Each spring, as wildlife baby season arrives, calls increase regarding deer and other animals that have been struck on city streets. To help prevent those collisions and to protect both animals and drivers, the City of Bellingham has partnered with Watch for Wildlife.
Residents who notice an increase in deer activity near their property can now alert passing drivers. Free, yellow signs are available at the City of Bellingham Public Works Operations division, 2221 Pacific Street, which may be posted on residents’ personal property indicate it is a “wildlife corridor.”
[October 2024 update: Public Works is no long providing free signs, but a digital version of the sign is available on the Watch for Wildlife page and there are local sign shops or online resources available if you’d like to print a copy of the sign for your own yard.]
According to Watch for Wildlife, the cost of collisions with wildlife ranges from $2,000 to $10,000. To avoid collisions – and expensive damage – it’s important to know:
· Deer don’t roam alone. If you see one, expect others. Just because you’ve cleared the one you see, doesn’t mean there aren’t more.
· Watch out near water. Deer are often hit when they’re headed to their favorite watering hole for a drink.
· Danger (time) zone. Deer are most likely to appear when it’s hardest to see them – at dawn or dusk. Be sure your headlights are on to spot deer and alert other drivers.
· Safety is in your hands. If a phone or food or any other distraction is your grip, let it go.
If you should hit an animal in the roadway and it is still alive, please phone the Whatcom County Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at (360) 966-8845.
For more information, visit Watch for Wildlife on the City of Bellingham website. To report animal crossings to the City, contact Steve Haugen, Traffic Operations Engineer at (360) 778-7811 or shaugen@cob.org.
