Martin,
Roadways and highways fragment habitat for wildlife like elk—cutting them off from crucial resources and putting them at risk of being struck and killed by cars and trucks.
Luckily, bridges, culverts, tunnels, fencing, and related wildlife crossings can help wild animals move safely across roads. Wildlife crossings are an important investment that can protect people and animals, and right now Congress has a chance to support and fund these projects as they work to address the nation's infrastructure needs and reauthorization of the Highway Bill.
Call on your representative to support wildlife crossings today!
Building wildlife crossing structures like overpasses, underpasses, and culverts in combination with funneling fences along roads has proven to be the most effective measure to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions across America and around the world.
Ramping up wildlife crossings will help connect migration corridors and critical wildlife habitat, and detour animals around danger. When placed in areas of known wildlife movement, crossing structures can reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by as much as 97 percent!
Please ask your representative to make sure there is funding in the Highway Bill set aside for wildlife crossings programs aimed at reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions—improving human safety and connecting habitats.
Elk are found primarily in mountainous western landscapes, but populations have also been established in the midwest and east due to reintroduction efforts. Herds range in size from a dozen to hundreds of elk, including young bulls, cows, and even calves who join the herd only a couple weeks after birth. But moving across roadways with fast moving traffic can be deadly for elk—particularly young elk.
This May, as many young elk are joining herds on the move, please help make their future safer with wildlife crossings.
Ask your representative to make roads safer for wildlife and people by ensuring funding for wildlife crossings is in the Highway Bill.
Thank you for watching out for wildlife facing the danger of cars and trucks on our roadways.
