Research-inspired 'Critter Crawl' earns patent

Kerry Foresman examines a critter crawl under U.S. Highway 93.

A weasel takes a midnight stroll on the new invention.

So how did the skunk cross the road? Or the weasel, marmot, vole or porcupine?

A lot of times they didn't. These small animals get flattened on highways that fragment their habitat. But a new invention recently patented by UM aims to protect them from humanity's automotive hazards.

It's called the "critter crawl," and it's the brainchild of Kerry Foresman, a UM biology professor, and Cory Claussen, an employee of Roscoe Steel & Culvert Co. of Missoula.

The critter crawl is basically a shelf suspended inside a culvert to allow animals to move easily and safely under a highway - even when the culvert contains water. The shelf floor is metal mesh with holes smaller than 1 inch to allow small animals to cross comfortably. The shelf also is removable so it doesn't impede water and debris movement during floods or high-water events.

In addition, the shelf comes equipped with a side tube to provide covered protection for mouse-sized critters - ones who don't feel safe walking on the exposed shelf. Ramps placed outside the culverts give access to the shelves, and funnels inside the ramps channel vole-like creatures toward the tube.

Foresman, an animal ecologist, said four of the culvert shelves are now in use beneath U.S. Highway 93 in the Bitterroot Valley. And Roscoe Steel, which made the shelves, has been licensed by UM to market and manufacture critter crawls.

"We are in the process of trademarking the name 'critter crawl' and developing a marketing plan for the product," said Steven Patrick, general manager of Roscoe's Missoula operations.

He envisions marketing them to high-growth regions, as well as areas crossing American Indian tribal lands in states such as Montana, Washington, Michigan and the Carolinas.

"Native Americans have a high regard for 'critter' safety and have significant influence with the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration in the way new roads are designed across tribal lands," he said. "I definitely could see these used in the Ninepipes area as the Highway 93 project moves north onto the Flathead Indian Reservation."

But critter crawls don't need new construction to be installed. Patrick said the patented shelves can be retrofitted into existing culverts.

Jon "Tony" Rudbach is UM's assistant vice president for research and economic development. He said the critter crawl is an example of how a partnership between the University and a private company can bolster Montana's economy. In fact, it's his job to move UM research from the laboratory to real-world businesses.

Rudbach said inventions produced by UM scientists become the intellectual property of the University, which then can license these ideas to the private sector for a percentage of any profits. He said the Montana University System has a liberal system regarding royalties, which it shares with the inventors. However, any proceeds must first pay attorney fees and related expenses of landing a patent, which can take several years and thousands of dollars. UM's patent for the culvert shelf was officially approved March 1.

"Our policy really encourages people to step up and invent things," Rudbach said. "And who would have guessed an animal behavior specialist would have come up with something like this?"

The critter crawl idea resulted from the Highway 93 South project, which is widening the road between Lolo and Hamilton. The highway passes wetlands, and the public was concerned about animals being able to cross the new four-lane road.

Montana Department of Transportation officials suspected animals could cross using culverts, and engineers even installed the first primitive shelves in culverts for critters to use. But nobody knew for sure whether they worked or even what animals were present.

That's where Foresman came in. During projects for the U.S. Forest Service, the UM researcher had standardized use of remote cameras to study threatened and endangered species such as wolverines, lynx, fishers and martens. So during 2001-04, MDOT funded him with $200,000 to study whether animals were using the culverts.

Foresman and his team used a variety of high-tech devices during their research, such as heat and motion-sensing cameras.

"What we learned was most animals weren't using the shelves," he said, "but we found ways to refine the initial plans."

Using what he learned from his research, Foresman worked with Claussen of Roscoe Steel to come up with a more effective design. Subsequent research proved animals were more likely to use the critter crawls. Foresman has thousands of pictures documenting the nighttime wanderings of animals on the shelves in culverts -- everything from weasels and raccoons to common house cats.

"Not in my wildest dreams did I think UM would patent something I helped invent," Foresman said. "But it's neat how we had a real-world problem, did the research and came up with something that really solves the problem."

As for the royalty checks he may soon receive: "This is a specialty product, and there are a lot of expenses. I'm definitely not planning to retire on this."