The Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition is hoping to conduct a feasibility study to determine the best locations to build bridges or tunnels for wildlife crossings.
鈥淒epending on the types of species that you鈥檙e trying to get across the road, these can be as complex as a large, naturally planted bridge, or as simple as a small steel or concrete culvert going under the road,鈥� says Rachel Wheat with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
She says while drivers kill animals regularly, roadways like I-5 disrupt the ecosystem in bigger ways.
鈥淭hese transportation corridors fragment wildlife habitat and makes them difficult to access the places that they need to fulfill their basic life history鈥� Wheat says. 鈥淭o access food and shelter and opportunities to reproduce and raise young.鈥�
There are many places in Southern Oregon between Ashland and the California border where there are increased animal-vehicle collisions.
鈥淲e are looking at seven sites,鈥� says Amy Amrhein, the volunteer coordinator with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 all have to be big. Some of them can be small. Neil Creek is a fish passage. So again, there are all kinds of different animals that we are looking at and want to help cross.鈥�
The creation of wildlife crossings is dependent on the passage of HB 4130 by the Oregon legislature. The bill would allocate $7 million to wildlife-friendly infrastructure projects.
