![]() ![]() Source: Theobald, DM, V Landau, P Cramer, D Harrison-Atlas, C Monnroy, and J Lewis. The Wallis Annenberg Crossing in Agoura Hills.įurther north, a 90-foot underpass is being built across California’s Highway 17, which runs between the south San Francisco Bay area and Monterey Bay.Ĭongress whetted the appetite of states to construct their own crossings by including $350 million in the 2021 infrastructure act earmarked for this purpose. The most recent and soon to be the largest wildlife bridge in the country is an $87 million structure being constructed north of Los Angeles in Agoura Hills, California. It will allow mountain lions, foxes, and other wildlife to cross 10 lanes of Highway 101 without encountering a car. Other states were slow to follow its initial example until the 1990’s, when a tunnel, intended for frogs, was built in Davis, California. ![]() Utah now has about 60 wildlife crossings. There are now underpasses in every western state.Īn overpass in Beaver, Utah was the first such crossing in this country. The practice originated in France in the 1950s and quickly spread to the Netherlands, which now is home of the world’s longest wildlife bridge. The efforts to save both animals and people have led to a proliferation of road crossings for animals along traditional migration routes and other crucial locations. But a solution to this problem has taken hold around the region: wildlife crossings built under or over roads around the West, from San Antonio, Texas and North Dakota to Interstate 15 in Utah. When cars hit larger wildlife, it can also lead to human casualties and hefty car repair bills. More and faster roads inevitably mean more roadkill. But in places like the American West, roads that connect society often interrupt the migration routes of animal species -like elk, mountain lions, moose, and bighorn sheep - that often date back to the end of the last Ice Age. Roads are built with a purpose: to get people and goods where they need to go. Up Close We explore the issues, personalities, and trends that people are talking about around the West. Highway 85 in western North Dakota (North Dakota Department of Game and Fish) A bighorn sheep lies dead by the side of U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |