The Road Ecology Working Group (LPWFPP) is launching a new initiative this spring to help protect turtles and snakes from being hit by vehicles. The group, working in partnership with Norfolk County and landowners, is installing wildlife awareness signage at hotspots.
Hotspots mark a road stretch where recent and historical data have shown a higher than expected amount of road-kill. The objectives of the signage are many and primarily include:
- Reduce wildlife-vehicle road collisions;
- Reminding motorist to watch for wildlife in these locations and if safe to do so help animals cross the road;
- Mark the locations for planning for more permanent mitigation.
To reinforce the message, we are accompanying the sign strategy with a public and awareness campaign. This campaign includes radio announcements, newspaper articles, blog posts, social media posts etc.
Furthermore, we will be actively engaging the local community to help us implement a pilot project that we anticipate will provide them with the skills and training to help animals cross roads safely in the years to come.
Fortunately, turtles more so than snakes, move across roads in defined nesting migrations that occur in two main pulses, mid June (early nesters) and late June (late nesters). Therefore, we will be engaging interested volunteers to help patrol our defined hotspots in two one week periods in mid-June and late June.
Please subscribe to our network (Click here) to receive newsletter updates for sign-up and training materials in May 2022. Alternatively contact us by clicking here (Click here). We will be providing a powerpoint video, and one-on one training via zoom, email or phone on several occasions to get all participants trained and ready to go for on the ground implementation in June.
Come be a ‘Wildlife Roadie’
