NEVADA-LED TRANSPORTATION POOLED FUND 

STUDY SEEKS TO MITIGATE WILDLIFE-VEHICLE 

COLLISIONS AND IMPROVE DRIVER SAFETY

By Dara Burke and Tricia Sergeson January 2023

SUCCESS STORY

THE CHALLENGE

Wildlife-vehicle collisions have long posed a serious threat to highway safety. 

Researchers estimate that there are 2–3 million collisions involving large animals 

per year in the United States, costing victims and public agencies an estimated 

$10 billion annually.1

 In Nevada alone, there are an average of more than 500 

reported wildlife-related crashes and an estimated 5,000 animal mortalities, 

costing State residents more than $19 million each year.2

As climate change continues 

to threaten wildlife resiliency, 

measures must be taken to 

ensure animals can migrate 

for their survival. Collision 

mitigation measures will help to 

improve climate sustainability 

and simultaneously reduce 

crashes that can lead to 

property damage as well 

as driver injury and death 

throughout the country. 

Consideration of wildlife is 

increasingly becoming a 

part of the transportation 

planning process. Enhancing 

habitat connectivity is key to 

improving the safety of people 

and animals as well as saving 

taxpayer dollars.

The Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program 

provides an opportunity to collaborate with 

transportation stakeholders around the world 

to help solve transportation problems like 

wildlife-vehicle collisions. By pooling funds and 

expertise, transportation agencies are able to 

develop innovative solutions at a lower cost. 

Courtesy of NDOT Research Division. The figure above represents the annual average number of reported 

crashes with animals in U.S. regions and the societal cost of those crashes based on a census of all State 

departments of transportation in 2022 and Federal Highway Administration crash values.3

THE STUDY

Beginning in early 2017, the Nevada Department 

of Transportation (DOT) led a TPF study called 

“The Strategic Integration of Wildlife Mitigation 

into Transportation Procedures” (TPF-5(358)). 

The study learned from surveying partnering 

organizations and participating agencies 
January 2023

NEVADA-LED TRANSPORTATION POOLED FUND STUDY SEEKS TO 

MITIGATE WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISIONS AND IMPROVE DRIVER SAFETY

SUCCESS STORY

how wildlife concerns can be incorporated 

and addressed in the transportation planning 

process. Prior to initiating the study, a significant 

gap existed in guidance for considering wildlife 

issues during this process. 

A subtask of this TPF study included 

developing and testing several new designs for 

enhancing habitat connectivity to explore more 

cost-effective wildlife crossing technologies. 

Examples include animal detection systems 

(to warn drivers of nearby large animals), 

lighting systems, over and underpasses, 

jump-outs, and fiber-reinforced polymer 

crossing infrastructures. In order to determine 

priority locations, researchers identified species 

of particular conservation concern and the 

hot-spot areas where wildlife-vehicle collisions 

are most common.

THE SOLUTION

In order to help agencies implement these 

mitigation methods, the study’s technical 

advisory committee (TAC) members and 

research teams collaboratively developed 

a manual titled The Strategic Integration 

of Wildlife Mitigation into Transportation 

Procedures: a Manual for Agencies and 

Partners.

1

 TAC members included Parks 

Canada/Government of Canada, Ontario 

Ministry of Transportation, Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), ARC Solutions, and 

the DOTs of Alaska, Arizona, California, Iowa, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, 

Oregon, and Washington. The research teams 

included the Western Transportation Institute 

at Montana State University, U.S. Geological 

Survey, and an independent research team led by 

Dr. Patricia Cramer. Partner agencies leveraged 

their research funding for a total combined 

project budget of more than $1.2 million. The 

collective knowledge of the TAC combined with 

the increased budget expanded the scope of the 

project and maximized its impact.

Through the process of surveying transportation 

agencies across the United States and Canada, 

several themes were identified and used to 

formulate recommendations. The TPF study’s 

manual includes case studies for practitioners 

that illustrate how the guidelines can be

implemented and three main recommendations:

Courtesy of NDOT Research Division. One example of the researched wildlife 

crossing technologies in this TPF study includes an animal jump-out on U.S. 

Route 93 in Montana.
January 2023

NEVADA-LED TRANSPORTATION POOLED FUND STUDY SEEKS TO 

MITIGATE WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISIONS AND IMPROVE DRIVER SAFETY

SUCCESS STORY1. Wildlife needs to be considered in a 

transportation agency’s standardized 

procedures. 

2. Transportation agencies and metropolitan 

planning organizations should partner with 

outside agencies and others to plan, fund, 

and construct wildlife crossing technologies.

3. Transportation professionals need to 

be inspired to consider wildlife in their 

everyday actions. 

These three changes would help reduce 

wildlife-vehicle collisions and make roads safer. 

This manual enables transportation agencies 

to make research-based decisions for reducing 

wildlife-vehicle collisions in their jurisdiction.

THE VALUE

Beyond safety and money-saving benefits, 

the work of this TPF study will allow FHWA as 

well as other Federal and State transportation 

and wildlife agencies to establish guidance for 

joint action plans to address wildlife-vehicle 

collisions and improve habitat connectivity, a 

clear directive outlined by the recent Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law.4

Greater habitat connectivity through the use 

of wildlife crossing technologies reduces 

highway accidents, carcass removal costs, and 

carcass disposal-related employee injuries in a 

given location.5

 These wildlife-vehicle collision 

mitigation strategies ultimately improve highway 

safety and save lives and taxpayer money.

Courtesy of NDOT Research Division. This TPF study found that including wildlife crossing structures, like the one pictured here along I–80, in large construction 

projects early in planning maximizes their impact.
January 2023

NEVADA-LED TRANSPORTATION POOLED FUND STUDY SEEKS TO 

MITIGATE WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISIONS AND IMPROVE DRIVER SAFETY

SUCCESS STORY

For More Information,

on this TPF study, 

please contact:

Nova Simpson

nsimpson@dot.nv.gov

Daniel Buford 

daniel.buford@dot.gov

For more information,

see this TPF study’s web page for how 

agencies and partners can standardize wildlife 

considerations in transportation procedures, from 

planning and projects to everyday maintenance 

and operations.

REFERENCES

1. Cramer, P., J. Kintsch, J. Gagnon, N. Dodd, 

T. Brennan, L. Loftus-Otway, K. Andrews, 

P. Basting, L. Frazier, and L. Sielecki. 

2022. The Strategic Integration of Wildlife 

Mitigation into Transportation Procedures: 

A Manual for Agencies and Partners. 

Report No. 700-18-803C. Carson City, 

NV: Nevada Department of Transportation. 

https://static1.squarespace.com/

static/60baf2ed8791194056e335f8/t/63094a

9dc632184f87c55a25/1661553349966/700-

18-803+Final+Report+-+Manual.pdf, last 

accessed December 20, 2022.

2. Cramer, P., and C. Mcginty. 2018. Prioritization 

of Wildlife-Vehicle Conflicts in Nevada. Report 

No. 604-16-803. Carson City, NV: Nevada 

Department of Transportation. http://dx.doi.

org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34371.55846, last 

accessed August 2022. 

3. Transportation Pooled Fund. n.d. “Wildlife 

Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat 

Connectivity” (web page). https://www.

pooledfund.org/Details/Study/610, last 

accessed November 2022.

4. Wildlife-vehicle collision reduction and habitat 

connectivity improvement, U.S. Code 23

(2022), §172. https://uscode.house.gov/view.

xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title23-secti

on172&num=0&edition=prelim, last accessed 

August 2022.

5. Transportation Pooled Fund. n.d. “Wildlife 

Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat 

Connectivity” (web page). https://www.

pooledfund.org/Details/Study/610, last 

accessed November 2022.

Publication No.: FHWA-HRT-23-026

HRTM-10/01-23(Web)E

Recommended citation: Transportation 

Pooled Fund, TPF Success Story: 

Nevada DOT (Washington, DC: 2023) 

https://doi.org/10.21949/1521969