ASHEVILLE – Jennifer Pharr Davis was heading home on I-26 after having dinner with her parents in Hendersonville a little after 7 p.m. on October 26 when, just after passing under the Blue Ridge Parkway overpass, a 400-pound bear jumped “superman position” of the median just in front of his car.
“There was really no reaction time. … I hit him, and the airbags went off, and it was a big impact. I drive a Toyota Prius, and so hitting a really big bear at 60mph caused a lot of damage to the car,” she said. “My kids in the back start crying and asking what happened, and I’m just trying to get to a safe place on the freeway.”
The Prius was destroyed, but Davis and his children walked away without a scratch. As the founder of Blue Ridge Hiking Co. and an acclaimed hiker, hiker, and author, Davis’ mind quickly turned to the safety of animals who, like the bear she punched, attempt to traverse the I-26 near Blue Ridge Parkway and the French Broad River. The next day, she formed a petition titled “Safe Wildlife Passageway for I-26 Asheville” which pleads for the addition of wildlife crossings or other mitigation measures near where she crashed.
Word from the Smokies:The stage is set for wildlife upgrades on I-40
Lily:Word from the Smokies: Safe Passage host Jeff Hunter named Environmentalist of the Year
“[H]Crazy the trailer driver said this was the 5th black bear crash on this 26 stretch this week,” Davis wrote in the Change.org petition.
The petition had over 3,100 signatures by the evening of November 14.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation considered adding wildlife crossings to the I-26 project before construction began in 2019, according to NCDOT spokesman David Uchiyama. But after engineers studied crash data from 2009 to 2012, they decided the crossings wouldn’t significantly reduce the frequency of collisions, especially with the high number of bridges, culverts and other crossings available for wildlife already present in the stretch, he said.
“The study, commissioned by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, found that only 6% of all crashes were animal strikes (including deer). The data revealed no discernible pattern of strikes and no concentrated areas number of accidents along the 22.2-mile study corridor,” Uchiyama said in an email.
Now would be a great time to revise those plans and add wildlife crossing mitigation efforts like walkways or fencing, Davis said, because all construction equipment and crews are already on site. But it may not be so easy, said Jeff Hunter, director of southern Appalachia for the National Parks Conservation Association.
“In fact, the best time to put this would have been in the planning several years ago,” said Hunter, who was recently named Wildlife Conservationist of the Year at North Carolina’s Governor’s Conservation Awards. Wildlife Federation, in part for his years. long work helping to create safe crossings for wildlife.
“It’s a challenge, isn’t it? Because these agencies, with the way they work, make it difficult for them to respond in real time to these kinds of things, but I’m grateful that DOT has taken the issue of wildlife-vehicle collisions very seriously.” he declared.
After:Answer Woman: Is climate change preventing Asheville’s black bears from staying awake during hibernation?
It’s possible that conditions have changed since the NCDOT study because the black bear population in the area has been steadily growing, Hunter said, but without seeing the study itself, he said that he couldn’t speculate whether it was still accurate or not. The area in which Davis crashed, however, interested the Wildlands Network, which released a report in September of the 20 priority sites for wildlife crossings in North Carolina, according to Hunter.
“It didn’t make the top 20, but it ranked pretty high,” Hunter said of the I-26 stretch that includes the Blue Ridge Parkway overpass and the French Broad River bridge.
Information on car accidents involving animals is difficult to obtain. Hunter said his organization and Wildlands Network, which partners with his organization on a number of different projects, rely on research methods such as wildlife cameras and driving surveys to examine wildlife locations. ‘interest. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol has wildlife accident data, but that data is difficult to access and poorly organized.
“Our system would just show animal collisions for I-26. It doesn’t show any details regarding animal type or exact location other than the next closest road. And even then, you should remove each crash and remove it from the report itself,” Highway Patrol spokesman Rohn Silvers said in an email.
County Development:Nearly 125 townhouses approved for Weaverville, Arden
Popular place:DuPont State Recreational Forest Master Plan Advances as Visitation Increases
Pigeon River Gorge Passages
On one of the closest stretches of road identified by the Wildlands Network as a priority for wildlife crossings, NCDOT is working with a coalition of nonprofits to add wildlife crossings to bridges that the agency is modernizing.
However, there are significant differences between the plans for I-40 at Pigeon River Gorge and the improvements to I-26, Uchiyama said.
“One area is over 20 miles of widening through a mostly urban area, the other is replacing bridges across the sparsely populated Pigeon River Gorge,” he said. “Each of the bridge replacement projects along I-40 correlates with a high concentration of animal strikes, documented by environmental partners, and where natural mountain topography guides the animals.”
NCDOT worked with Safe Passage, a coalition of the Wildlands Network, North Carolina Wildlife Federation, National Parks Conservation Association, Great Smoky Mountains Association, Defenders of Wildlife, Conservation Fund and Wilderness Society, to develop passages for wildlife at five aging bridge sites.
One of these bridges, which crosses Harmon Den Road and Cold Spring Creek, was completed in May with the addition of wildlife crossings. On October 28, NCDOT began construction on the next site, two bridges over White Oak Road, which will also include wildlife crossings.
Past reports:Wildlife crossing under I-40 in Pigeon River Gorge, “great start” for bear and elk safety
Once all three bridges are completed, wildlife fencing will be added to all three locations, further pushing wildlife towards the crossings and away from oncoming traffic.
Hunter, who was recently named Conservationist of the Year by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation for his work on wildlife crossings on I-40 at Pigeon River Gorge, said data on the number of accidents avoided by these crossings will not be available until well after closing. is in place.
Animals need space to roam
According to Liz Hillard, senior wildlife biologist for the Appalachian region at Wildlands Network, the most obvious reason why wildlife crossings are important is that they protect animals from being hit by cars, but their benefit goes to the beyond saving the lives of animals that choose to cross. .
“A big thing people are looking at is that wildlife overpasses are going to reduce wildlife mortality along the roads. It happens. Second, they really contribute to the aspect of human security. With the elk population growing and moving on these roads, hitting a thousand-pound animal is a human safety risk,” she said.
An often overlooked aspect of wildlife strikes is the economic impact, Hillard said. When she hit a deer this summer, it caused $8,000 in damage to her car, but the costs can go beyond individuals. Wildlife strikes can also disrupt the flow of goods, especially along major transit corridors like I-40, she said.
From a conservation perspective, it’s not possible to simply block animals off the roads and expect them to be fine, Hillard said. The fragmentation of animal populations with impassable roads can prevent the exchange of genetic information, she said, which is essential for robust populations.
“Reducing mortality is important, but allowing our wildlife access to innate resources, overall, is where the big long-term win is,” she said.
Old life:Word from the Smokies: New issue of Smokies Life celebrates trees, their stories
Newsroom life:Bear, beer, watchdog, courtroom drama, pickleball: all in the day-to-day work of a newsroom
As climate change continues to alter animal habitats, the ability to move will become increasingly important for animals, Hunter said.
“Each species has different habitat needs, so if we can reconnect this fragmented landscape, it will give wildlife a chance to keep up with the climate,” he said. “We need to make these roads more permeable to wildlife. It’s really essential for the future of the critters that people here in southern Appalachia love.
Christian Smith is the general reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Questions or comments? Contact him at RCSmith@gannett.com or 828-274-2222.
#hitting #bear #I26 #Asheville #woman #asks #wildlife #crossings