Oregon Wildlife Foundation
$82,500  Blue Mountains 

Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) records show that between 2009 and 2023, 885 deer and 21 elk were struck and killed by vehicles in a 22-mile corridor of US Highway 82 in NE Oregon. On average, 65 animals, primarily mule and white-tailed deer, are involved in wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) every year in this corridor that lies roughly between the towns of Wallowa and Enterprise. The actual number of WVCs is likely much higher as some animals die outside the highway right of way. Consequently, those animals are not recorded nor are smaller wildlife species killed by vehicle strikes.

The NE Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition, comprised of federal and state agencies, non-profits, tribal partners, a private landowner, and a university, have come together to address this problem. Our project goal is safe passage for wildlife across OR 82, to accomplish three important objectives; 1) decrease WVCs as measured by ODOT, 2) increase landscape permeability, and 3) increase wildlife resilience to the effects of climate change, particularly habitat loss due to drought and wildfire risk.

With funding support from OCRF, the Coalition will retain a consultant or team to complete a wildlife crossing mitigation analysis of the OR 82 project corridor to identify priority crossing locations, assess site conditions, and evaluate crossing designs and configurations for those priority crossing locations.

This is the first phase of a project to address the problem of WVCs, landscape permeability, and climate change resilience in this section of OR 82. Wildlife crossings, when constructed, will reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, facilitate movement, and increase climate change resilience by supporting dispersal, following wildfires and drought-related habitat loss, for a diverse group of species including mule and white-tailed deer, elk, and OCS species Pacific marten, grey wolf, Columbia spotted frog, Rocky Mountain tailed frog, Western painted turtle, and Western toad.

Project Report