An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife

Concrete-lined water conveyance canals can be a significant source of mortality for ungulates and other wildlife, which can drown or become entrapped. Various types of wildlife escape structures have been deployed in canals with limited success. From 2011 to 2018, we used camera traps to monitor mul...

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Autores principales:	Gina E. Morimoto, Anae B. Otto, Laura L. Burkholder
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2021
Materias:	canal drowning entrapment escape ramp fawn mule deer odocoileus hemionus wildlife Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/2a64ca83ab1b4a06a4e51e12dc023c1d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:2a64ca83ab1b4a06a4e51e12dc023c1d2021-11-04T14:32:44ZAn innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife10.51492/cfwj.hwisi.72689-4203https://doaj.org/article/2a64ca83ab1b4a06a4e51e12dc023c1d2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2689-4203Concrete-lined water conveyance canals can be a significant source of mortality for ungulates and other wildlife, which can drown or become entrapped. Various types of wildlife escape structures have been deployed in canals with limited success. From 2011 to 2018, we used camera traps to monitor mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) use of three different temporary wildlife escape structure designs with the goal of developing an effective escape structure for fawns. We monitored three to five locations at a hydroelectric water conveyance canal, operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company in the foothills of Central California on the Sierra National Forest, in which trapped fawns had been detected previously during the maintenance period when the canal was dry. Mule deer activity and ramp use varied by year. During the monitoring period, deer were detected in the canal in all years except 2016 and 2017. Fawns and adults used the temporary escape structures to exit the canal in four of these years and 50% of mule deer detections showed ramp use overall. No deer were detected using the escape structures until jute netting and debris were added to the surface of the escape ramps in the third monitoring year. Prior to this modification, fawns were detected trapped in the canal investigating the ramps, but not using them to exit the canal. Deer may be more likely to utilize ramps covered with materials that mimic native ground cover. Seven other wildlife species were detected entering and exiting using the ramps with a general increase in use over years. Our temporary escape ramp design for small canals, when dry, appears to be novel and may be applicable in other areas. When compared to fencing or covering the canal, it is a relatively low-cost solution to reduce animal entrapment.Gina E. MorimotoAnae B. OttoLaura L. BurkholderCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlifearticlecanaldrowningentrapmentescape rampfawnmule deerodocoileus hemionuswildlifeScienceQENCalifornia Fish and Wildlife Journal, Vol 107, Iss 3, Pp 233-248 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	canal drowning entrapment escape ramp fawn mule deer odocoileus hemionus wildlife Science Q
spellingShingle	canal drowning entrapment escape ramp fawn mule deer odocoileus hemionus wildlife Science Q Gina E. Morimoto Anae B. Otto Laura L. Burkholder An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
description	Concrete-lined water conveyance canals can be a significant source of mortality for ungulates and other wildlife, which can drown or become entrapped. Various types of wildlife escape structures have been deployed in canals with limited success. From 2011 to 2018, we used camera traps to monitor mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) use of three different temporary wildlife escape structure designs with the goal of developing an effective escape structure for fawns. We monitored three to five locations at a hydroelectric water conveyance canal, operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company in the foothills of Central California on the Sierra National Forest, in which trapped fawns had been detected previously during the maintenance period when the canal was dry. Mule deer activity and ramp use varied by year. During the monitoring period, deer were detected in the canal in all years except 2016 and 2017. Fawns and adults used the temporary escape structures to exit the canal in four of these years and 50% of mule deer detections showed ramp use overall. No deer were detected using the escape structures until jute netting and debris were added to the surface of the escape ramps in the third monitoring year. Prior to this modification, fawns were detected trapped in the canal investigating the ramps, but not using them to exit the canal. Deer may be more likely to utilize ramps covered with materials that mimic native ground cover. Seven other wildlife species were detected entering and exiting using the ramps with a general increase in use over years. Our temporary escape ramp design for small canals, when dry, appears to be novel and may be applicable in other areas. When compared to fencing or covering the canal, it is a relatively low-cost solution to reduce animal entrapment.
format	article
author	Gina E. Morimoto Anae B. Otto Laura L. Burkholder
author_facet	Gina E. Morimoto Anae B. Otto Laura L. Burkholder
author_sort	Gina E. Morimoto
title	An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
title_short	An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
title_full	An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
title_fullStr	An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
title_full_unstemmed	An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
title_sort	innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife
publisher	California Department of Fish and Wildlife
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/2a64ca83ab1b4a06a4e51e12dc023c1d
work_keys_str_mv	AT ginaemorimoto aninnovativetemporaryescaperampfordeerandotherwildlife AT anaebotto aninnovativetemporaryescaperampfordeerandotherwildlife AT lauralburkholder aninnovativetemporaryescaperampfordeerandotherwildlife AT ginaemorimoto innovativetemporaryescaperampfordeerandotherwildlife AT anaebotto innovativetemporaryescaperampfordeerandotherwildlife AT lauralburkholder innovativetemporaryescaperampfordeerandotherwildlife
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An innovative temporary escape ramp for deer and other wildlife

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