Dubois U.S. HWY 26/287 Project
The Wind River to Grand Tetons – Connecting Wildlife on the Togwotee Trail
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) invite interested citizens to attend a public meeting as the final mitigation strategy is presented concerning wildlife/vehicle collisions along U.S. 26/287 east and west of Dubois.
Public Meeting- U.S. HWY 26/287 Project update
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) invite interested citizens to attend a public meeting to discuss updates on the U.S. Highway 26/287 mitigation plan and timeline to address wildlife/vehicle collisions east and west of Dubois.
The public meeting begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at the Dennison Lodge, 909 W Ramshorn, Dubois.
“The focus of this meeting is to re-acquaint the public on the mitigation strategy put in place to address the hundreds of wildlife/vehicle collisions documented on Highway 26 in the Dubois area,” said Wyoming Game and Fish Department Lander Region Wildlife Management Coordinator Daryl Lutz.
“The mitigation plan and effort in this area was launched in response to the numerous wildlife/vehicle collisions and citizen requests to address them along this stretch of highway,”
Lutz said. “Highway 26 is now the top priority for the two agencies to secure the needed funding and to begin work in the next few years. We will lay out a tentative timeline and strategy to secure funding and implement the project for these wildlife crossings – specifically, segment six, where three underpasses and one overpass will be constructed.”
For more information, contact Lutz at (307) 335-2616 or WYDOT District 5 Construction Engineer Randy Merritt at (307) 568-3400.
The Wind River to Grand Tetons – Connecting Wildlife on the Togwotee Trail
The U.S. 26/287 study area includes eight mitigation segments, east and west of Dubois.
From 2015 through 2019, wildlife/vehicle collisions accounted for 74 percent of all vehicle crashes between mileposts 48-73 on U.S. 26/287. Each year, on average, 28 reported wildlife-vehicle crashes are reported to law enforcement, and an additional 131 recorded animal carcasses are removed from this section of roadway. The annual cost of these collisions is estimated at $791,400, including property damage, accident response, cleanup costs, and the value of the wildlife killed in the crashes. Consequently, this stretch of highway is one of the most dangerous and costly in the state regarding wildlife/vehicle collision risk. It has been identified as a top priority in the Wildlife and Roadways Initiative.
To evaluate the collision-reduction possibilities on this stretch of highway, Julia Kintsch from ECO-resolutions, LLC, was hired as a consultant. Kintsch has 15 years of experience helping wildlife and transportation agencies mitigate wildlife movement. Kintsch will present the final mitigation strategy developed by the project partnership.
"Funding for these wildlife-crossing mitigation strategies will be actively pursued in the future," said Wyoming Game and Fish Department Lander Region Wildlife Management Coordinator Daryl Lutz. "The mitigation plan and effort in this area was launched in response to the numerous wildlife/vehicle collisions and citizen requests to address them along this stretch of highway. The mitigation strategy will be used for project fundraising and implementation.”
For information about the meeting or the project, please get in touch with Daryl Lutz at (307) 335-2616 or Randy Merritt (WYDOT) at (307) 568-3400.
Explore the Project
Explore the project with an interactive, online storyboard.
Current Project: U.S. Highway 26/287 Dubois, Wyoming
Wildlife and Roadways Initiative Background
Much work has been undertaken in Wyoming to re-establish or maintain wildlife movement corridors and to minimize wildlife-vehicle collisions. WYDOT and WGFD jointly hosted the "Wyoming's Wildlife and Roadways Summit" to focus on migrating and wintering wildlife, wildlife-vehicle collisions, and motorist safety. This event was a unique opportunity to come together to actively address these critical issues and identify opportunities to mitigate these conflicts.