Re: Road Kill

[Joy Scrogum <jscrogum@wmrc.uiuc.edu>]

Hello.  Your clients might consider reviewing and modifying their use of 
road salt during winter months. By spreading salts on roads we basically 
create artificial salt licks.  Combined with various other behavioral 
factors, road salt deposits may draw wildlife to road sides and increase 
the risk of animal-vehicle collisions.

For a good general discussion of all the environmental impacts of road 
salts, see Environment Canada's "Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 
1999, Priority Substances List Assessment Report: Road Salts" at:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/substances/ese/eng/psap/final/reports/Road_salt.pdf
In particular for your purposes, see section 3.6.1 "Exposure 
characterization" and 3.6.1.1 "Mammals"--this last section provides 
references to studies on the contribution of road salt to road kill of 
mammalian species (beginning on page 130 of the PDF file).

See also:
Environmental Impacts of Road Salt and Alternatives in the New York City 
Watershed; Stormwater: Journal of Surface Water Quality Professionals
http://www.forester.net/sw_0107_environmental.html

Beyond any potential impact of road salting practices, for long-term 
reduction of road kill, your clients may simply want to consider statistics 
on which species account for the highest percentage of road kill incidents, 
and perhaps even consider the locations where the highest number of vehicle 
collisions take place.  They might then consult with a wildlife biologist 
and take into account behavioral patterns of those particular species to 
try and come up with targeted prevention strategies.  (I suppose this boils 
down to "Why does this particular chicken cross the road and how can I 
encourage it not to?")

Hope this helps,
Joy Scrogum
Information Specialist
Illinois Waste Management and Research Center (www.wmrc.uiuc.edu)
Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (www.glrppr.org)
jscrogum@wmrc.uiuc.edu

At 06:21 PM 2/21/02 -0500, you wrote:
>I am preparing a pollution prevention plan for a local government to 
>satisfy a SEP issued by the US EPA.  The town has been told by the state 
>that it must have road kill incinerated.  It does not permit burial and 
>the state does not let municipal incinerators burn carcasses.  The annual 
>cost to the town is in excess of $30,000.  Because the State has lowered 
>payments to the town in this fiscal year due to declining tax revenues, 
>they just laid off a dispatcher at the police department.  Savings of this 
>money would allow them to re-institute this important position.  I know 
>that the National Laboratories all have programs to prevent road kill with 
>signage, lighting, fencing and other devices.  Is anyone familiar with any 
>studies aimed at preventing general road kill?  There is a restaurant at 
>Moosehead Lake called the "Road Kill Cafe."  Most of the people that go in 
>there only buy the tee shirts but do not enjoy eating there!  But then, 
>this is not really prevention.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>Bob
>
>Dr. Robert B. Pojasek
>Pojasek & Associates
>PO Box 1333
>E. Arlington, MA 02474-0071
>(v) 781-641-2422
>(f)  781-465-6006
>
>
>http://www.Pojasek-Associates.com
>rpojasek@sprynet.com
>
>