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

Road risks to wildlife include direct mortality, habitat fragmentation, and barriers to seasonal movements. Among Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in Iowa, amphibians and reptiles (i.e., herpetofauna) are particularly susceptible to adverse road effects due to their specific habitat needs, limited dispersal abilities, and other life history traits. Currently in Iowa there are 16 amphibian and 40 reptile species listed as SGCN. Mitigation efforts that either aid animals in crossing roads safely and reduce collision risk can help ameliorate risks to these imperiled species, but challenges remain in identifying which type of mitigation to use at a site and, importantly, where those efforts will have the greatest impact. This project proposes to address these two knowledge gaps through geospatial modeling to determine herpetofauna road risk hotspots and field surveys to develop feasible mitigation strategies for 10 high-priority sites.