Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions (WVCs) are a serious burden to our society. The consequences are profound and include significant socio-economic, traffic safety and environmental costs. Not only do WVCs in Canada result in death and serious injuries, but certain species become endangered and are at risk of disappearing altogether, which is a threat to biodiversity in our country. From a monetary perspective, costs have been estimated to be as high as $200 million annually, and while currently available data about WVCs certainly have limitations, there is no doubt that WVCs are on the rise making this a serious cause for concern. An important limitation of data relates to the level of detail with respect to the location of WVCs. Today, it is often not possible to accurately measure where WVCs actually occur. Also, available data sources are scattered, which makes it more challenging to intimately understand how this problem affects our society at a national and regional level. Of greater concern, data about species involved in WVCs are lacking. Such limitations are problematic because they impede the development and efficient implementation of species-specific and effective measures in problem areas. For example, collisions with moose may require different mitigation strategies than collisions with deer, bears or amphibians. Without detailed knowledge of where and when collisions occur and the species affected it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to properly implement targeted mitigation measures. In sum, there is an urgent need to establish a national centralized clearinghouse that contains current and accurate data on WVCs. Detailed information such as time of day, season, socio-economic costs, type of roadway, accurate location, and animal type provides invaluable information for researchers and practitioners across disciplines to adequately research and apply effective solutions to the problem. In response to this urgent need, State Farm has provided funding to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) and Eco-Kare International to conduct a study to gauge the feasibility of creating such a clearinghouse; this report is the first deliverable of this project. The objectives of this report are to lay the foundation for the feasibility study to assess whether and how a centralized clearinghouse on WVCs in Canada can be created. More precisely, the goals of this first deliverable are: * To provide an overview of the magnitude and characteristics of the problem, including limitations of the existing information, i.e., conducting a literature review (see Section 2 of this report); * To list and describe the available data sources in Canada about WVCs, i.e., developing a compendium of data sources (see Section 3 of this report); * To formulate pertinent research questions that have to be answered in order to effectively and efficiently address the problem of WVCs in Canada and ascertain which questions can be answered with the available data today and which ones can only be answered through the creation of the clearinghouse (see Section 4 of this report). In conclusion, this report serves as the basis for the next step in this project, which is to study the feasibility of creating a centralized clearinghouse and to develop an action plan for the creation of this clearinghouse. The feasibility study will delineate the confines of today’s reality in Canada with respect to making available centralized data about such a topic as WVCs. The action plan will provide a strategy and tactics to realize the creation of the clearinghouse within these confines. (Author/publisher)
Abstract