Highway 133 Between Paonia and Hotchkiss Leads State in Wildlife Collisions

Over 7,500 animals were killed on Colorado highways in 2025, and the Western Slope took the brunt of it.

The Colorado Department of Transportation reports that 7,770 animals died on state roads last year. Sixty-eight percent of those deaths happened west of the Continental Divide. The southwest region led the state with nearly 39% of all reported collisions. The northwest region followed closely, accounting for another 29%.

That’s not just a statistic for a spreadsheet. It’s a daily reality for anyone driving Highway 133 between Paonia and Hotchkiss. It’s the single most dangerous 10-mile stretch in the northwest region for wildlife collisions.

Lindsay Martinez, CDOT’s wildlife specialist, says the data is vital. She notes it helps the department and Colorado Parks and Wildlife target where to put money and effort into reducing collisions. But she also warns locals not to treat these numbers as a perfect census.

“The information is vital for CDOT, CPW and our partners as we work to reduce (wildlife-vehicle collisions) and make the roadways safe for humans and wildlife,” Martinez wrote in a note announcing the data. “It comes with several caveats.”

The primary caveat is that the data is collected opportunistically. It relies on reports from road maintenance crews and a roadkill app, plus an app from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. If a crew doesn’t report a deer hit on a remote stretch of U.S. 40, it doesn’t show up in the count. If a driver sees a moose on the I-70 corridor and doesn’t log it, it’s missing.

This means the numbers are likely underreported. They also have inequalities regarding where reports are made. Dense population centers might report more incidents simply because there are more eyes on the road, not necessarily because there are more animals dying.

Still, the trends are clear. Reports of roadkill between 2024 and 2025 were up slightly across the state. There were 273 more animals noted in 2025 than in the previous year. The distribution of species and locations followed similar patterns to the past.

The northwest region, which includes Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Grand, Summit, Eagle, Lake, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Mesa, Delta, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties, remains a high-risk zone. Some of the highway segments with the highest volumes in 2025 align with high-risk areas identified in a 2019 study by CDOT and CPW.

Delta County’s Highway 133 between Paonia and Hotchkiss topped the list. But the danger isn’t isolated to one county. Interstate 70 saw high incident rates along the 10-mile stretch through Glenwood Springs. The highway between Dowd Junction west of Vail and Silverthorne also logged significant numbers.

Highway 13, stretching from Craig south toward Garfield County, and U.S. 40 further west, also saw heavy traffic.

The question is whether this data will translate into fewer dead animals next year. CDOT uses these reports to study specific stretches of road over time. They aren’t trying to predict total statewide mortality with precision. They’re trying to identify hotspots.

For folks in Delta County, the hotspot is right in their backyard. Highway 133 between Paonia and Hotchkiss wasn’t just a high-risk area in a 2019 study. It was the number one location for roadkill in 2025.

The figures support that reality. The northwest region reported 2,226 animals killed. That’s nearly a third of the state’s total. The southwest region, led by that same Delta County corridor, had the highest volume in the entire state.

Martinez says the goal is to make roadways safe for humans and wildlife. But until the infrastructure changes or the behavior of drivers changes, the animals keep dying. The data shows where they’re hitting. It doesn’t yet show how many will survive the next drive home.

“We work to reduce (wildlife-vehicle collisions) and make the roadways safe for humans and wildlife,” Martinez said. “But the information is vital.”

The data shows where the collisions are happening. Whether that leads to fewer deaths remains to be seen. Or if the Western Slope just keeps paying the toll in blood and metal.