Roadkill program feeds many residents

Eileen Brooks, the administrative clerk in the Big Lake office of the Department of Public Safety (DPS), has coordinated the DPS Roadkill Program for Anchorage and the Valley during the past five years.

"Any game animal killed or injured in a highway collision is the property of the state," Brooks explained. "State law requires DPS to properly dispose of the carcass. The program DPS developed allows nonprofit organizations and individuals in certain areas to sign up, be placed on a list, and possibly be called to salvage a road-killed animal."

Brooks said a nonprofit group or individual who responds to a roadkill call needs to be at the location within 30 to 45 minutes after receiving the call. At the site, they are required to remove the entire animal except the gut pile, which must be moved either 50 yards from the highway or back in the tree line and out of sight from the road. Fish and Game requires that the entire head be brought to their office within 10 days, along with information on the roadkill location and the animal's sex.

"From Girdwood to Eklutna, including the Anchorage Bowl, and for the Palmer and Wasilla areas, only nonprofit agencies can sign up," Brooks said. "These nonprofits are usually church organizations, but food banks, homeless shelters and other similar groups can also apply."

In the outlying areas, where organized nonprofits are few or even nonexistent, DPS has allowed individuals to be listed. From Big Lake north on the Parks Highway and from Sutton north on the Glenn Highway, 235 individuals were listed last year.

To sign up for the program, appear in person at the Big Lake DPS office and fill out an application and a waiver. The sign-up for this year's program began in early September and more than 300 groups or individuals are already on the list.

For more detailed information on the Roadkill Program, call Eileen at 892-3474, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or stop in at the Big Lake office.