Landry will not open moose fences for ATVs

Transportation Minister Denis Landry says he will not consider a request from the New Brunswick All-Terrain Vehicle Federation to cut holes in moose fencing along provincial highways.

The ATV federation met with staff from the department last week to make its pitch.

The off-road enthusiasts also asked the province to consider making changes to the existing ATV trails so they could have better access to trails and rest areas.

Landry said the department is open to improving access to basic amenities, but any request to open up the fence would defeat their purpose.

"I'm not interested to cut some holes to the existing fencing," Landry said.

"Usually when we're meeting with the federation of snowmobiles or federation of ATVs, there's alternate routes, sometimes we can drive them to or different ways. But if you're asking me to make some holes in the fencing, I'm not interested at all."

Landry said the provincial government has just completed more than 320 kilometres of wildlife fencing along New Brunswick highways. The transportation minister said protecting motorists is his top priority whenever these requests come in.

The ATV federation is also looking for the department to allow access to wildlife underpasses that let animalscross from one side of the road to the other. ATV riders currently aren't permitted to use them.

Daniel Boucher, the president of the ATV federation, said hethinks there should be more access pointswith animal-proof ramps over the fencing.

Cathy McCollum, a Welsford, N.B., woman who lobbied the government for moose fencing along Highway 7 between Fredericton and Saint John, said earlier this week that she was shocked by the ATV federation's request to open up the moose fencing.

"Why would the government ever allow and even consider anyone even opening up any part of the fence. It just doesn't make sense," she said on Monday.

Fences installed on highways 7, 8, 11

The New Brunswick government has installed moose fencing along sections of Highway 7, as well as Highway 8 and Highway 11, which span northern New Brunswick.

The Department of Transportation fences areas that have had more than 15 collisions involving a moose over a five-year period.

Annually, more than 300 New Brunswick drivers are in collisions with moose.

According to the Transportation Department, 85 per cent of these crashes happen between May and October, as the massive animals leave the forests to get away from pests and the heat and to eat roadside vegetation.

There were 92 moose-vehicle accidents between 2002 and 2006, including one fatality, along Highway 7, according to provincial statistics.