By Andru McCracken

A team from the Wildlife Collision Prevention Program is looking at how to prevent the meeting of man and moose on the highway.

Gayle Heffe, coordinator of the independent non-profit program, said that they are looking at simple solutions to save humans and wildlife from tragedy.

“There is a significant human cost, an economic cost and obviously a highly significant environmental cost,” said Heffe.

So her team will explore high collision areas between McBride and Prince George with the highways maintenance contractor and Ministry of Transportation officials.

The B.C. Conservation Foundation administers the program and they have a tonne of sponsors, affiliates and partners, including the Ministry of Environment, ICBC, BC Lottery, Northern Health Authority, Ministry of Transportation and UNBC.

Interestingly, it is independent of government and Heffe said it is unique in the province.

“We are pooling our resources to identifying stretches of highway and conducting site surveys to make recommendations,” she said.

She said some accident hot spots occur in muddy patches where salt rises to the surface and animals like to gather.

“Moose like these muck licks where salt accumulates through the soil. They can be deactivated. There could be better signage, and sometimes seasonal signage,” she said.

She said they would be looking at brush on the side of the road as a contributing factor.

“We’re not going to recommend expensive things like miles of fencing or overpasses, but there may be some cost effective solutions,” she said.

The group will publish their report on the area by the end of September.

The group has some interesting material on their website: www.wildlifecollisions.ca.

Here’s an extract:

What if a Crash is Inevitable?

In certain conditions, there is no real choice except to strike the animal. If it appears impossible to avoid the animal:

Aim for the spot the animal is coming from, not where it is going.

Look where you want to go, not at the animal. You tend to go where you look - if you are looking at the animal, that is where the vehicle tends to go.

If you must hit something, try for a glancing blow rather than a head-on hit.

Brake firmly and quickly, then look, and steer your vehicle to strike the animal at an angle.

Let up on the brake just before you hit the animal. This causes the front end of your vehicle to rise and reduces the chances of the animal coming through your windshield.