By Lisa Schick

Road kill on the rise

Apr 7, 2011 | 12:24 PM

Deer are leaving the forests and wandering into danger on Highway 11.

Increased numbers of deer are appearing near the highway between Prince Albert and Saskatoon, which leads to increased wildlife collisions.

Gary Provencher, a conservation officer with the Ministry of Environment said they’ve been getting calls from travellers on Highway 11 about more deer being close to the highway than is usual for this time of year.

The harsh winter and the extreme snowfall Saskatchewan had is partly to blame for the deer coming out of the trees, Provencher said.

“With the winter we’ve had there’s just more accumulations of deer and (that’s) been especially more noticeable along the highways.”

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The clearing activities during construction to twin the highway have also served to bring the deer closer to the roadways.

“It’s cleared off some areas that had been forested before and now the deer have more access to old grass in those areas and also some of the treetops that weren’t mulched up … so people are seeing more deer out than usual,” Provencher said.

There will be more vehicle accidents involving deer because of the concentrations of the animal near roads, he said.

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation wants to stop that from happening, they sponsor the “slow down, save a buck” public awareness program with SGI.

“It’s more a matter of getting people to take a little extra time and be aware that those situations might present themselves out on the highways and slow down a little bit or at least be a little more proactive and watch out for those kinds of things as they might develop,” said Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.

Drivers need to be most careful in low light conditions, such as dawn and dusk, when animals tend to move around most.

Crabbe said deer are attracted to the roadways anyway but the large amount of snow in the forests makes the clearings near highways even more attractive.

Crabbe drove the highway recently himself and said he saw a lot of deer and carcasses around the highway, but he also said a lot of the carcasses could be there from the high collision seasons, November and January and are just now being uncovered by the thaw.

The Sask. Wildlife Federation’s main focus is to create public awareness to keep everyone, people and animals alike, safe on the highways, “no one wants to hit any wildlife,” said Crabbe.

When wildlife are hit on the roads the Ministry of Highways maintenance crews will either remove the carcass to a landfill or move to the side of the road until it can be more readily dealt with.

Dan Palmer, spokesman for the Ministry of Highways, said the ministry is keeping an eye on the highway and will create more wildlife signage if the situation makes it necessary.

If you do hit a deer on the highway call the Ministry of Environment tip line (1-800-667-7561) to report it and they will contact a conservation officer to handle the report.

lschick@panow.com