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Item Where does a deer cross a road? : road and landcover characteristics affecting deer crossing and mortality across the U.S. 93 corridor on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2007) Camel, Whisper; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sharon Eversman; Jody Hilty (co-chair)Reducing deer vehicle collisions (DVCs) on highways is an issue facing highway planners and wildlife managers. In western Montana, federal, state and tribal governments intend to reduce DVCs along a 51-mile stretch of US Highway 93 (US 93) on the Flathead Indian Reservation using on site reconstruction and highway engineering. This project was part of pre-construction wildlife monitoring that forms the baseline for evaluating effectiveness of mitigation measures associated with the US 93 reconstruction project. Road and landcover variables were recorded at randomly sampled locations along US 93. DVC site selections were made based on Montana Department of Transportation maintenance and Montana Highway Patrol accident reports from 1998- 2003. Observed crossing areas were based on 32 sand tracking beds (each 100 m long) placed randomly in three key areas along the route. Variables collected included habitats types, topography, and rural residential developments and anthropogenic effects. A geographic information system was used to determine proportion of landcover variables at three spatial scales centered on the highway, encompassing 0.16 km (0.5 mi), 0.32 km (1 mi), 0.64 km (2 mi).Item The use of wildlife underpasses and the barrier effect of wildlife guards for deer and black bear(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2011) Allen, Tiffany Dore Holland; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Scott Creel; Marcel P. Huijser, David W. Willey, Whisper Camel, Pat Basting and Dale Becker were co-authors of the article, 'The effect of structural characteristics, landscape parameters, and human disturbance on the use of underpasses by deer and black bear' in the journal 'Journal of wildlife management' which is contained within this thesis.; Marcel P. Huijser and David W. Willey were co-authors of the article, 'Evaluation of wildlife guards at access roads' in the journal 'Wildlife society bulletin' which is contained within this thesis.Roads and traffic affect wildlife on multiple organizational scales (e.g. from individuals to populations) and different spatial scales (e.g. local patch to landscapes). Roads not only affect the natural environment, but people are also at risk when animals are on the road. As transportation agencies are incorporating mitigation measures into roadway design, more opportunities are arising to study their effectiveness. One such opportunity is along U.S. Highway 93 on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, where eight reconstruction projects over 90.6 km were completed in 2010. The mitigation measures include 2.4-m fencing, crossing structures, and wildlife guards. These measures are aimed at reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and increasing human safety, while allowing unimpeded wildlife movement and traffic flow. Within the 90.6-km reconstruction zone, two sections were completed in 2006. For this study, we focused on these two sections to answer two questions: 1) To what extent are the wildlife guards a barrier to wildlife, especially deer (Odocoileus sp.)?; and 2) How do characteristics of the underpasses, landscape characteristics, and human disturbance influence use by mule deer (O. hemionus), white-tailed deer (O. virginianus), and black bear (Ursus americanus)? To answer the first question, we monitored wildlife movements with cameras at two guards and in one culvert adjacent to a guard. To answer the second question, we used both sand tracking beds and cameras to monitor 11 underpasses for over two years. We also analyzed data on structural characteristics, landscape characteristics, and human disturbance from field measurements and a geographic information system. The guards were > or =85% effective as a barrier to deer, and 93.5% of deer used the crossing structure instead of the adjacent guard. Though the guards were not an absolute barrier, the results indicate deer were substantially discouraged from crossing, and the vast majority crossed the road using the crossing structure rather than the guard, indicating the guards are an effective means of mitigation. We found that increasing distance to cover may increase mule and white-tailed deer use of underpasses. However, we were unable to determine factors related to black bear crossings. We recommend further study for all three species.