Roaring Fork Safe Passages hosts a weekend of inspiration, education on wildlife crossings
Roaring Fork Safe Passages hosted its Wildlife Connectivity Events over the weekend.
The group, which is helping to reduce vehicle wildlife collisions in the Roaring Fork Valley, organized two events in Aspen, which featured prominent experts aiming to inspire local efforts to protect habitats within the Roaring Fork Valley.
“This was a weekend of inspiration and education,” said Roaring Fork Safe Passages Director Cecily DeAngelo. “We are hopeful this will show the public our path forward for mitigating wildlife-vehicle collisions.”
DeAngelo said that building under and overpasses in the Roaring Fork Valley will not only increase wildlife movement and increase habitat connectivity, but also make the roads safer for drivers.
“We wanted the public to attend these events to learn about how communities can come together to support these types of projects,” she said.
First event
On Friday, Oct. 4th, Roaring Fork Safe Passages hosted a special event at The Gant in Aspen with guest speaker Beth Pratt.
Pratt, known for leading the successful Save the LA Cougars campaign, raised $90 million to create the world’s largest wildlife crossing over the ten-lane Highway 101 in Los Angeles: the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.
“We raised close to $120 million for all the related efforts, including research,” she said. “It is amazing to see not just people loving wildlife but actually coming together with real funding to make something happen.”
Her presentation focused on the importance of wildlife corridors and Safe Passage’s mission to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and reconnect fragmented habitats across Highways 82 and 133.
“When animal crossings are built, they are up to 97% effective, and no one has to give up anything,” she said. “We can still drive, wildlife can still cross the road without being hit. It really is a win-win.”
Shee dove into the science and benefits of the crossings during an earlier interview.
“When you really start diving into the science of connectivity, the immediate thing is when an animal gets hit on the side of the road,” Pratt said. “But when you look further into the negative impacts, you can see that roads can cause genetic isolation in certain populations. Animals get locked into certain areas and are surrounded by roads on each side. Endangered or not, populations can collapse and become genetically unhealthy.”
She said this can happen in wildlife, both large and small, ranging from mountain lions in southern California to western fence lizards in Arizona.
“Roads are having many more consequences than we think,” she said. “Migratory species like deer and elk trying to get to their summering or winter grounds are now separated from their food because of roads; there is documentation about animals starving.”
She said Roaring Fork Safe Passages is taking solutions to this challenge to the Roaring Fork Valley.
“You guys have the wildlife here,” said Pratt excitedly. “I was having breakfast at, coincidentally, the Bear Den, and I saw two bear cubs playing across the street.”
Second event
The second event, held on Saturday at Explorer Bookstore, featured Ben Goldfarb, author of “Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet.” Local conservation advocate Tom Cardamone interviewed him for the event.
Goldfarb’s book, which was named one of the best books of 2023 by The New York Times, explores the impact of road networks on wildlife and ecosystems. His work has appeared in publications such as The Atlantic, National Geographic, and The Washington Post.
“Crossings is about the science of road ecology, which is basically a field of research that looks at the different ways roads and nature interact,” he said. “It looks at all of the harmful ways roads impact wildlife negatively and, most importantly, what we can do about those negative impacts, so we can start to solve some of the problems.”
Goldfarb said his book, “Crossings,” began when he was in Montana and had the chance to stand on top of a wildlife crossing just outside Missoula.
“It was really inspiring. We do so much on this planet to make animals’ lives harder and more dangerous with our infrastructure,” he said. “Here was this million-dollar bridge that I was standing on to make their lives safer and easier. I thought it was a really beautiful idea.”
Discussions
Speaking with Pratt about a section of Goldfarb’s book, she said she found one section incredibly interesting; it had to do with a species evolving in our lifetime because of highway infrastructure.
“A bird called the cliff swallow builds mud nests on the underside of highway overpasses and bridges,” said Goldfarb. “Scientists have discovered that these birds have become less susceptible to road kill; fewer of them get hit today than a few decades ago.”
He explained the reason is these birds are evolving to have shorter wingspans.
“If you are a bird, having a long wing is beneficial for long, straight flights. Short wings are good for maneuverability and agility,” he said. “The longer-winged swallows are getting weeded out of the population by cars and trucks, and the shorter-winged cliff swallows are the ones who avoid the vehicles and survive.”
Pratt said Goldfarb has an incredibly talented pen.
“His book was incredible. He really helped people understand the extent of the wildlife-road crossing problem,” she said. “He did a beautiful job, and he showed how animals are actually evolving because of our roads. I highly recommend ‘Crossings’ to any interested in learning more.”
DeAngelo said that fundraising for Roaring Fork Safe Passages has gone very well, thanks to very generous private and public donors.
“We are lucky to work with Pitkin County Open Space, Aspen Parks and Open Space, and Snowmass Town Council,” she said. “I am hopeful that Eagle County and the City of Basalt will be joining us. I have spoken with both of them and have had some soft commitments from each.”
Goldfarb said Roaring Fork Safe Passages is helping animals in the valley to get the food and water that they need to survive.
“Wildlife crossings are very beneficial to help these animal movements happen safely,” he said. “They are also very beneficial for us drivers as well.”
He said the average deer/vehicle collision costs more than $9,000 in hospital costs and vehicle repairs. The average elk collision is more than $20,000, and the average moose collision is more than $40,000.
DeAngelo said that, ultimately, the goal is to get Garfield County, the City of Carbondale, and the City of Glenwood Springs involved in the wildlife crossings project.
“It is so incredible to have multi-county, multi-town/city participation,” DeAngelo said. “This is something where we are seeing bipartisan support and is popular with all demographics. That has been really helpful with getting these various counties and cities on board.”
Pratt agreed.
“It’s wonderful to see wildlife crossings not only capturing the public’s imagination, but we are also seeing a lot of bipartisan support,” she said. “In times we do not agree on much, we agree on wildlife crossings.”
DeAngelo expressed gratitude to Ecoflight for offering aerial perspectives that supported the advocacy for wildlife crossing structures, including those on Highway 101, East Vail Pass, and Roaring Fork Safe Passages.
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