HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown If you are out on the road, it is the time of the year to be on the lookout for deer and elk. Seeing a dead deer or elk lying on the side of the road is a pathetic scene and one has to wonder if it could have been avoided. Every year there are more than 1,100 wildlife/vehicle collisions reported to the State Patrol, but apparently not all are reported because the state Department of Transportation (DOT) removes an average of nearly 3,500 deer and elk carcasses annually from state highways. Collisions with wildlife result in an average of better than 1,000 human injuries and two fatalities per year. Deer and elk movement intensifies during the fall and early winter due to hunting activity and the beginning of their yearly transition from summer to winter feeding areas. It is during this period the likelihood of both species being near or crossing highways is most likely. Added to this, it is also the time of the year when daylight is declining, increased precipitation, and low visibility. Early morning and late evening (dawn and dusk) are times of high deer and elk activity that coincide with peak drive times. Most black- tailed deer are killed by vehicles during this period. In western Washington, deer/elk vehicles collisions are widely distributed, but there is a high rate of deer/ vehicle collisions on Whidbey Island and along State Routes 20 and 525. High numbers of elk/vehicle collisions also occur in the Packwood/Randle vicinity on U.S. 12, and on Interstate 90 near North Bend. Most reported wildlife/vehicle collisions are with deer and elk. Collisions with other large mammals such as moose, bighorn sheep, cougars and black bears are rare. An effective method for reducing the risk of wildlife collisions has been to use eight-foot high wildlife fencing to prevent animals from entering roadways. The fencing has been installed in a few key areas such as along Interstate 90 east of Cle Elum. However, fencing is expensive to install, maintain and cannot be used everywhere. Signs are the most commonly used tool to warn motorists of possible wildlife on the highway. They are usually installed in areas of high numbers of deer/elk vehicle collisions. Flashing signs and signs with regularly updated messages have been more successful at reducing wildlife collision than regular signs and are also used in areas of high wildlife collision rates. DOT has evaluated a number of different technologies for reducing road kills. These include deer reflectors, a laser detection system and animal activated warning signs. Unfortunately, most have not proved ineffective. The only method still in use is the animal activated warning signs used to notify motorists when elk cross the highway in Sequim. This system has been in place since 2000 and relies on radio telemetry collars that have been placed on several elk to trigger a flashing elk crossing sign. While the system has reduced the number of elk/vehicle collisions, it has several drawbacks including the need to place radio collars on the elk, and false warnings that are triggered when elk are near the sign, but not necessarily crossing the road. While lowered speed limits may help reduce the number of wildlife/vehicle collisions, it is difficult to get drivers to comply with lowered speed limits. If drivers feel the lowered speed is unreasonable, they are likely to engage in passing, tailgating and speeding, which can increase the severity and frequency of collisions. Probably the most effective method for reducing wildlife/vehicle collisions is to drive defensively and at all times use common sense when behind the wheel. American clergyman Calvin Ellis Stowe (1802-1860) said, "Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.GÇ¥ For questions regarding reducing the risk of wildlife collisions, contact Kelly McAllister, a fish and wildlife biologist for DOT, at (360) 705-7426. -á Fishing report
" During Nov. 24-30, the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator operation recovered 6,161 coho adults and 67 jacks, six fall chinook, 29 summer steelhead, 24 winter steelhead, 25 cutthroat trout and one chum salmon. " Nathan Reynolds, an ecologist with Cowlitz Indian Tribe, reported 15 males and one female eulachon (smelt) were found in a tribal fyke net deployed in the Cowlitz River Dec. 2. Also, field staff observed five seals in the river and a few seagulls. It is suspected this might be the onset of a eulachon return. All sport and commercial fisheries for eulachon remain closed at this time. -á
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