1. RoadWatchBC: Citizen Science Supports Solutions
- I’ve been a wildlife advocate all my life; I am passionate about changing the way humans relate to other species. In BC there are ~25,000 or more animals killed every year on the roads, and those are just the ones that are big enough to be reported. That is not okay with me, and I presume it is not okay with you.
- I’m going to tell you about a citizen science project. Why? Because I want to convince you that citizen science is useful and valuable, and so are conservation organizations.

2. The Place: Southern Rocky Mountains, British Columbia (north of the US Northern Rockies)

4. All the pre-contact species, except caribou
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

5. The Problem: Landscape-level fracture zone
Towns, roads, railroad, recreation
Highway 3: 9,000 vehicle trips/day
Some Underlying Problem(s):
Inadequate data
Agency and stakeholder silos
Public disengagement
Existing datasets may be under-reporting Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions by up to 75%

6. The partnership Workshop in 2008, report in 2010, Next Steps workshop
Priority: learn where the corridors and crash zones are:
What lands to conserve
Where and how to mitigate for connectivity
Overlaps of these
Complement BC Ministry of Transportation roadkill data, understand crossing success: “Dead or Alive”

8. Program Goals:
1. Improve safe passage of wildlife and motorists along highways in the Elk Valley; and
2. Foster a community of concerned citizens that are knowledgeable and committed to developing solutions to advance highway safety for wildlife and people.
Important to engage people in being part of the solution: from regrettable inevitability to solvable social challenge
Advocacy strategy: engaged people take action and encourage change

9. A real app, GPS –based, captures data where you input it, whether or not you are in range
Web-based tool if you are driving alone, you can input data later
See-it-log-it, and/or drive regular transect

10. Here are some common

11. So far, so good! Three-year project, launched in June 2016
Film showings, presentations to service clubs, local governments, organizations
Also supported by Teck Coal, large operation in the valley and large workforce, safety and goodwill
Target is 150 participants during three-year time frame, in first nine months (June-Feb) we’ve got 79
724 sightings logged so far
Less luck with transects but will have summer student

13. The Future
More emphasis on building social capital among participants (BBQs, gatherings)
Building out in other regions:
Northern BC (2018): resource roads and highways
Northern Idaho (Idaho Fish & Game six-month pilot underway)
Other highways in southeast BC
Lots of interest including internationally

14. Thank you!