The Pilot Worked: Make Wildlife Crossings Permanent

Something remarkable is happening along Interstate 25 in Colorado.

Newly reported results from a major wildlife-crossing project there show just how much these investments can accomplish.

Elk are crossing safely over North America’s largest wildlife overpass. Pronghorn are reaching habitat west of the highway for the first time in decades. Bears, deer, coyotes and smaller animals are using the crossing too.

And the larger system of wildlife crossings and fencing along this once-deadly stretch of highway has helped reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by an astonishing 91%.

This is what happens when we stop expecting wildlife to navigate highways built through their habitat — and start giving animals a safe way across.

Now Congress should take this success nationwide.

The federal government helped make Colorado's enormous wildlife overpass possible. Congress created the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program to fund projects that reduce collisions while reconnecting habitat fragmented by roads.

Colorado is showing just how much those investments can accomplish.

Before mitigation measures were installed, this stretch of I-25 saw roughly one deer hit per day during periods of high wildlife movement. Today, cameras are capturing elk herds and pronghorn using the overpass. The larger system also includes five underpasses and fencing that guides animals toward safe crossings.

And this isn't just about large animals. Wildlife crossings can help reconnect habitat for everything from bears and mountain lions to frogs, reptiles and small mammals. By reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions, they can also make roads safer for drivers and passengers.

If you've already spoken up for wildlife crossings, this is the next step: building on that momentum now that we have even more proof these investments can work.

Yet the federal program that helps communities build these projects was created as a pilot, with its original authorization running through 2026.

Congress doesn't need to wonder whether wildlife crossings work. We can see the animals using them.

Bipartisan, bicameral legislation would make the federal Wildlife Crossings Program permanent and continue funding through 2031. Congress should build on what is working instead of allowing this progress to stall.

America built roads through wildlife habitat. We can also build wildlife a way across them.

Please sign the petition to Congress: Make the federal Wildlife Crossings Program permanent and provide sustained funding so communities across the country can build proven solutions that protect wildlife and reconnect habitat.

The petition to Congress reads: Make the Wildlife Crossings Program permanent and provide sustained federal funding for wildlife overpasses, underpasses, fencing and other proven measures that reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and reconnect fragmented habitat across the country.

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Source:

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/largest-wildlife-overpass-north-america-colorado-reduce-wildlife-collisions/

Photo: An overhead shot shows the newly constructed wildlife overpass in Douglas County, Colorado, now the largest such overpass in North America. Credit Colorado Department of Transportation