What Are the Wildlife Crossings Popping Up All Over Colorado?
Colorado has some of the most breathtaking scenery in the entire country. This also has the added effect of us having some absolutely incredible wildlife.
In the past, some wildlife has had plenty of interaction with humans.
Some of them can be quite dangerous, like a man being stalked by a mountain lion in the San Juan mountains.
Other times, it can be a black bear breaking into someone’s home to play the piano. It’s true, look it up.
However, in recent times, the interaction with certain animals has increased. For example, Colorado Parks and Wildlife warned Coloradans of there being more human and bear conflict this year.
With all of this, it should come as no surprise that roadkill can be a problem here. Fortunately, projects in recent years may be helping alleviate these issues.
Wildlife Crossings Being Built to Stop Roadkill
Recently, Denver7 made a report that went all over the new development of wildlife crossings in Colorado, which have taken on quite a bit of steam recently.
Wildlife crossings are ways for animals to safely cross a highway and not put themselves in danger.
In the past, if animals wanted to cross a busy highway or interstate, they would have to just cross when the traffic is light. If not, they would certainly end up as roadkill.
However, wildlife crossings give animals a new way of crossing these roads; either under or over.
The most recent one was built in Douglas County, where a trail under an underpass was created on I-25. Along the road are fences that lead animals toward the crossing and out of the road.
While it might seem a bit silly at first glance, wildlife crossings have actually been shown to be quite effective.
The Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings in Colorado
Wildlife crossings have done a fantastic job of lowering the amount of animal related crashes in recent years.
Currently in Colorado, there are 40 animal underpasses and 3 overpasses, and in a reduction of wildlife involved car crashes of 90%, which is absolutely incredible.
Many of the official numbers are astounding as well.
Colorado hit a high in terms of wildlife crashes in 2018, with 4,157. In 2021, that dropped all the way down to 2,960.
Many of these wildlife crossings are being placed in areas with the most need. For example, Douglas County saw the second most wildlife collisions in 2022, with 204.
The only county that had more was La Plata County, with 213.
Hopefully, more wildlife crossings can be made to protect both human and animal lives.