CDFW Introduces New Digital Tools to Track Wildlife Connectivity, Barriers
This is a press release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is pleased to announce the launch of a new suite of online tools to help identify and address wildlife connectivity barriers across the state. These resources will make it easier for the public, planners, and partners to explore known barriers to wildlife movement and understand where action is needed to support animal migration and road safety.
“I am thrilled we can share these new online tools that will advance collaboration with our partners and ultimately improve wildlife connectivity and movement across the state,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “California is making tremendous progress on identifying and resolving wildlife connectivity barriers as exemplified by the Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Southern California, the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the nation now in the final stages of construction.”
Habitat connectivity is essential to the health and resilience of wildlife populations – especially in the face of increasing development and climate change. Transportation and other linear infrastructure can block wildlife movement, isolate populations, reduce genetic exchange and lead to increased wildlife-vehicle collisions. Addressing these barriers is critical to protect California’s diverse wildlife populations and provide increased road safety.
CDFW’s new Wildlife Connectivity Barriers web page features an interactive map and additional resources that allow users to identify, explore and understand the locations of known wildlife movement and barriers.
Key features of the Wildlife Connectivity Barriers web page include:
- An interactive map showcasing over 200 high-priority barrier segments across 3,000 miles of roadways and infrastructure.
- A searchable database with detailed information on each barrier, including species affected (e.g., deer, mountain lions, amphibians, reptiles) and prioritization data.
- Online tools to export data, zoom in on relevant areas of interest, and print focal areas of concern.
- Resources for planners and partners to inform conservation, restoration, and infrastructure planning.
In recent years, CDFW has taken major steps toward a more strategic and science-based approach to identifying and remediating wildlife connectivity barriers. The new digital tools build on CDFW’s first statewide assessment of priority barriers in 2020 (updated in 2022). This transition to an online format continues to build on years of interagency and partner collaboration and is designed to make barrier data more accessible, dynamic, and user-friendly.
This effort also leverages the 2024 California State Action Plan developed under U.S. Department of Interior Secretarial Order No. 3362, which supports the conservation of big-game migration corridors across the western United States. Of the barriers identified in California, 21 intersect with lands prioritized under this plan, highlighting routes essential to ungulate species.
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They need one off those across Broadway for the feral humans.
There should be mandatory housing, drug treatment and health care for people that can’t take care of themselves. And… it would probably be less expensive in the long run.
Ernie, I completely agree with your comment as usual. The idea of placing tunnels, bridges, etc., for wildlife to cross just makes me laugh. They will need some signs at each location instructing the animals to cross the road safely here. Thats is not going to stop them from crossing wherever they please! Hence all the dead animals along our highways.
The way it’s done is to study where they are crossing now and put the bridge there, using fences to encourage it. It won’t save every animal but it will be used.
https://y2y.net/blog/how-do-wildlife-know-to-use-animal-bridges/
Thank you for this excellent link. it’s super informative! And if folks don’t like the idea of spending money on something that is a benefit to animals, think about all the accidents caused by bears/deer/etc entering the roadways and how some of those accidents can be avoided with these wildlife crossings.
You are about 10 years out of touch, Martin. These bridges have been proven to work.
Can you please back up your facts proving that the bridges and tunnels work? I really don’t think the animals use them that often. But the ones that do usually make is across to the other side safely. As far as me being out of touch for 10 years I don’t think they had these crossings anywhere in California that long ago.
“(Wildlife crossing structures) have been shown to reduce motorist collisions involving wildlife by up to 97%.” https://largelandscapes.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/WILDLIFE-CROSSING-SUCCESS-STORIES-IN-THE-WESTERN-STATES.pdf
I agree. We have tried the great social experiment of allowing mentally ill people the freedom to do as they please. It failed. Of course we also stupidly allowed the peddlers of hard drugs to predate upon the mentally unstable. And Abracadabra!- Look what we have!! We could have done it better but we chose not to. Now it’s time for a new strategy. Mandatory rehab, punish hard drug dealers, mandatory care for our mentally ill neighbors…it will be cheaper than our current stupid non- plan masquerading as ” compassion”…
However- I do support the idea of wildlife overpasses and tunnels. They are being built and used in other places. Let’s look at those and see in real life what we can learn. Isolation of wildlife populations due to human development is a major cause of wildlife decline. We owe them at least some consideration…
Staff, I posted a comment a comment on this article and now it is gone. Why?
Your comments weren’t gone. You’ve been on moderation for about a week after several comments that crossed the line into insults. I’ve been gone and just started moderating right now.
The city of eureka is a gross violator of coastal wildlife customs.
no amount of tacky urbane art or social justice posturing can fix the wildlife barrier imposed by metropolitan areas like eureka and cal-poly arcata.
hopefully these eyesores can be restored soon to their original “pre contact” health.
this article assumes highways are the problem.
the problem is cities and city people.
wolves and grizzlies need to be reintroduced to eureka
I’ll begin by assuming you are serious.
Other than ‘reintroducing 2 species that human habitation would have many issues with, what are you other solutions to remedy the problem you decry?
Highways of course are a continuous ‘ribbon’ of paved development that has speeding ‘animal predators’ / cars on it. That’s what makes overpasses on them so important. Neighborhoods, etc, animals have many more ways to traverse the developments.
THIS is one of the projects that, from its concept, makes me happy with these caring western values. THIS is what ‘the richest nation in history’ (and one of its main economic driver states) should do, to give back to the environment we are honored to inhabit!
Are any projects being considered locally? I remember years ago some talk about connecting Red Mt w Cahto Peak and over to the Sinkyone. Possibly putting 101 through a tunnel as a crossing? Much of that discussed area has now become wilderness areas…but disconnected by Highway 101. And to a lesser extent Highway 1 between South Fork Eel Wilderness and the RFFI lands over to the Sinkyone Wilderness. Anybody know of any talk about that or any other local connectivity schemes??