Pronghorn Xing

Natural grasslands are among Canada’s most threatened ecosystems. Movement barriers are a serious threat. Barriers, like highways and fences can stop the movements of the only large migrating mammal left on the Great Plains: the Pronghorn. Highways are a triple-threat to Pronghorn. First, Pronghorn are killed and injured on roadways. Second, traffic scares Pronghorn, so they may not approach busy roads at all. Finally, many highways are fenced for cattle, which also stop Pronghorn from getting where they need to go.

One solution is to build wildlife crossing structures to allow wildlife like pronghorn to cross roads and prevent automobile collisions with wildlife. The Pronghorn Xing project is a collaboration of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), the Miistakis Institute, and Canadian Wildlife Federation to identify and promote locations along the Trans-Canada Highway between Brooks, AB and Swift Current, SK. We follow the Pronghorn Connectivity Action Plan, which used citizen science expert data to locate potential crossing locations. Our work considers wildlife movement, motorist safety, and land use to improve both wildlife movement and transportation. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to us at the CWF, ACA, or Miistakis Institute.

Our highway network is vast and amazing, connecting people and economies across this vast country. Years of research has shown that as much as we need maps to help us navigate our highway network, animals also struggle with our roads. But for wildlife, roads and highways are often barriers to movement, not pathways. CWF is proud to partner with the Alberta Conservation Association and Miistakis Institute on a new project to find solutions to help prairie wildlife navigate one of Canada's busiest highway, the TransCanada.

A road mitigation system includes overpasses and underpasses to facilitate crossing of wildlife and is connected by wildlife-exclusion fencing to keep traffic flowing freely and increase motorist and wildlife safety.