Road Kill Toll Climbs in Frigid Utah

This winter’s sudden and heavy snowfall along the Wasatch front--8 feet since Thanksgiving--is creating a dangerous road hazard: Big game animals forced by the snow to lower elevations are wandering onto the state’s highways.

As many as a dozen moose have been killed on the roads this month, causing serious car accidents when motorists collide with the 1,200-pound animals, according to wildlife officials here. The heavily traveled section of Interstate 80 between Salt Lake City and the ski town of Park City, in an area known as Parley’s Canyon, has been particularly dangerous.

To save the lives of moose and human alike, wildlife managers this week began a program using helicopters to relocate the animals away from highways. On Thursday, the program’s first day, the successful relocation of four moose ended in tragedy after a helicopter clipped a steel cable and crashed into a frozen reservoir, killing all three people on board. The program has been temporarily halted, but officials of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources say hazards to public safety ensure that the plan will move ahead.

Traffic fatalities involving wildlife are more common in Western states, averaging about four per year per state. But Utah’s tally is higher--about six per year--and it’s once-rural highways, increasingly surrounded by populated areas, carry a greater volume of traffic than ever.

Compounding the problem, Utah’s wildlife herds are larger than ever because of several years of mild winters and temperate summers. The animals and humans were caught off guard by the onslaught of snow that arrived with Thanksgiving and has kept falling. Forecasters predict at least two more major storms in the next month.

The storms dumped snow on the feeding ground for moose, elk and deer along the east bench of the Wasatch Range, driving the animals to lower elevations and, increasingly, into the arms of civilization. While deer are the most common animals killed on the roads, the massive, slow moving, dark-furred moose can cause the greatest damage.

Last month, 25 moose were tranquilized and trucked out of the Parleys Canyon area, where it is not uncommon to see the huge antlered animals munching along the edge of I-80. Wildlife officials say they want to move about 20 more from the area.

“The moose are coming to town. It is a big problem this year,” said Larry Dalton, a spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “When they get into the foothill area, it’s no longer a foothill area, it’s a housing tract. Once they start down off the mountain, they are in town. Then there’s trouble.

“A couple of weeks ago, a big buck deer got on the University of Utah campus. He was wandering around and caught a glimpse of himself in a window. He crashed through, attempting to fight with himself. He ran around in the building. . . . A four-point buck is pretty dangerous.”

Along with the moose, deer and elk are on the move. Although official statistics are not kept, the DWR reports removing more than 1,000 deer carcasses this year from roadsides in just the northern part of the state.

The agency usually handles about two to three deer complaints a week but now is averaging about 100. Already, this winter is being compared to 1992-93, a devastating season when 80% of the deer population in some areas of the state died.

“Even in our own office, you hear people talk about hitting elk or deer,” said Nile Easton, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation. “We tell drivers every year, ‘When you are driving through those canyons, be especially alert.’ When a large animal jumps out in front of you, you can compound the problem by dramatically swerving. It’s all compounded by icy roads.”

Officials here are particularly concerned about the dangers during the upcoming Winter Olympics.

“It’s bad enough when drivers in the West are out there, and they are familiar with the hazards,” Dalton said. “Almost all of the Olympic venues are in areas where visitors are likely to encounter wildlife. We want to encourage our Olympic visitors to slow down and enjoy Utah’s wildlife but not to kill it.”

The Transportation Department is considering placing yellow caution lights in dangerous areas during the Olympics, which begin Feb. 8. Digital signs already are used along Parleys Canyon, blinking the message: “Wildlife present. Use caution.”

Utah has experimented with a wildlife crossing along a section of U.S. 40, which links Salt Lake City with the fast-growing Heber Valley.

Before rerouting the highway 10 years ago, the state gauged what effect it would have on large-game road kill. Before construction, about six to 12 deer were killed every year attempting to cross the four-lane highway. Wildlife officials estimated that number would double after the reconstruction.

But, in the first year after the change, more than 400 deer were killed.

To stop the carnage, the state erected a long, tall fence along the highway. At the top of a slight rise, where it would be visible to motorists, a gate was cut into the fence to create a crosswalk of sorts.

The entire project hinged on the common sense of the animals.

“We know that big game animals don’t wander aimlessly out there, they know where they are going,” Dalton said. “We thought if we could lead them to the hole on one side of the highway and to the hole in the fence on the other side, they might do OK.”

In the crosswalk’s first year, deer road kill decreased by 40%. Moose, elk, bears and cougars also use the crossing.

People remain the lingering problem. Despite three larger-than-normal warning signs leading up to the crosswalk, drivers still aren’t slowing down.

“If we could get people to take it easy,” Dalton said, “I think we’d all be in good shape.”