Streamlining Animal-Vehicle Collision Data Collection

4/13/2021 - 4/13/2021
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: Webinar by Nat'l Center for Rural Road Safety

This webinar will feature an overview of the recently completed Phase 3 of a wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) data collection system called ROaDS (Roadkill Observation and Data System). ROaDS is supported by the National Center for Rural Road Safety, the Department of Interior’s (DOI’s) US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Park Service (NPS). It was developed in coordination with the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, Bozeman as a user-friendly tool to efficiently and effectively collect information on vehicular crashes with large-bodied wildlife for both motorist safety and conservation purposes. Equally important, it records information on carcasses of medium- and smaller-sized fauna relevant to the Federal Land Management Agencies’ (FLMAs’) conservation missions. It also documents locations where animals are alive next to, or successfully crossing, roads.

Webinar Outcomes
At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Characterize the need for a DOI-wide WVC data collection system.
  • Describe the 3 phases of the project.
  • Identify how simple it is to use the ROaDS survey on a mobile device and the information that is gathered.
  • Demonstrate how the data collected through the ROaDS system can be analyzed and presented in reports.Discover ways to get involved in efforts to co-develop national WVC data collection standards

Course Presenters

Rob Ament, Road Ecology Program Manager, Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University Bozeman (WTI) is the principal investigator for the ROaDS project. At WTI, he leads a group of research ecologists and engineers that provide solutions to reduce the ecological impacts of transport infrastructure on nature.

Matthew Bell, Research Engineer, Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University Bozeman
Matthew has his Master of Science in Transportation Engineering with his Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology. His understanding of wildlife ecology makes him a valuable asset to WTI’s Road Ecology Program. He joined WTI in 2019 as a research engineer and in addition to ROaDS analyzes the feasibility of using new materials such as fiber-reinforced polymer wildlife crossing infrastructure and roadside wool erosion control blankets as well as the performance of Montana bridges to deterioration.

 

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