How MDOT is protecting people, animals and plants on Earth Day 2026

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Amanda Novak returns to talk about progress on a federal grant to implement a pilot program for analyzing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) in the hope of designing safer crossings.

Novak, a resource specialist in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Bay Region, previously spoke about the grant on the podcast in September 2024. She talks about things she and her colleagues are learning from counterparts in other states, including efforts by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).

MoDOT described the research as “extremely pertinent” as, from 2019 to 2023, Missouri suffered 17,609 WVCs with 8 to 10 percent of them resulting in an injury or fatality. The state also ranked 17th in the nation for WVCs in both 2024 and 2025, according to the agency’s study.

Michigan ranked fourth in the 2025 State Farm Insurance annual analysis.

A previous edition of the podcast covered some creative things being done in western states and provinces as part of the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative.

Novak also recaps important work being done to expand wildflower and tree plantings at MDOT facilities and medians to enhance habitat for pollinators. The importance of the topic was highlighted in a 2015 issue of “The Scenic Route,” a publication of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas.

Transcript

Earth Day Welcome And Goals

Jeff Cranson 0:07

Hello, welcome to the Talking Michigan Transportation Podcast. I'm Jeff Cranson. On this Earth Day, 2026, I spoke with Amanda Novak, who has made other appearances on the podcast. She is a resource specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation, and she's working on some really creative things that both do a lot in terms of sustainability, but also to enhance safety of travel, especially the grant she has pursued in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for wildlife crossings and ways to reduce collisions between vehicles and wildlife. Deer, bears, smaller animals, turtles, everything. And she's got a lot of good things to say about where it stands with that grant to study it and where things will go from there. And she also talks about the expansion of wildlife plantings, both for pollinators and for aesthetics and trees and what MDOT is doing with replacement and planting of trees that are both also helpful as pollinators and to the species that pollinate, but to providing oxygen, which is something that matters to all of us. So I hope you enjoy the conversation. So, Amanda, thank you again for appearing on an Earth Day episode of Talking Michigan Transportation. I always enjoy talking to you about all the things that you're doing and your passion. You and many others at MDET. I don't want to make it sound like it's a one-person show. You've got a lot of support in the central office and the other regions, but I'm specifically interested in catching up first on the grant to study better ways to protect wildlife and motorists from each other. This isn't just about protecting the animals. Obviously, that's part of our mission. But as we've talked about a lot, these crashes with wildlife that are happening with more frequency as we know fewer people are hunting deer have a tremendous impact on the safety, you know, and the cost of driving in Michigan. So can you tell us where we're at with that?

Amanda Novak 2:21

Yeah, sure. Um I'm happy to report we're making excellent progress. Um we actually screened proposals uh last Friday on April 17th. Um, and so the next step is to work through some contracting things, and then it is scheduled to um go to the administrative board on May 12th. Um, and then hopefully it'll be approved there, and then we'll get the kickoff meeting underway.

Jeff Cranson 2:48

So that's the the administrative board, I should say. It's a board that uh all the state agencies go to with proposals for contracts and they have to sign off on it.

Learning From Other States

Amanda Novak 2:56

So yes, yep. So uh we're making progress on that. Um, we're excited. It we had a lot of really great proposals and a lot of great interest in this study. So that was really nice to see. Um, and a lot of great work being done nationally, um, and folks that had worked on some of those national project projects as well.

Jeff Cranson 3:17

So with some changes at the federal level, different administrations, different priorities looking at things, this got held up a bit. These things are always fits and starts, right? But um what have you learned along the way so far about you know what this could be and what the potential is?

Amanda Novak 3:35

I I have been able to uh reach out to some other DOTs who have similar projects going on right now, which was exciting. And actually, they sent one of them in particular found me based on your past podcast that you we did together. Um yeah, that that was exciting. Um, and so I was able to connect with some other DOTs and and discuss kind of like what what went well so far with their their grant projects and maybe some things I might be able to do differently. Um, so that's pretty exciting. Um but I guess that's about it as of now because we haven't really started anything, so I haven't learned too much yet.

Jeff Cranson 4:14

But I'm guessing some of these are Western states. I I spoke before with somebody from Alberta, which is a Western province, about the Y2Y, which is the Yellowstone to Yukon conservation initiative, where they've been working on this for a long time and done some very successful things and Western Freeways in Canada. So is it some of the Western U.S. states that you've been in touch with?

Amanda Novak 4:38

Uh yes, I've talked to folks from Montana, um, but most recently, um actually Missouri DOT and they're um much more um similar to us with their white-tailed deer issues. So they they've been a great resource. They've actually reached the point where they've gone through kind of the planning process and now they're starting to figure out how to implement the data they've gained from the planning grant into their future planning. So I think that'll be really interesting to see how they work through that. And I'm sure there will be some parts in the process we can use as well.

Corridor Risk Mapping Approach

Jeff Cranson 5:12

Yeah, no, it's it's I I didn't know that about the whitetailed deer, but it makes sense because the state geographically has a lot of similarities to Michigan. It's very diverse. Uh parts of it are very flat and just rural farmland. And obviously, there's mountains in the south and all kinds of lakes in Missouri too. So that's really, really interesting. What would you say? What's the most tangible thing you've heard about that actually works to curtail these crashes?

Why Fencing Is Complicated

Amanda Novak 5:35

Um, well, it's just getting um the data back and and really doing the risk analysis by corridor. I think that's really important. For us, it's gonna be, you know, it's great that we're gonna identify the hot spots, but I think it's also gonna be a corridor approach. Um, how do we manage the entire corridor for the issue? Because it's really not gonna stay isolated to one location. And so they're looking at it in that regard. Um, and then kind of looking at how they're gonna fit it into future project planning. And I guess my goal too would be as we create road projects, we start thinking about, you know, we would automatically check that risk layer and maybe start talking about mitigation efforts during that planning phase.

Jeff Cranson 6:19

Yeah. I think one question you hear from people is, you know, why can't we just fence off all of the freeways and you know, talk about why that's just not practical?

Amanda Novak 6:28

Um, well, it's really, it's really expensive. Uh but it it may be something that we have to do long term um in certain areas, uh, but you have to have other factors included. You have to have a way for them to cross. You know, they still we still have to maintain the habitat connection. Um the wildlife fences are very species specific, so they're not going to solve the issue of climbing, climbing animals, you know, like bears, for example, can climb the fences. So if you have a bear issue, that's not really a practical mitigation measure. Um, but we also want to look at it where we're including other species as well, you know, not just solving the collisions with the larger animals, but also mitigating for some of the issues for the smaller animals, like the herp herps that go unreported, the turtles and and things like that.

Turtles And Small Wildlife Safety

Jeff Cranson 7:19

So yeah, talk a little bit about that. We've talked about it before, but for the uninitiated, um, people think, well, turtles are small, you know, how much damage can they do? But there's a reason why they present a safety concern too. Yeah, because people want to help them.

Amanda Novak 7:34

Probably one of the biggest reasons is people want to help them. Um, yes, we get the motorists, you know, who leave their vehicles and try to try to move the turtles. Um, but there are the bigger turtles that when vehicles hit them, they do vehicle damage as well. So there's a mix there. Um, but turtle fencing um is another thing that Missouri um, you know, just providing safe passage passage for the smaller um animals was important to Missouri as well. So they have some mitigation measures that I've been looking into. And we have the wildlife fencing um for the turtles that we've actually found um a product that's actually made in the US, because I guess another lesson learned for me with the turtle fencing um is that some of the fencing products out there don't meet the Bi America standards, which were held to at MDOT federally.

Jeff Cranson 8:28

Yes, for important.

Amanda Novak 8:30

So that was an interesting lesson learned.

Jeff Cranson 8:32

Um so Yeah, well, no, that's okay. I I just I wanted to touch on just quickly again, because we've we've talked about it before, but you hear from the naysayers, the critics, you know, the armchair engineers, like how can you you're you're trying to teach the deer where to cross? And it's like, well, yeah, actually, actually we are. That's it, it has been done successfully. They they are somewhat trainable, right? And uh you can do things that they'll they'll teach those animals, which they've done with great success in in Western Canada, to funnel them to these safe crossings.

Funnel Crossings And Hot Spot Clues

Amanda Novak 9:06

Yes, we we will be funneling them. We have a few culvert locations in our current fencing project. I guess an update to that as well is it's part of the Transportation Alternatives program. Um, it's a pilot project, and we are gonna put in some wildlife exclusionary fencing to keep the deer out of the right-of-way. Um, and so we're gonna learn a lot through that process, which measures work. Um, but we're funneling them to big box culvert crossings. So we are going to encourage their crossing in a safe spot.

Jeff Cranson 9:39

Can you talk a little bit about what some of those hot spots are um around the state? You might be most familiar with the Bay region where you are, but you probably know of others.

Amanda Novak 9:48

Yeah, I see a lot of them. I've done a fair amount of carcass collection, so noting actual carcass locations on a GIS map, and I start to see some definite trends with it. Um, they like to cross where our structures are. Um, they really utilize our interchanges and our bridges. Um, and you'll see really concentrated hits in those locations. And generally speaking, they have a some kind of drainage feature nearby where we see a lot of crashes. So I think it makes sense to funnel them to some of those areas because they're obviously drawn there. So if we can funnel and and help them um with safe passage, I think it can be laid out and planned out.

Jeff Cranson 10:31

So you had an interest in this, obviously, in your college years, but did you ever know that you would be involved in in animal carcass collection?

Amanda Novak 10:38

I did not expect to be doing this. No. Um it's it's interesting and exciting, especially when you see trends over a few years to see, you know, I'm marking deer in the same location I've marked, like nearly the same exact location I've marked for the last couple of years in a row. So it starts to really show there are trends. I know everybody thinks it's completely random, but I don't think it's entirely random.

Jeff Cranson 11:03

Yeah, well, I mean, for some time we've known at least a little bit about hot spots, and that's why the signs go where they do, because that's a common crossing spot. And I, you know what I find myself trying to do uh if I'm in a rural area, especially, is I keep an eye on Waze or Google Maps or whatever. I try to look for bodies of water that I'm coming up on because that's gonna be an indicator of where they might be trying to cross.

Amanda Novak 11:26

Yes, definitely an indicator or low ground, you know, where you have kind of like wetland uh adjacent. It's it's a definite crossing spot as well. Or folks' hay fields, you know. At my house, they cross at the end of end of our hay field and people hit them there all the time.

Jeff Cranson 11:44

Yeah, yeah. Including you, right?

Amanda Novak 11:46

Yes.

Michigan Hands Free Law Reminder

Jeff Cranson 11:48

Please stay tuned. We'll be back with more talking Michigan transportation right after this.

MDOT Message 11:53

In Michigan, safety comes first on the roads to combat distracted driving. Michigan passed the hands-free law. The law makes holding or manually using a cell phone or other mobile electronic device while operating a vehicle a primary offense. This means an officer can stop and ticket you for violating the law. This can include, but not limited to, sending or receiving a call, sending, receiving, or reading a text or email, accessing, reading, or posting to social media sites, or entering locations into the phone GPS. With this law in place, drivers are encouraged to stay focused, keeping their hands on the wheel and their attention on the road. Drive smart, drive safe, drive hands-free. Michigan's hands-free law, making the road safer for everyone.

Wildflowers That Cut Mowing Costs

Jeff Cranson 12:43

Um, you you've been an advocate for a long time for wildflower seeding. Um, we've talked about sunflowers and pollinators. Um, so touch on that, bring me up to speed on where things stand there.

Amanda Novak 12:58

Yeah, so this year um I haven't talked to everybody statewide, but I believe we're on track to plant what we planted last year as far as uh sunflowers and wildflower plots. Um I think in our region we expanded a little bit. Um, we are planting in Bay Region 16 and a half total acres, um, which is really exciting. Uh, but I think everything else will remain pretty much the same. We may have expanded a little bit in the other regions, but everybody's everybody's for the most part coming on board and at least putting some kind of plantings in their regions.

Jeff Cranson 13:35

16 acres. Are you are you talking uh medians mostly, linear acres?

Amanda Novak 13:40

We have uh several medium plants. Yes, we have them in the medians. Uh we have some loop ramps, um, and then we have some wildflower plots at uh the port here on Welcome Center, which has actually um helped us reduce total mowing costs of the turf at the rest area or the welcome center, um, which is also really exciting. It looks beautiful all year, you know, from the start of the spring into the fall. Um, it supports so many different types of pollinators and then also reduces our mowing costs. So it's it's been a really great project. And we've expanded that again this year.

Jeff Cranson 14:19

So you've told me before, and I don't think uh we need to get into the numbers, but it sounds like the success in the Bay region with some of these has uh sparked interest in other regions around the state. So could you talk about where else this is going on?

Amanda Novak 14:35

Yeah, this is uh Grand Region. Um, and I don't know all the roadways that we've planted, but similar um planting locations, medians or loop ramps uh for grand region, southwest region uh joined us. Um they're also doing another, they obtained a grant for a different kind of like native wildflower planting. Um, I believe they planted last fall, so I don't think we have results of how that turned out yet, but that's that's exciting. That's a pretty large area. Um, it was like an excess parcel MDOT has. Um and I think university is joining, so that's exciting. Um so every everybody's coming on board with the project.

Jeff Cranson 15:18

Yeah, well, that covers a lot of ground from a square miles if if you have those four regions involved. So that's really really interesting and it's a good sign. And I think I think uh people appreciate it. I think you and I talked before a lot of these maintenance people, uh engineers who train to build roads, you know, pave roads, um, have been really interested in this and uh and get a lot of satisfaction out of that program. Talk about that a little bit.

Why Wildflowers Need Maintenance

Amanda Novak 15:46

Yes, we are actually now um we are planting, we're adding some of the native uh wildflowers into our turf seed mixes, um, maybe not necessarily in the Mozone, but we're actually making it a part of our construction projects now. Um, I don't know how successful it'll be. It is actually surprisingly difficult to grow wildflowers, um, you know, plant the plot and walk away from it. It doesn't, you know, it takes a lot of maintenance to get them established. And oftentimes it's it just doesn't quite work out in the right of way. So we'll see how.

Jeff Cranson 16:19

In terms of weeds, what is the maintenance about weeds or yes, it's it's about weed competition.

Amanda Novak 16:25

It were they require a lot of mowing, you know, sometimes herbicide control of other other weeds. It it just can be very labor intensive, and it takes a couple of years to get them established. Also, brush can outcompete them.

Jeff Cranson 16:40

Right. Yes. So what else is uh keeping you busy in this in this front?

Amanda Novak 16:45

Well, I'm excited. I wanted to talk today about I kind of wanted to highlight um how many trees um dot plants per year because I think this is an area that folks may not may not recognize as you know, another source for pollinators and pollinator habitat. Um we do tree removals with our projects, and I know sometimes they can be controversial just because you know it it can it might look devastated at first, but we always plant things back. We mitigate for any removals that we do, and we try to do replacements at a two to one ratio if possible. So um we did get some numbers. We we did we do plant on average about 4,297 trees per year. So that's really an exciting number. And pollinators uh use our trees as habitat. They support thousands of species uh um each year. And the other thing is many of them bloom before um many of the wildflowers even start. So they're that early food source for pollinators.

Jeff Cranson 17:45

So talk about some of those species. Any that would surprise people, do you think?

Amanda Novak 17:49

I don't even know if folks know. I I think I don't know the exact number, but I think we have over 400 species of bees in Michigan. So I think that's a number that folks may not be aware of. And um it supports, you know, birds as well, will pollinate. So just a variety of species.

Jeff Cranson 18:08

So would you include hummingbirds in that?

Amanda Novak 18:11

Yeah, yeah, I would. Those um I have taken photos of them in our port here on plots. Um, they're real short sunflowers and uh wildflowers, and you can see the hummingbirds in there. So they definitely utilize, yeah.

Jeff Cranson 18:24

That's always they're always fun to watch.

Amanda Novak 18:26

Yeah, they are.

Jeff Cranson 18:28

So so longer term, I mean not just from the the pollinator standpoint, but obviously trees are are vital to our oxygen supply and to our fresh air. So that's a that's a huge factor and a reason why this is important to do, right?

Amanda Novak 18:44

Yes, definitely. Um, water quality, um, soil stabilization, you know, they they serve a whole host of different purposes for us. So it's always important for us to put trees back. And that's in my role, we make sure they go back on our jobs.

Jeff Cranson 19:01

Yeah. So um looking forward, you've got the the trees and the wildflowers and the pollinators and the uh the animal control. Is there is there anything else uh that's kind of on your your future docket, you know, in your mind that you would like to to see happen in a you know longer timeline?

Amanda Novak 19:20

Um I don't I don't think so at this point. I think I just am excited to get our grant underway and and start through that process and see what the data tells us. I think that'll be exciting to see across the state where the hot spots are identified by species. Um and then from there, I guess following in Missouri's footsteps and trying to figure out how we're gonna then implement that into our standard planning process, I think that'll be another huge undertaking and huge project.

Jeff Cranson 19:50

Yeah, yeah. Well, I think that's that highlights a very important thing, though, that you and um your counterparts from other states, um, and this is all areas of the department, no matter what you're working on. There is through the American Association of State Highway Transportation officials a number of ways to track best practices. And um, you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You know that there might be a state that's already tried something and they've had success with it. And like you said, you can maybe learn from it, maybe learn that it wouldn't apply in Michigan, yeah, on a one-to-one basis. But there are things that things to be learned. And I think it's it's really important to have those peer exchanges and stay in touch with those folks.

Amanda Novak 20:29

Yes, and that's been really excellent. Missouri has also put me in contact with other groups um and uh conferences that come up um where they do presentations and others do presentations on the same topic. So I think just being plugged into that whole community will be really nice moving forward. And I definitely will not be reinventing the wheel. So that will be good.

Jeff Cranson 20:49

Yeah. Well, thank you, Amanda. Thanks for what you do. Um, I think uh it's it's the hidden work. A lot of people don't know that DOTs have people doing the things that you do, but uh I think it's a good thing that we do. So I appreciate you talking about it as always.

Amanda Novak 21:03

Yes, thanks for inviting me back again.

Jeff Cranson 21:05

I'd like to thank you once more for tuning in to Talking Michigan Transportation. You can find show notes and more on Apple Podcasts or BuzzSprout. I also want to acknowledge the talented people who help make this a reality each week, starting with Randy Debler, who skillfully edits the audio, Jesse Ball, who proofs the content, and Jacke Salinas, who posts the podcast to various platforms and transcribes the audio to make it accessible to all.