Where does a deer cross a road? : road and landcover characteristics affecting deer crossing and mortality across the U.S. 93 corridor on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana

Reducing deer vehicle collisions (DVCs) on highways is an issue facing highway planners and wildlife managers. In western Montana, federal, state and tribal governments intend to reduce DVCs along a 51-mile stretch of US Highway 93 (US 93) on the Flathead Indian Reservation using on site reconstruction and highway engineering. This project was part of pre-construction wildlife monitoring that forms the baseline for evaluating effectiveness of mitigation measures associated with the US 93 reconstruction project. Road and landcover variables were recorded at randomly sampled locations along US 93. DVC site selections were made based on Montana Department of Transportation maintenance and Montana Highway Patrol accident reports from 1998- 2003. Observed crossing areas were based on 32 sand tracking beds (each 100 m long) placed randomly in three key areas along the route. Variables collected included habitats types, topography, and rural residential developments and anthropogenic effects. A geographic information system was used to determine proportion of landcover variables at three spatial scales centered on the highway, encompassing 0.16 km (0.5 mi), 0.32 km (1 mi), 0.64 km (2 mi).