Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Massachusetts
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Wildlife presents a significant and grave safety hazard on roadways. Each year collisions with wildlife cause numerous accidents resulting in harm to drivers and vehicles. Roadways are detrimental to wildlife both as a source of mortality and as a barrier to movement. MASSDOT is a leader in designing mitigation strategies that protect public safety and connect populations. Despite this, collisions of moose, deer, and bear remain common. This problem is only expected to get worse, and bear population expand towards the Boston metropolitan area, and deer population continue to grow throughout the state. It is therefore imperative that Mass Wildlife and MASSDOT to continue to work together to design mitigation strategies that maintain human health and safety as well as preserve healthy wildlife populations for the sustained use and enjoyment of the people of Massachusetts. We will use and build upon a camera array established in western MA by the Massachusetts Cooperative Research Units and existing telemetry data to map potential wildlife crossing hot spots on roadways in W. Massachusetts that are particularly dangerous for both motorists and wildlife (e.g., I-90, I-91, Rt. 2). This information can then be monitored and used to plan mitigation measures needed make the roadways safer for wildlife and people.