Tasmanian Local Government is set to spearhead a campaign to reduce the State’s roadkill.
Evan Boardman, Environment Resources Officer with the Local Government Association of Tasmania, said Councils as road managers are required to collect dead animals from the roads. As such they are ideally situated to collect statistics as a first step towards reducing animal losses.
He said apart from the loss of biodiversity, roadkill also harms tourism by creating a poor image, epitomised in a mainland newspaper headline referring to the state as ‘the furry roadkill capital of the south’.
In the past 10 years, it has also cost over $20 million in road deaths and injuries.
“The high incidence of roadkill in Tasmania is largely a result of there being a lot more wildlife in Tasmania, and more vegetation close to the road,” he said.
“It has also been more evident during Tasmania’s prolonged drought.
“By collecting statistics and ascertaining where and when most incidences of roadkill occur it will be possible to redesign roads and roadsides to mitigate losses.”
The Roadkill Collective, a coalition of government and other interested bodies, held a second seminar in April to develop strategies to tackle the problem.
A Roadkill Survey designed by Hobart City Council’s Bushland Manager, Rob Mather, was presented at the seminar. This will greatly help the campaign.
The survey kit is designed for use by either volunteer or Council staff to collect and record roadkill data.
Once gathered, the data will then be entered into a GIS system which will allow analysis to determine roadkill blackspots and action to eliminate causes.
This might include tunnels, ramps and other escape routes, speed humps, traffic calming and fences.
Rob Mather said Hobart is planning to launch its campaign on World Environment Day on 5 June using volunteers to collect the data.
“This way we involve the community and it is also a way of getting information back out to the community,” he said.
The survey has already been adapted by Kingborough Council, which is using Council roadcrews to collect data.
For further information contact Rob Mather, telephone (03) 6238 2855.
