Shocking development in moose mitigation
Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — Crosswalks similar to those used in school zones, complete with flashing lights and a warning that a moose is crossing the road.
Electronic mats built into roads that shock moose if they step on them.
Groomed trails leading to feedlots well off the road.
Those are just some of the techniques the Alaska Moose Federation is promoting to help keep moose off Alaska roads.
As AMF president Gary Olson so eloquently put it, “Everybody loves moose and they taste a lot better when they’re not marinated with anti-freeze.”
Olson, the head of the nonprofit organization that is trying to reduce the number of moose vs. vehicle collisions in Alaska, met with officials with the Department of Transportation in Fairbanks on Monday to talk about what can be done north of the Alaska Range to achieve that goal. Olson explained what his organization is doing in Southcentral Alaska and he hopes to duplicate some of those same efforts in the Interior.
“A moose crossing the road ... we’ve got to do it better,” Olson told a small gathering at the Department of Transportation on Peger Road that included officials from DOT and the Department of Fish and Game. “We need to start looking at some of these new technologies.”
A record six people, including two in the Fairbanks area, died in collisions with moose in Alaska in 2007, Olson said. The fatalities have prompted more action by state officials, including Gov. Sarah Palin, a big fan of the work the AMF is doing, Olson said.
While most of the federation’s efforts have focused on Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley and the Kenai Peninsula, where the majority of the state’s traffic is centered and where the majority of the moose are hit, the group is ready to go to work in the Interior, Olson said.
For the past two years, the AMF has been grooming trails along a 30-mile stretch of the Parks Highway from Willow to Trapper Creek in an attempt to keep moose away from the road. The organization uses Sno Cats — all of which have been donated — to groom trails that are designed to keep moose off the road and lead them to areas of downed birch trees that have been cut to create a browsing area.
“The intent is to encourage moose to live back in the woods and the browse is to hold them there,” Olson said. “It’s amazing at how quickly those moose take to these trails we make.”
The AMF is working closely with the departments of fish and game, transportation and natural resources in Southcentral, Olson said. He would like to see similar partnerships with agencies and communities north of the Alaska Range.
Whether similar strategy would work in the more wide open Interior is questionable, according to Howard Thies, DOT’s maintenance and operations chief for the northern region. Neither traffic or moose are as concentrated in the Interior as they are in Southcentral, he said, where there are several known corridors that moose travel along.
The only moose mitigation in the northern region the DOT currently does is mowing brush along the sides of roads in the spring and fall to help decrease roadside browse and increase visibility. Road signs are also put up at known moose crossings, Thies said.
But the northern region would be more than happy to work with the AMF on different mitigation efforts if there is money to do so, he said.
“If there’s dollars to make it happen, you bet,” Thies said.
Another new technology being employed in some parts of the country are electronic mats that shock moose when they step on them. The mats can be built into roads at strategic points to keep moose from crossing the road or steer them to a safer crossing.
The Wasilla airport installed an electronic mat at the entrance to the airport four years ago to keep moose out of the fenced-in facility, a common occurrence prior to the installation of the mat.
“In four years, there’s only been one moose come in, and that was a calf that jumped it and the cow wouldn’t go get it,” Olson said, adding that the mats won’t shock humans as long as they’re wearing shoes.
Electronic moose mats also were recently installed at the entrance to Fort Greely in Delta Junction and are being studied at the Kenai Moose Research Center, he said.
The Department of Transportation is currently studying the use of electronic moose mats, according to Clint Adler, chief of research for the department’s research and technology transfer division based in Fairbanks. One of the reasons the state is interested in the electronic mats is that they are much cheaper than building overpasses or underpasses.
“This is a heck of a lot cheaper than building a bridge,” Adler said of the mats. “It would cost millions to build (overpasses) and it only costs thousands for an electronic mat.”
“We can treat a lot more moose crossings that way than we can building overpasses,” he said.
Some states also have started using wildlife crosswalks, Olson said. Fences are used to steer wildlife to a designated crossing where cameras detect their presence and trigger a flashing warning sign to oncoming motorists that an animal is preparing to cross the road.
“In essence you have a school zone where it puts the responsibility on the driver to slow down,” Olson said.
The sooner the state takes action to keep moose off the roads, the better it will be for drivers and moose, he said.
“Moose aren’t getting any smaller, but cars are,” Olson said, alluding to high gas prices that have prompted people to trade in their SUVs for smaller, more fuel efficient cars. “The severity of collisions is going to go up.”
Contact staff writer Tim Mowry at 459-7587.
Community Discussion
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And, uh, the obvious question is, "Why did the moose cross the road?"
to get to the other side?
Maybe they are on to something here! I do not see alot of money for projects, but if they can get it...heck, go for it!!
I sure hope we're on to something. The last 8 yrs, I have run into the moose from HELL. 37 yrs. in Alaska. 29yrs. Moose would leave me alone long as I left them alone. Not any more. City Moose are mugger moose. BEWARE.
It's about time, moose like roads because of the lack of snow and like to eat the nice willow saplings that grow real thick where the sides of the roads get cut back, unintentionally making excellent moose habitat.
(Of course nobody counts the moose killed by vehicles, because that would mean wolves don't kill as many moose as certain people WANT them to kill so they can, in turn, slaughter wolves for fun/profit.)
How exactly does an electric moose pad work under six inches of packed snow? and what is the electric bill going to be to keep those things running 24/7?
I want more moose and less wrecks like everyone, but wouldn't it be easier to create 10ft snow banks along Chena Hot Springs Road/Farmers Loop/Etc? or maybe plant something there that the moose would rather avoid~
Oh I can just see it now...
Ticked off moose because they just got their foot zapped! Or a bunch of drunk teenagers out partying, take off their shoes just to 'see if the moose shock pads really work'!
Why did the drunken redneck cross the road?
He mistook the moose for his horse.
Weeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!
Big Earmark from Yon Dung for Hiway cultivation.
Huge salary boost for Volunteer coordinator.
Chamber Membership
Moose Membership
April Fool on Christmas Eve.
Always trying to build a better Moose trap
What about recordings of wolves howling, that would work ya think?
???
Oddly amusing read.
And how many deaths from people hitting people? How about shocking drunks and reckless drivers? Naw that might be inhumane.
I am sure rifle's going off as we drive by will warm everyone's holiday spirit :D
But what about when I let my little girl on the side of the road because she feels nature's call?
The moose crossed the road to get to the dumpster behind the Big I,to have a moosecavich snort.
He had to cross the road because he was too drunk to drive. Hey... that means a moose is smarter than the UAF Asst A.D. Bada Bink Baby!!!
How about Alaskans learn to drive?
Compared to deer in places I've lived in the lower 48, the moose situation in Alaska is nothing. They're big, dark, and usually slow. If you're used to driving with enough caution and alertness to avoid fast, hard-to-see whitetail deer, avoiding moose is no problem.
I'd say at least 70% of the drivers I see in moose-heavy areas are driving like idiots... going too fast, tailgating, etc. If you're going 70mph up the Richardson around Delta at 1am, and there's a collision, I'm going to primarily feel sorry for the moose.
While I do agree that something needs to be done to mitigate the moose risk, I think Setec's idea that Alaskans learn to simply deal with the situation to be the best alternative. The ideas / plans listed above in the article do not seem well thought out.
1.) Are we going to have a moose crossing sign every 100 meters along the sides of major highways, and if so, when will they begin flashing....does the moose have to press the button?
2.) Electronic mats pose two problems. The first being that the mats would effectively cut off migration routes and isolate moose to certain areas of the state. Secondly, who will pay for the power generation?
3.)Will these feedlots be open to hunters?
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