Wildlife watchers wanted
FALMOUTH, Maine — Maine Audubon is looking for volunteers to survey roads in Maine for signs of animal road crossings.
Now that the weather has warmed up, many animals are likely to be spotted on or near Maine roads as they move to find food and water, breed or disperse to new areas. Information collected by volunteers about where different animals attempt to cross roads and where collisions are frequent can reduce wildlife roadkill and improve safety for drivers.
Roadside observations can be submitted to Maine Audubon’s Wildlife Road Watch, a web-based map and database designed to record citizen scientists’ observations of roadside and road-killed wildlife. Volunteers should visit maineaudubon.org/wildlife-road-watch to register and start submitting observations.
“The observations contributed by Wildlife Road Watch volunteers provide a critical first step in identifying ways to reduce road-kill and increase safety for people and wildlife,” said Barbara Charry, Conservation Biologist/GIS Manager for Maine Audubon.
Contributed information is used by biologists with Maine Audubon, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Department of Transportation to help inform policy, management and financial investment decisions that will reduce habitat fragmentation and road risks to wildlife and people.
As habitats change due to a changing climate, wildlife movement becomes an important adaptation strategy and even more crucial to species survival. Plus, roads can have a big impact on endangered species by impeding movement and separating populations, as well as killing individuals from collisions. Unless changes are made, Maine Audubon biologists report that Blanding’s turtles and spotted turtles are at risk of becoming extinct in Maine due to road mortality.
Since the inception of the Wildlife Road Watch program in 2010, over 460 volunteers have reported over 4,800 wildlife observations of 130 different wildlife species, including reports of rare and endangered species.
To learn more about the program, contact Charry at Maine Audubon, 781-2330, extension 225, or bcharry@maineaudubon.org.
