Research indicates as many as 2 million vehicles collide with large wildlife in the United States each year, resulting in as many as 200 human deaths, more than 26,000 injuries and billions of dollars in property damage.

Officials in Michigan hope to join other states in finding creative ways to address the problem.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Amanda Novak, a resource specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation, talks about her work in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to study these collisions and ways to create safer crossings.

Environment America reports that a survey of Americans about their views on wildlife crossings found that nearly 90 percent of them support the concept. 

Other relevant links:

https://www.pew.org/en/trust/archive/summer-2026/states-act-to-reduce-wildlife-collisions 

https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/wildlife-crossings   

Podcast Photo by Da-shika on Unsplash