BREAKING BARRIERS, AN OVERVIEW OF WILDLIFE CROSSING STRUCTURES IN CALIFORNIA

Damon Yeh; Wildlands Network; damon@wildlandsnetwork.org; Mari Galloway

Roads and highways pose significant barriers to wildlife movement and have led to habitat fragmentation and isolated populations. This issue of wildlife connectivity has been gaining substantial traction as a priority conservation issue and is garnering significant investments by Departments of Transportation and land management agencies. Wildlife crossing structures can help increase permeability for wildlife across those barriers and create safer roadways for drivers. Different types of crossings will facilitate different types of wildlife and implementing these structures is a complex marriage of science, policy, engineering, and design. To better understand the state of wildlife connectivity in California, Wildlands Network has compiled, to date, the most comprehensive database of wildlife crossing structures in the State and is continually cataloging and mapping structures that are in planning or in construction. We cataloged over 200 wildlife crossings ranging from amphibian tunnels to the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will be the biggest wildlife crossing in the world. During this presentation, we will explore the wildlife crossings map and some of the unique projects in California. I will also discuss how this information can be utilized by land managers, researchers, and NGOs, and where more research is needed to advance wildlife connectivity in California.

Conference Theme Session - Adaptive Management - III