Projects and Issues

Technology tragedy

Technology drives our lives. From computers, to communications, to the vehicles we drive, to health care, and the food we consume; our lives are evolving with technological advances. While these changes overall have positive results they often bring unintended consequences. Such is the case with the de-icing solution the Montana Department of Transportation (DOT) uses on Montana highways following winter storms.

 This solution is a clear technological advancement over the sand and salt combinations of the past and has made driving safer. However, we are finding an unintended consequence – wildlife is attracted to the highway by the chemicals in the solution. For bighorn sheep the attraction sometimes turns into an addiction, especially for a herd near Anaconda.

 You may remember in the past several years the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) with the support of our Anaconda Sportsmen’s Club affiliate and other conservation organizations such as the Wild Sheep Foundation and Five Valleys Land Trust have purchased several adjoining parcels five miles west of Anaconda. This area is known as the Blue-eyed Nellie Wildlife Management Area. In January, FWP completed the purchase of 30 acres that solidified the block.  Together these parcels provide critical winter range for bighorns as well as a natural wildlife corridor between the Pintler and Flint mountain ranges.

 Montana State Highway 1, which links Anaconda to Phillipsburg, passes through this corridor. Winter storms are frequent and DOT keeps the road safe in part by using their liquid solution to melt ice which is prevalent in the section of road that passes along the FWP wildlife management area. For the past several years bighorn sheep have been congregating on the roadway to lick the tasty solution from the pavement. If the road is dry they do their best to consume what has washed onto the shoulder of the road. While the sheep are busy getting their fix they are oblivious to highway traffic. It is common to see 30 or more bighorn virtually shoulder to shoulder blocking traffic.

 FWP has installed a large electronic sign at both ends of the roadway frequented by the sheep in an effort to alert motorists. It is impossible to know how many collisions have been avoided because of the sign but there have been several collisions with fatal results for the sheep, most recently seven rams and one ewe were killed in one collision. Fortunately the injuries to motorists have been minimal. Earlier this fall three separate incidents were lethal to three adult rams. This is sheep Hunting District 213 where FWP allowed the drawing of eight either sex and 20 ewe permits for the 2009 season. In the past the highway mortality has not necessarily affected the viability of the herd but it is needlessly removing some spectacular animals.  It is also reducing hunting opportunities. Until spring population counts are performed we won’t know the impacts to the herd from the winter of 2009 or if there will be changes in the permit quota for 2010.

 FWP, DOT, and conservationists have been searching for a solution - to the solution problem. The problem is not limited to Anaconda. Similar fatalities have occurred in the Thompson Falls area. Sheep on roadways in the Bitterroot and Bonner area were becoming an issue, however, both of those herds are dealing with a fatal pneumonia outbreak that is reducing populations and this may be reducing animal-vehicle conflicts. FWP has also documented that both species of deer are attracted by the solution and there is concern that additional species will be lured in by the chemicals.

 A common thought to this issue is – if wildlife is attracted by the minerals in the solution and we satisfy that need – then perhaps the animals won’t come to the road. There has been some limited research with placing a salt block in a location isolated away from the road. The result has been that many sheep used the salt block, perhaps too many. There was no noticeable decline in activity on the road and attracting or concentrating animals to a common feed source significantly increased a secondary, unintended risk, the risk of disease transmission. The concentration of sheep created a much greater threat to the animals than the highway – the salt blocks could act as a disease vector -  a secondary risk more substantial than the primary issue. Deer Lodge County officials believe they may have a solution to the Anaconda- bighorn problem. The county has agreed to take responsibility for sanding the several miles of Highway 1 that passes along the primary sheep range and DOT will not use the solution in this area. This may work once the residual chemicals on the road shoulder become inaccessible to the sheep or it is completely washed away. Unfortunately, this is not a fix that can be applied across the state and eventually Montana needs to address the issues.

 Of course DOT could decide to go back to using sanding only but the odds of that happening are probably worse than the odds of getting men to watch TV without a remote control. 

 Once technology moves us forward, it’s hard to go back. In this case, we now need to look for technology to help and take the next step. Perhaps we can find an additional additive which will repel wildlife or we could identify the chemicals in the solution which attract wildlife and eliminate them or find substitutes. Whatever we do the result must be effective and affordable; many lives are at stake, people and a premier wildlife specie.