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MnDOT is funding its own, separate deer study next month near Camden State Park in southwestern Minnesota. Lasers will be set up 35 to 60 feet from the road shooting two beams 6 inches apart so that only sizable animals can trigger both simultaneously, Weinholzer said. When both lasers are triggered, a signal is delivered to a light atop a deer crossing sign. The lights flash for about a minute warning drivers to slow down, Weinholzer said.

Ten signs along Hwy. 23 will be outfitted with the lights for about a year. Between 40 and 80 deer are killed by cars on that stretch of road annually, Weinholzer said.

"Slowing down is the biggest key," he said. "You could never stop all deer crashes."