This year, however, conservationists are encouraged by action at the state Capitol. “We don’t have environmental-based legislation that is resulting in protection of wildlife.” “We’re not an environmental state,” said Fraser Shilling, co-director of the Road Ecology Center at UC Davis. And even with the new funding, it’s still years away from completion. The Liberty Canyon overpass would be California’s first bridge on the state highway system designed specifically for fostering wildlife connectivity. Arizona, Florida, Montana, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming have also built successful wildlife crossings.īut California? Despite its environmentally-aware reputation, the Golden State lags in building these crossings. In Colorado, wildlife-vehicle collisions dropped by 89% after the state built two bridges to help mule deer and elk safely cross a highway. Utah saw a 98.5% reduction in deer mortalities when it built two animal underpasses on a stretch of highway that blocked traditional migratory routes. This leads to inbreeding and deformities that result from dwindling genetic diversity.Ĭourtesy of National Wildlife Federation/Living Habitats That’s because highways cut through critical habitat, making it impossible for animals from one side to breed with animals on the other. Highways aren’t just crash sites for the deer caught in the headlights they’re also a great divide that can threaten the future of an entire species. The expenses include car damage, personal injuries, emergency response, traffic impacts, lost work and the clean-up. Between 20, wildlife crashes have cost more than $1 billion.
#Wildlife overpass drivers#
Many are likely unreported.Īnd they aren’t cheap - for the drivers or the government. That’s nearly 20 crashes a day, at least. The goal is twofold: to give species at risk the space they need to find mates, and to reduce the number of car crashes that imperil both wildlife and humans.Ībout 7,000 vehicle crashes a year on California highways involve large wildlife, such as deer, according to 2018 data from the Road Ecology Center at the University of California, Davis.
It’s part of a larger nationwide push to build special bridges and tunnels that help animals safely cross busy roads and freeways. Gavin Newsom has signed a budget that includes $7 million to help build it - and another $54.5 million for similar projects in other parts of the state. The project known as the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing is one step closer to happening now that Gov. This is the scene environmentalists hope will someday become reality on a massive overpass above the ten-lane freeway that cuts through the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles. The sun glints on the feathers of a golden eagle soaring overhead. Mountain lion cubs pounce on rocks and spring into the nearby canyons. It’d be just another normal day, nearly 17 feet above Highway 101 in Agoura Hills.Ī southern alligator lizard and a western toad hide from the heat in the greenery of restored native vegetation. This story was originally published by CalMatters and is republished here by permission.
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