Statewide

Roadkills of Oregon

Share your observations with ODFW’s iNaturalist project

March 26, 2024

The purpose of this project is to help us understand the impacts roads have on Oregon's wildlife, and to identify roadkill hot spots and vulnerabilities among different wildlife species. This information can help make roadways safer and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

A Northern Red-legged frog, photo by Liam Hopkins 2024. Hundreds of red-legged frogs are killed by vehicles each year as they move between breeding and non-breeding habitats.

Roadways and vehicular traffic are a significant cause of injury and mortality to Oregon's wildlife. Wildlife species need to move across the landscape to access resources, including food, water, and shelter. Roadways crisscross and fragment wildlife habitat, making it more difficult for wildlife to safely move.

Almost all wildlife species in the state face some level of risk from roadways, and many thousands of animals – including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects – are killed each year by vehicles on Oregon's roads. You can help by documenting any roadkills you see using ODFW's Roadkills of Oregon iNaturalist project. ‌

If you are new to iNaturalist, you may want to visit our guide for a similar, ongoing project. You'll find step-by-step instructions on how to get started using the app.‌

What species are we looking for? ‌

Ringtail — A ringtail, photo by froglover_84 (via iNaturalist). This species, like many others in Oregon, is at risk of injury or mortality from roads.

We're interested in roadkill observations for any species of wildlife along any of Oregon's many roads. You may be able to record observations while walking, biking, or driving through your neighborhood or city, along your commute, or while traveling throughout Oregon. The more roadkill observations that are recorded in different areas of the state, the better we'll be able to understand where and when roadkills are more likely to occur. This can help inform actions to reduce wildlife mortality on roadways.‌

It's helpful to include additional comments with your roadkill observations. In particular, the sex of the individual specimen (male, female, or unknown) and information on life stage (adult, juvenile, or unknown) may be valuable.‌

Be safe when on the road. Please take precautions when documenting observations.