Wyoming drivers are involved in more than 6,000 wildlife collisions on state roadways every year, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). State Farm Insurance calculated that the odds of a Wyoming driver being involved in a collision with a deer are close to double the national average.
Motorists who hit a deer can’t just load it into the back of their truck and take it home; in the approximately 30 states that allow roadkill salvage, drivers must contact their state wildlife department to get permission to remove the carcass.
In Wyoming, a 511 app now streamlines that process.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation’s 511 app now has a feature that walks users through the process of applying to the Department of Game and Fish to claim and collect roadkill. From the app’s menu, users select the species – from antelope and deer to moose, mountain lion, wild turkey to wolf – indicate whether the carcass is blocking traffic and if they’d like to collect it. If they just want to report the carcass, the information is then submitted to the WDOT and WGFD, which will use the data to identify areas where species of wildlife are commonly hit.
Users who do want to collect the roadkill, are asked to register with WGFD. Those that have previously purchased hunting or fishing licenses will already be in the database and confirm their accounts. New users sign up with their name, address and contact info.
Once the information has been submitted and users verify that they believe the animal was killed in a vehicle accident, they are granted permission to collect the carcass, so long as the animal is collected during daylight hours and not lying along the side of an active highway, among other safety rules.
Cell phone coverage is not required to make the new app work.
Integrating roadkill authorization into DOT’s app seemed like a natural fit, officials said, given the app’s existing location data infrastructure.
“We’re grateful to be able to work with WYDOT to integrate the roadkill collection authorization into their already well-known and highly-utilized 511 app that many are already familiar with and have installed on their devices,”
WGFD Director Brian Nesvik said.
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