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U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico on Tuesday to tout a first-of-its-kind pilot program to both improve habitat connectivity for wildlife and prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions. Native American Tribes, as well as state and local governments, will be able to tap into $350 million in funds available through the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build wildlife corridors along busy roads and add warning signs for drivers.
“Every year, Americans are injured and killed in crashes involving cars and wildlife,” said Buttigieg. “By launching the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, we are taking an important step to prevent deadly crashes in communities across the country and make America’s roadways safer for everyone who uses them.” Nationwide, about 200 people are killed each year in collisions involving wildlife and vehicles, according to federal data.
Several Western states have already invested substantially in wildlife crossings in recent years through the passage of legislation or the allocation of funds. New Mexico lawmakers passed legislation this spring to set aside $100 million for conservation projects, including building the state’s first wildlife highway overpasses for mountain lions, black bears, bighorn sheep, and other wildlife.
Technological advances have helped wildlife managers and public safety officials identify the best locations for highway crossings where they can protect public safety and accommodate wildlife migration routes. New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich joined Secretary Buttigieg's visit to the Santa Ana Pueblo and emphasized that the migration patterns of elk, deer, mountain lions, and other animals have existed for millennia longer than paved road systems, saying, “Thinking we can change those patterns with four lanes of asphalt has resulted in dangerous driving conditions and hundreds of human fatalities on our roads each year.”
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The challenge that the basin states face is, what will people do in response to this gift, this tremendous success? Are we going to squander it? Or are we going to store it and rebuild resiliency in this potentially once-in-a-decade, potentially once-in-a-century, type of runoff?”
