By: CATHY ELLIS
Wolves are using new underpasses in Kootenay National Park less than six months after wildlife crossing structures were completed in a collision hotspot.
Parks Canada officials say remote cameras recorded wolves using all three underpasses along a deadly stretch of Highway 93 South 14 different times over the winter, sometimes a lone wolf, sometimes in a group of up to seven.
They say white-tailed deer and snowshoe hare have also been using the underpasses, located along a 4.7-kilometre stretch of highway near the Dolly Varden day-use area where there is a large deer population.
“Wolves elsewhere in the past have been wary of these structures and this group appears to have quickly grown to utilize them,” said Rick Kubian, resource conservation manager for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay.
“It’s hard to speculate if it’s just one pack, but our key understanding is wolves in the area have already adapted to the underpasses and have been using them over winter.”
Parks Canada built the three wildlife crossing structures at a cost of $4 million.
More than 5,000 vehicles travel Highway 93 on a typical summer day and in recent years, an average of 50 large animals have been killed on the highway every year. Roads are also barriers to wildlife searching for food, shelter and mates.
The most commonly killed animals are white-tailed deer, an important prey species for wolves and cougar. The road toll also includes wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, moose, lynx, wolverine and bighorn sheep.
“We are pretty excited to see how the suite of wildlife species that utilize the valley in summer will react,” said Kubian.
“We finalized construction late in the season around the time bears started to den up. We haven’t had bears crossing yet, but we think we will.”
Deer make up over 70 per cent of recorded road kills in Kootenay and Kubian said Parks Canada was able to put tracking collars on several whitetail deer over winter.
“Our hope is to better understand their movements in relation to the crossing structures and the existing unfenced sections,” he said.
In 2008, Parks Canada contracted the Western Transportation Institute to identify mitigation measures to reduce crashes with wildlife and provide safe crossing opportunities.
The group recommended experimenting with animal detection systems, increased RCMP enforcement of speeding, alternative road striping and vegetation management on the right-of-way.
But they also recommended 60 per cent of the highway inside the park boundaries be fenced to keep wildlife off the road, plus install underpasses to allow safe passage and maintain connectivity.
Officials say Parks Canada will continue to take other steps to limit collisions and connect the landscape, which may include establishing seasonal speed advisories or speed limits in high-risk areas, and enforcing speed limits in road kill hot spots.
“We are pleased with what we have done to date with fencing and underpasses, but we are awaiting funding for potentially more,” said Kubian.
Collisions with wildlife also cost money – for emergency response, hospital care, vehicle repairs, loss of wildlife and dealing with dead or injured animals. These costs were recently estimated by Parks Canada at $6,600 per deer, $17,000 per elk, and $30,000 per moose.