In an effort to improve highways and shoulders while also providing safe passage for wildlife and humans alike, the Montana Department of Transportation (DOT) built bridges with wildlife-friendly underpasses along several highways. It also installed 13 cameras to catch exactly which critters use them. So far the results include elk, deer, bighorn sheep, grizzly and black bears, moose, mountain lions, wolves and birds.
“Moose and deer took to ’em pretty much right away, not much hesitation at all,” Paul Sturm, DOT biologist, told the Great Falls Tribune. “Elk were a little more reluctant at first, but they have sort of gotten used to them. They’re using them at a pretty good clip now.”
The DOT erected more than five miles of 8-foot fencing to encourage wildlife to be funneled to the underpasses.
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