The provincial government announced today it will spend $5 million for a series of initiatives hoped to reduce the number of moose-vehicle collisions in Newfoundland and Labrador.
According to a news release, it will include the launch of pilot projects involving wildlife fencing and wildlife detection systems, as well as the immediate enhancement of ongoing brush clearing and public awareness efforts.
Tom Hedderson, Minister of Transportation and Works, made the announcement today along with Environment Minister Ross Wiseman.
“The initiatives announced today are aimed at reducing the number of moose-vehicle collisions in this province and it is important for us to understand what works well here, in our environment,” Hedderson said. “Through real, on-the-ground examination of measures such as fencing and wildlife detection systems, we will build upon our existing body of knowledge, collecting valuable information to inform a long-term plan to deal with the serious issue of moose-vehicle collisions.”
The news release notes the pilot projects will occur on separate sections of the Trans-Canada Highway in different regions of the province and will comprise:
• Abουτ $2.5 million to install a 15-kilometre test section of wildlife fencing, which will include the practice known as “bouldering” (the strategic placement of an area of rock boulders) at fence termination points to deter moose from entering the fenced roadway;
• Installation of wildlife detection systems at separate locations using sensor technology and flashing warning lights for motorists, through an investment of approximately $600,000.
The locations of the pilot projects will be determined based on a review of existing moose-vehicle collision data. Tenders relating to the pilot projects will be issued within the next several weeks and the pilot projects will be activated by late summer or early fall.
Installation and monitoring of the projects will be done in consultation with experts from within government and the academic community locally, and in other jurisdictions.
Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones welcomed the changes saying even if the measures are being forced from the government on the eve of the provincial election.
“We presented petitions in the legislature and asked questions during debate as part of our own campaign to make the Dunderdale government take the issue of moose-vehicle accidents seriously,” Jones said. “But it was an uphill battle. It was obvious through the fall and spring sittings of the House that the government had no moose management plan, despite their promise almost two years ago to develop and implement one.”
Jones said all the measures announced today, including fencing and moose detection systems, were advocated by her party and the group Save Our People Action Committee (SOPAC) for the past two years.
“But there were some elements missing from the program announced today by the government,” Jones noted in a news release. “For instance, we would like to see a restructuring of the hunting zones in the province so that more licences are transferred from hard to access areas deep in the interior of the island to zones that are more accessible to hunters. We would like to see portability added to the licencing system so that people who cannot go into the woods to hunt can assign proxy hunters to catch their moose for them. We think there should be a full review conducted with the province’s outfitters to see how we can increase the number of non resident hunters in this province. And we would like to see a commercial component added so that more restaurants and grocery stores can offer fresh moose meat to their customers.”
The Department of Transportation and Works will also implement the new Collision Data Management System which will help record motor vehicle collision data, including moose-vehicle collisions, using Global Positioning System (GPS) co-ordinates.
Wisemen noted that, in addition, the number of moose licences was increased by 5,020 along with a one-week extension to the hunting season on the island portion of the province. This extension is in addition to the three-week extension announced in 2010.
“Our government increased the number of hunting licences in the province by more than 5,000, with the majority focused along the Trans Canada Highway and major trunk roads, in an attempt to counteract the number of moose-vehicle incidents that are occurring,” Wiseman said.
“While we have steadily increased the number of moose licences for the past six years, this is the largest yearly increase to date, as we work toward trying to address the moose-vehicle accident rate in the province.”
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