EAGLE, Idaho — It's that time of year to be on the lookout for wildlife crossing the highway as animals migrate from higher elevations into the valleys. So, what should you do if you come across roadkill?
If you're an enterprising outdoorsman, you may consider "salvaging" the animal for its meat.
Close to Shadow Valley Golf Course, our crew noticed someone had just hit and killed a deer on Highway 55.
RELATED | Idaho Fish and Game urges hunters to be 'good witnesses' to poaching
"My buddy makes dog treats out of roadkill," said a driver who stopped at the site to salvage the deer carcass. He says that he regularly harvests roadkill.
This gentleman was not the one who hit the deer, but under Idaho State Law, he is legally within his rights to claim the carcass.
"I have carried deer bigger than this out of the woods myself," he recounted.
Learn how to correctly salvage roadkill in the Gem State
Rick Ward, Fish and Game's state wildlife manager, says if you happen to be involved in a roadkill accident, here's what you do. "If everybody's OK, pull off [to] the side of the road. Check to make sure everything is okay," said Ward. "If that animal is dead and in the middle of the road, that's creating another safety hazard."
An Ada County Sheriff's deputy stopped by to ensure the deer was completely off the road, which it was. The officer told us that drivers who hit wildlife on the road should call non-emergency dispatch immediately if the carcass is still in the roadway, so someone can come and pull it off to the side.
If you're interested in salvaging the roadkill, you must fill out a salvage report with Idaho Fish and Game.
The man we met, who was salvaging the roadkill, followed all the right steps. "Me personally, I filled out a salvage report off IDFG's website, which is Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and I just filled out the salvage report with the sex and time of day and everything like that, and I'm allowed to come out here and collect it."
Another driver stopped and helped him load the roadkill into his jeep.
With deer season opening this weekend, Ward says Fish and Game will have check stations throughout the state for hunters to identify C.W.D. Chronic Wasting Disease in their harvested wildlife. "It's great to get CWD samples from roadkill animals because we know CWD animals are more susceptible to roadkill just because of the condition they're in."
Find Idaho Fish and Game checkpoints here: Chronic Wasting Disease - Sample Drop-off Locations
