Male1: This is a tale of two Arizona Game and Fish Department stories, we’re combining the Department Study of Elk for the I17 project with a group of home schooled families looking for an outdoor educational experience. Let’s start with the elk study.
Jeff: We’re working in the interstate 17 research project and the purpose of this project is to used elk to tell us where to put wildlife crossing structures, similar to those on state route 260. We have a series of wildlife underpasses that elk use to safely got under the highway over bypassing, so. The idea here to collar out along I17 the areas where elk-vehicular collisions are most prevalent and let the elk tell us where to put the crossing structures. We’ve collared in the neighborhood of 65 elk, we get two locations per hour and we can go back in and look at that information to see where they’re crossing out or where they’re trying to cross at.
Male1: In order to get a GPS tracking collar on an elk, first you have to catch it. During the night, biologist place alfalfa as bait to lure an elk into an soft sided cage. Then first thing in the morning, the biologist tie the animal down, this way, they can get their work done without having to drug the elk or worry about one of them getting kick in the head. Then the GPS collar is fitted and place on the elk. An identifying ear tag completes the process and the animal is release unharmed. The collars are designed to fall off after about two years and researchers are then able to retrieve the information, detailing the elk’s travels.
Jeff: When we get the information back in a couple of years, we’ll be able to use that information to make recommendations to ADAT on where wildlife crossings structures should go, whether it be an underpass or an overpass. And they can take those recommendations and use them in whatever way they like. That’s, there are primary persons to provide those recommendations as well as evaluate elk movements along highways and we’re learning some really interesting things there is traffic levels increase. Elk tend not to be able to cross the highways as easily anymore.
Male1: This map shows the movement of 15 elk over a two year period, the black line in the center is interstate 17. You can see that the animal approach the highway quite often but rarely cross it. When they do try to cross the highway, often the result is not a good one.
Jeff: elk-vehicular collision are pretty serious, particularly in highways with high speeds like interstate 17, this stretch of highway right along here where we’re working has, in the neighborhood of 70 elk-vehicle collision per year in about a 30 mile stretch.
Male1: Beginning in 2001, a similar study was conducted on highway 260 east of Pasin, and result led to several wildlife friendly underpasses being incorporated into the new highway construction. Infrared cameras placed in the underpass confirm that wildlife are using them instead of trying to cross the road above. Highways become barriers to wildlife’s natural migration routes and the more Arizona continue to grow and develop, the more those natural corridors are threatened.
Jeff: Primary hope on this project, on 0260 we found, once we put underpasses in the ability of elk to cross the highway increased. So in the case of interstate 17, we don’t have a lot of crossing, the only way we have some collisions, there’s still quite a few collisions is because those elks are unsuccessful crossing the highway. Most the elk that try and cross, turn around and leave according to the data we’ve collected. So, once we put these underpasses in the future, then the ability of elk to safely cross the highway should increase and they should be able to make their season land daily movements much easier.
Male1: The I17 project should wrap up around 2010, giving the Game and Fish Department and the Department of Transportation plenty of good data to decide where to build underpasses or over passes along this stretch of highway that will accommodate wildlife. So what does any of this have to do with home school children and their families? It’s part of an education program called, nature’s classroom.
Eric: Well Nature’s Classroom started last March, and basically this is one of those examples where we bring home school families out into the wild with a biologist, see kinda what they do and experience nature first hand.
Male1: So, since the biologist were studying elk movements anyway, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get students out into the field.
Eric: It gets them out of their homes and out into nature to gain a greater appreciation for that. We’ve done probably ten of this events now that have range from cray fish eradications to bald eagle banding to the elk viewing, bird watching, all kinds of different, it expanse the spectrum.
Male1: Once the biologist have subdued the elk the students and their families were allowed to come down for a closer look at the collaring process.
Nick: It was very interesting, getting to see the elk up close and being able to look at the characteristic of the elk, how the elk reacted and how they did it. How it totally calm down after they hooded it and the technique and everything was very interesting, yes.
Male1: Also, the desire to connect with something wild was very evident when the youngsters were allowed to touch the elk.
Benjamin: I though it would’ve been soft, it was more rough than soft. It was really cool to actually be able to pet a live elk.
Male1: The Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Arizona Science Center teamed up to create Nature’s Classroom in 2007. And so far, it has hosted about a dozen events for more than 300 home schoolers.
Eric: Oh, there’s been more demand that we can fill, there were probably 200 people that wanted to participate in this event. We probably gonna be able to accommodate about 70. There’s so much demand that we just can't fill and we really need some support from the people, maybe additional funding or just to come out and voice that they want to see more program like this.
Male1: Last spring, Nature’s Classroom let 25 students and their families up a steep hike to watch biologist banding baby bald eagles. Being that close to our national symbol was an experience some will never forget.
Kalli: And then actually being able to see the baby eagles, I learned a lot. Coz, I came from Minnesota, so I thought I knew a lot about bald eagles, but I learned a lot more, so. I found out how much I really didn’t know, but they’re really adorable and the adult ones’ are really beautiful, and I’m glad I was able to come and do this.
Eric: There are a couple of reasons why this is important, the first would be one, this kids get to be out there and see what these biologists do, and so it’s a recruitment tool allowing us to maybe start developing the future wildlife managers or the wildlife biologist that might come around on the next two generations. And also just shows them, it gives a positive outlook on what we as a department are now doing, so it allows us to get a better face in front of the public and to see some of those really cool research that we’re doing to help wildlife and people.
Jeff: We have a home school group here and they were really interested in seeing what was going on with this project and want to touch the elk and see the elk and lot of excited kids wanted to see what was going on. It’s really interesting to try and work with, with more people around, but we want everything to go well and things went real well today and nobody got hurt, no animals got hurt, and they seen pretty excited about it.
Male1: As much as students enjoy touching the elk, they all understood that it was a wild animal. So their favorite part of the event, was when it was released.
Ariana: I like when they let him loose, I thought it was cool when it, they ran back to the wild.
Benjamin: It was really awesome, it’s so interesting the way they actually tie it down and then they let it go, it just goes, it just ran straight off into the woods.
Jeff: It’s something that you need to learn at a young age, if you get the opportunity to do this kind of thing. Come out and handle animals or go hunting it, really leads to a lot bigger things in your future. You wanna spend time in the woods and spend time with the wildlife and I think this really got their interest started on this kind of work and outdoors and wildlife.
Male1: The Nature’s Classroom program, continues to redefine success, and surmounts small hills and big challenges as it brings meaningful outdoor experience to families in Arizona. And after the students have returned to their home classrooms, the biologist of the Arizona Game and Fish Department will continue their research to make other highways safer for both humans and wildlife.
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