Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Moose Highway Crossings in the BuffaloFork Valley, Wyoming

The purpose of this study was to provide the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) with information that could be used to assess the importance of habitat, landscape, and anthropogenic features that are essential determinants in evaluating moose crossing locations in northwest Wyoming. Approximately 30 moose were captured, tranquilized, and collared using global positioning system (GPS) collars. The collars were programmed to provide a fix every hour from 15 November to 15 June, and every five hours from 16 June to 14 November. The results of this study demonstrated that models developed to assess adult female moose winter habitat selection could be used at a finer spatial scale to accurately identify areas where moose are most likely to cross U.S. Highway 26/287 in the Buffalo Valley. The moose crossing events were not randomly distributed, but occurred at predictable locations that could be estimated by examining winter habitat selection parameters that contained an abundance of forage provided by aspen and willow-dominated, riparian habitats, on either side of the road.