What is the latest news on wildlife corridors and crossings? Post it here.
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Conserving Crucial Connections
Durango Herald
April 10, 2008
By Will Sands
Major effort under way to preserve wildlife habitation and corridors
The Sixth Mass Extinction may be just around the corner, according to many biologists. Just like five previous events in the last 250 million years, scientists are forecasting a major die-off where rats, cockroaches and other urban species are expected to take the place of lynx, raptors and sensitive species. Unlike the five other events, human impacts – whether global warming, sprawl, energy development or new highways – are the culprits this time. However, a major regional effort is currently working to hold off the Sixth Mass Extinction, and Durango is figuring heavily both in terms of involvement and the result. The Western Governors’ Association has undertaken a Wildlife Corridors Initiative in an effort to preserve critical habitat and lighten human pressures on wildlife throughout the West and beyond.
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Helping Wildlife Cross Roads
Denver Post
February 6, 2008
By Howard Pankratz
Plans for under- and overpasses are response to surge in animal-vehicle accidents
In the mountains near Vail, the state is planning to build the first wildlife bridge in Colorado history, while near Boulder, wildlife specialists are considering protecting elk by either building a wildlife underpass or fitting the animals with collars that would trigger lights warning of their presence.
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Sensors to detect big game animals in DOT pilot project
Montrose Daily Press
November 14, 2007
By Lisa Huynh
Without seeing incoming wildlife, drivers on a mile-long stretch of southwestern road will soon get ample notice that big-game animals are nearby.
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Group Works on Wildlife Linkages
Durango Herald
November 8, 2007
By Dale Rodebaugh
Five of the 12 most dangerous areas where deer and elk cross Colorado highways are in Southwest Colorado, said a spokeswoman for the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project.
“The emerging science of road ecology is beginning to unveil the real impacts that transportation infrastructure has on wildlife movement,” Monique DiGiorgio, director of development for the project, said. “We’re pleased to work with the Colorado Department of Transportation to provide wildlife safe passage across Colorado.”
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Collision Course
Durango Telegraph
October 15, 2007
by Will Sands
Partnership looks for answers to wildlife-vehicle collisions
Cars and wildlife are colliding head-on on all over Southwest Colorado
Wrecks involving vehicles and wildlife are now the leading cause of accidents in the region and a unique public-private partnership is hoping to reverse the trend.
Conflicts between cars and creatures are nothing new to the region. However, increasing population has intensified traffic on area roads and led to a huge jump in the number of wildlife vehicle collisions. Accidents involving cars and animals have risen nearly 300 percent in Colorado since 1993, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
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