Abstract

Road mitigation measures serve three general objectives:
A. To reduce the risk of traffic mortality of wildlife and to increase traffic safety for drivers;
B. To improve the permeability of the highway, i.e. to increase access to habitats on either side of the highway for animals of all species;
C. To maintain connectivity of ecological processes across the road and provide for the long‐term persistence of wildlife populations in the area.
This research project has three main objectives:
(1) To characterize the locations and rates of vehicle collisions with medium‐sized and small mammals and to evaluate the changes in the frequency of highway‐related mortality due to the mitigation measures;
(2) To determine the performance of the five types of wildlife passages for medium‐sized and small mammals;
(3) To assess how well the mitigation measures provide for the permeability of the highway for
individuals and for gene flow across the road, with a focus on American marten.