Project Details

The report summarizes research conducted along U.S. Highway 64 and U.S. Highway 264 in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Dare County, North Carolina.  The study site included the areas adjacent to U.S. 64 from the Alligator River Bridge to the U.S. 64/U.S. 264 intersection and from Cub Road to Borrow Pit Road on U.S. 64.  The reports evaluates potential effects of the road improvement project on the black bear population, delineates significant wildlife crossing areas and provides data on movement patterns and population dynamics of black bears on the refuge.  The primary focus of the research was to identify sites along U.S. 64, frequently used by black bears and white-tailed deer as potential sites for wildlife crossing structures. ​

The study evaluated the current wildlife use patterns surrounding the highway adn the potential short- and long- term effects of the expansion project on the entire wildlife occupying the areas directly adjacent to U.S. 64.  The researchers employed a variety of research methods including; roadside barbed wire hair collection, GPS collar deployments, remote camera trapping, road kill surveys and driving surveys.