The rapid spread of fencing in Kenya’s Masai Mara has disrupted wildlife and livestock movements, threatening both the ecosystem and pastoralist livelihoods and ultimately causing the collapse of the Mara-Loita wildebeest migration. New research highlights how restoring key corridors can reconnect these landscapes, offering mutual benefits while providing a blueprint for planning cost-effective restoration of fragmented ecosystems worldwide.

Short stretches of fences can substantially reduce roadkill along a fenced road section, especially if fence-end treatments are in place. However, with short fences there may still not be a net benefit because roadkill can be moved to nearby unmitigated road sections, especially just beyond a fence-end

We studied the trade-off between wildlife mortality on roads and the barrier effect of fences. We found that fences are more likely to be beneficial for wildlife populations the higher the inclination of the species to attempt to move across the road and the higher the probability of the species being killed on the road.

We used custom-built cameras and image recognition software to evaluate the use and effectiveness of a tunnel and fence system for amphibians at a road mitigation site in England. Over four years, we found high rates of use of the tunnels, no roadkill, colonisation of newly-built ponds and a substantial increase in the population size of several species, including the nationally protected Great Crested Newt.

A republished article from The Conversation. An analysis of the ecological effects of fencing on ecosystems around the world.

In order to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, is it better to use a few long, or many short, fences (FLOMS)? We devised an adaptive plan for prioritizing road sections for fencing, based on roadkill hotspots and coldspots, considering multiple scales and the FLOMS trade-off.