Since Wyoming’s famous Grizzly 399 was struck and killed by a vehicle, there have been calls for lower speed limits, more wildlife safety fences near highways, and questions about whether her death was somehow preventable.

The short answer seems to be that the death of an animal, even one as beloved as 399 was, will not lead to any immediate change.

Instead, some officials told Cowboy State Daily that trying to stay ahead of the constant threat that trafficking poses to wildlife is a costly and ongoing effort.

“Our district traffic engineers are always studying traffic patterns and crash data to identify areas where speed limits may need to be adjusted,” Wyoming Department of Transportation spokesman Doug McGee said. “Speed ​​limit adjustments are a formal engineering process.

“A single wildlife-vehicle collision, even one as heartbreaking as this one, does not necessarily indicate the need for a speed limit adjustment,” he added.

The accident occurred outside most of the project areas

There have been numerous wildlife safety projects on highways adjacent to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in some of the richest areas in Wyoming, said Teton County Public Works Project Manager Chris Colligan.

The biggest current project is a system of overpasses, underpasses and fences between Jackson and Grand Teton National Park, where wildlife of all kinds is especially abundant, he said.

However, in recent years, the Grizzly 399 seemed to be further and further away, Colligan said. The site where she was hit is along Highway 26/89 in the Snake River Canyon in Lincoln County, south of the park.

It was about south of where Grizzly 399 was known to have gone, he said.

Additional wildlife measures there “are not such a priority area, because of the challenges with the canyon,” he said, adding that in the past, (Grizzly 399) “we’ve used some of the areas where we’ve had pass-through or pass-through projects . “

Would a lower speed limit help?

The speed limit is 55 mph where Grizzly 399 was hit. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office reported that the driver of the vehicle that hit there was not speeding, distracted or otherwise doing anything wrong.

Even so, some have questioned whether a lower speed limit there could have prevented the accident in the first place.

Not likely, officials said.

In fact, lowering speed limits can actually make things worse.

“Although it may seem counterintuitive, lower speed limits do not always make drivers safer,” McGee said. “Speed ​​differences between vehicles often lead to additional accidents and injuries.”

Federal bear biologist Frank van Manen said changing speed limits can produce mixed results when it comes to wildlife safety.

“In general, higher traffic speeds tend to be correlated with a higher risk of wildlife-vehicle collisions because both the driver and the animal have less time to react and avoid a collision,” said van Manen , the wildlife surveillance biologist for US Geological. The survey’s interagency grizzly bear study team. “However, studies have shown that simply reducing the speed limit may not be effective,”

It won’t work if everyone doesn’t follow the rules, he said.

“Speed ​​limits are usually set to match the structural design of the roadway,” van Manen said. “If speed limits are reduced far below this design, something called ‘speed dispersion’ occurs, where some drivers stay within the speed limit while others drive at the higher design speed of the roadway.

“This can actually increase the risk of collisions with wildlife.”

Infrastructure helps

Tracking animal movements helps determine where fencing, wildlife crossings and other infrastructure are needed, Colligan said.

However, increasing wildlife and driver safety isn’t as simple as just putting up fences here and there, McGee said.

“Although it may seem simple, the goal of a wildlife fence design is to use the fence to channel wildlife into a safe passage location, which generally includes a wildlife-friendly underpass or overpass” , he said. “The location of this event would include a number of engineering complications for each type of crossing. Funding for wildlife crossings is limited and those structures are extremely expensive.”

Federal funding helps with costs, van Manen said.

Wyoming took advantage of $350 million in federal wildlife transition money available through 2023.

However, grants from that pool of money frequently require matching funds, either through state or local governments or private donations. And even a single project can be extremely expensive.

Earlier this year, $2.7 million in donations enabled supporters of the proposed wildlife crossing near Dubois to secure federal grants for the balance of the project’s estimated $28 million price tag.

Construction is scheduled to begin there in 2027.

That fits the typical timeline of major wildlife crossings, “five or more years,” van Manen said.

A risky lifestyle

Grizzly 399, Grizzly 104 and other female bears have gained fame by raising cubs near roadsides.

That’s because mother bears have learned that crowded areas can help keep them safe from large male grizzlies. Male grizzlies have been known to kill cubs that are not theirs.

Having highly visible grizzlies around has its benefits, van Manen said.

“The ability to safely view bears from a vehicle or road is greatly appreciated by many visitors to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and for many it is a memory of a lifetime,” he said. “That’s why bear 399 has become an ambassador for grizzly bear conservation in the GYE.

“Studies have shown that visitors would be willing to pay a higher entrance fee to national parks if bear sightings were guaranteed; bear viewing also contributes to local economies.”

The downside is that bears on the side of the road create situations where it takes more work and more personnel to keep them safe, van Manen said.

Within the confines of the national park, that worked well, he said.

Outside the parks, it’s a different story.

“However, where this is less feasible, it can create potentially dangerous situations, as we have seen on Togwotee Pass in recent years,” van Manen said.

Where Grizzly 399 was hit is not a hot spot for crowds hoping to see bears, he added. But her habit of partying on the side of the road made her lifestyle risky.

“The collision with vehicle 399 was not such a situation (as Togwotee Pass), but her habituation to human activities has placed her and many of her offspring in landscapes where mortality risks are higher,” said he.

Mark Heinz can be contacted at [email protected].