Mule deer cross the road using an underpass at Lava Butte. (Enterprise/FILE)
Every year, collisions between vehicles and deer on U.S. Highway 20 west of Vale cost more than $1 million.
State officials found that the highway between Harper and Juntura had among the highest rates of such collisions anywhere in Oregon.
A plan is unfolding to develop wildlife crossings along a roughly 30-mile stretch, using a share of $7 million set aside by the Oregon Legislature earlier this year.
Solutions range from modifying bridges, fencing and more elaborate structures.
A meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, June 13, at Juntura School in Juntura to consider the options. Representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Burns Paiute Tribe Natural . . .
