How the NMDOT Wildlife Corridor Action Plan will affect Otero County

The New Mexico Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish have completed an initial draft of a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.

The plan is in compliance with the New Mexico Wildlife Corridors Act of 2019 and identifies high risk, or hotspot, areas where wildlife and vehicles collide.

Of the hotspot areas listed in the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan, four are on the Lincoln National Forest. The No. 1 spot listed for animal/vehicle collisions is on Highway 70 between Mescalero and Tularosa.

Vehicle wrecks involving elk are the second most prominent vehicle-to-animal wrecks in New Mexico with an average of 169 wrecks per year, the draft report states.

Between 2002 and 2019, there were 3,041 collisions between vehicles and elk, the draft report states.

"We have four of the top 10 hotspots for vehicle and animal collisions in the state. That is significant," Lincoln National Forest Wildlife Biologist Rhonda Stewart said. "The high number of accidents on Highway 70 and 82 shows we have heavy migration of megafauna, like elk and deer. These are areas we will be focusing on for future wildlife improvements to lower the accident rate."

The four hotspot areas in the Lincoln National Forest are on U.S. Highway 70 near Bent, U.S. Highway 70 and State Road 48 (Sudderth Drive) in Ruidoso, U.S. Highway 82 west of Cloudcroft and U.S. Highway 82 east of Cloudcroft.

The Wildlife Corridor Action Plan focused primarily on six large mammals including elk, deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, black bear and mountain lion with other sensitive species considered.

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The plan was developed in partnership with New Mexico Department of Game and Fish by national experts led by Daniel B. Stevens and Associates through a contract with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the news release states.

The team "used a science-driven approach to identify areas per the Act that 'pose a risk to successful wildlife migration or that pose a risk to the traveling public' and is based on NMDOT crash data and ecological information on wildlife movements," the news release states.

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For more information on the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan visit www.wildlifeactionplan.nmdotprojects.org or call New Mexico Department of Transportation Wildlife Coordinator at 505-470-3656.

Registration is open for two virtual meetings on the subject. The first virtual meeting is at 6 p.m. Feb. 1 and the second is at 6 p.m. Feb. 3.

Public comment on the proposed pla is open until March 12.

Comments can be submitted by phone at 505-470-3656, by email at Wildlife.Corridors@state.nm.us or by mail to Draft Wildlife Action Plan Attn: Matthew Haverland, 1120 Cerrillos Road, Rm 206, P.O. Box 1149, Santa Fe, NM 87505.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.