Module 2: Statewide and Regional Planning Approach and Data Needs

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COLLECT STATEWIDE AND REGIONAL DATA

Collecting accurate data on the magnitude, trend, location, and type of WVCs can help to document the need for mitigation strategies and establish a procedure for prioritizing potential mitigation locations. Gathering data on collisions and wildlife movement is the best way to ensure that appropriate mitigations will be installed at the locations of greatest impact. WVC data are crucial to justify and prioritize mitigation locations. Module 6 describes strategies for monitoring installed WVC mitigation measures.

Where to Find Crash Data

There are three primary sources of WVC data, including: 1) animal carcass counts; 2) insurance data; and 3) crash reports. Insurance data can provide information about the magnitude of the problem but these data are not spatially referenced and are rarely used on a local level.

A good example of a carcass data collection program is the Maryland Department of Transportation's (MDOT) Large Animal Removal Reporting System (LARRS) program. The LARRS program is implemented and administered on a "top-down" basis to provide consistent, department-wide standards. Questions regarding carcass collection are included as part of a more extensive form that maintenance workers are required to complete for general maintenance tasks, increasing the likelihood of capturing the data. For more information on the Maryland LARRS carcass data collection method, contact William Branch (MDOT) at (410) 545-8626 or WBranch@sha.state.md.us.

Figure: To assist with carcass data collection, handheld computers equipped with Global Positioning System software have been developed.

Crash data from police crash reports and statewide crash databases are readily accessible and spatially referenced. Standardized reporting and recording methods make crash data fairly uniform within a State.

Image: Courtesy of State Farm Insurance