Highway Monitoring 

Since Spring of 2020, the team at Yellowstone Safe Passages has been monitoring Highway 89 with ArcGIS software and via game-trail cameras set up at unique locations near the highway. One of our staff members performs weekly surveys of the entire stretch of highway between Livingston and Gardiner, collecting data points where animal carcasses are observed on the shoulder of the road.

Our citizen science program is a standardized data collection system being implemented by locals right here in the community! By recording both live and road-killed animals we can better understand how wildlife are moving along the road corridor and identify the highest risk areas for wildlife-vehicle collisions. This system, called ROaDS (The Roadkill Observation and Data System), provides critical information for decision-makers to most effectively develop solutions to make roads safer for people and wildlife!