Hwy. 20 the most dangerous highway in Oregon for deer, elk

The length of Highway 20 between Bend and Suttle Lake is the most dangerous highway in Oregon for deer and elk. According to studies conducted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the 35 miles of single and double laned highway experiences between 350 to 600 mule deer and elk vehicular kills annually. The assessed expense associated with one killed mule deer is $17,000, and for elk it is $57,000. This expense in Oregon accrues into the tens of millions of dollars every year. In 2022, the expense was $91.7 million statewide.

In Sisters City Council's regular meeting, Jeremy Austin of Central Oregon Land Watch, member of the Bend 2 Suttle Lake (B2S) coalition, presented status updates on an active project. Austin shared that the project B2S Wildlife Passage Initiative will construct four priority wildlife overcrossings (out of 11 sites identified on this corridor) to be completed by 2030. Further details about this effort which began a few years ago, including 20 coalition partners (NPOs, Tribes, federal, state, and county agencies), and supporting information are available at http://www.bend2suttlelakepassage.org (also a source for statistics in this report).

Councilor Michael Preedin suggested, and Councilor Gary Ross agreed, that with the Warm Springs Tribes and Black Butte Ranch being listed as coalition partners, the City of Sisters may also like to join that coalition of support. It was decided to have a further conversation about the possibility.

The four wildlife bridges will be west of Sisters: seven miles west at Mile Point 94; 7.6 miles at MP 94.6; nine miles at MP 92; and 11 miles west at MP 90. These four miles consistently have had the highest number of collisions with mule deer and elk, and Austin noted that having several crossings close together provides greater success in reducing collisions.

The total estimated expense to complete the four bridges over the next five years is $16 million (this includes $150,000 expended to complete feasibility and bridge location assessments). In 2019, $12 million was made available from Oregon through passage of HB 2834 and more recently, $350 million in allocation of funds from the U.S. Congress was dedicated to wildlife crossings. In order to qualify for such state and federal funds B2S will need to collect matching funds from local agencies and private contributors. Those interested may donate online at bit.ly/Donate2Bend2Suttle.

A Pew Charitable Trusts poll found that 86 percent of Oregon voters favor more wildlife crossings. Additionally, the estimated financial benefit of such crossings is a yield between $250,000 to $443,000 annually. This project when completed on Oregon's most dangerous road, will likely yield high financial benefits. Austin highlighted a local successful wildlife crossing on Highway 97 south of Bend. This is an undercrossing which reduced collisions with mule deer by 90 percent and with elk 88 percent.