high-quality habitat results in a high incidence of vehicle conflict with elk as well as deer,” the study said.

—On Highway 82 at the Emma curve, between mile-markers 21 and 22.5.

—On Highway 133 south of Carbondale, between mile-markers 62.5 and 64.5.

Roaring Fork Safe Passage’s statement said wildlife crossing systems are worth the expense, which is site specific. They reconnect wildlife to habitat and reduce the financial devastation and sometimes loss of life resulting from collisions.

On Highway 9, on a 10-mile stretch between Silverthorne and Kremmling, three underpasses and two overpasses for wildlife were constructed. They reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by 92% over five years, according to Roaring Fork Safe Passages.

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This map shows the six sites where a study indicated mitigation steps would be most beneficial in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Courtesy of Roaring Fork Safe Passages

Another three sites on Highway 82 were identified as worthy of mitigation but places where overpasses or underpasses wouldn’t work because of constraints and levels of development. Those areas could use mitigation such as enhanced wildlife fencing, removing or replacing barriers and vegetation management.

Those sites are:

—Snowmass Canyon between mile-markers 26.7 and 29.

In the Catherine area, between mile-markers 13.5 and 17. “Riparian corridor is a draw for wildlife, creating ongoing wildlife-vehicle conflict despite existing wildlife fencing,” the study said.

—In an area called Cattle Creek North, between mile-markers 45 and 6.5. That area is highly developed but experiencing a high rate of collisions, according to the study.

“There is no priority on how we tackle these,” said Cecily DeAngelo, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Roaring Fork Safe Passages. “Funding may dictate that. We don’t have funding to do everywhere in the valley. We may have to tackle one before another. Other than that, there’s no priority to these.”

DeAngelo, a Snowmass Village resident, said one of the “staggering” findings of the priority study was the death of at least 95 elk over the last two years along the Cozy Point section of Highway 82, near the intersection with Brush Creek Road. Large herds of elk often cross in that area.

“It is likely underreported,” DeAngelo said. “There’s likely two to four times more elk that have died there.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Parks and Wildlife track collisions and carcasses, but sometimes accidents aren’t reported and animals wander away from the site before perishing.

DeAngelo said she hopes the study will inspire people who want to reduce collisions and improve safety for humans and wildlife to get involved in the implementation stage.

“I hope people see these locations and understand that on an individual and citizen level that they need to advocate to their local municipalities and counties to get them onboard,” she said. “Without that involvement, they’re not going to be viable.”

Roaring Fork Safe Passages is raising $150,000 for the next phase of its effort, which DeAngelo described as a “deep dive into mitigation solutions.” The study will look at the viability of mitigation options, costs, topography and the species that use the six targeted areas.

“What type of mitigation you use depends on the species,” she said.

Her goal is to have that information available by fall 2024. After that, Roaring Fork Safe Passages will focus on securing philosophical and financial support from local residents and governments. The organization also will go into deeper details on the mitigation steps being proposed and potentially line up engineering funds.

“That’s putting a project as close to shovel ready as we can,” she said.

A recent study by the Colorado Department of Transportation found that while Highway 82 had high levels of wildlife-vehicle collisions, it didn’t rank in the top 5% of areas of concern in the state. DeAngelo said that doesn’t mean it won’t be eligible for funding.

If local funds can be raised to contribute to projects it will increase chances to secure state and federal funding, DeAngelo said.

“Even the possibility of just one of these locations being mitigated, I couldn’t be more excited,” she said. “Hopefully if we get one done and show how effective it can be, then the others can follow.”