Wildlife and humans have a need to move across the landscape. But our modern modes of travel have put those necessary pathways at odds with one another. Our highways create barriers for animals to carry out the daily movements and seasonal migrations that are necessary for their survival. For people, crossing paths with an animal on the highway is also a threat to our own safety and a cause for collisions that cost around $8 billion in damages in the U.S. every year.
The topic of wildlife-vehicle collisions lies at the literal intersection of human needs and wildlife needs. In this episode, we take a look at how our approaches to this topic can relate to all areas of planning how our human needs and communities advance, in a way that acknowledges our place within our environments. We will hear from members of Yellowstone Safe Passages, a community-guided coalition in Southwest Montana that is taking a holistic approach to mitigate this issue. We will hear from a road ecologist about what this work looks like on the ground and the jaw dropping costs of continued conflict. And a policy expert will share how this topic creates bipartisan engagement and a model for productive legislative action.
In this episode, WE HEAR FROM:
Marcel Huijser, Western Transportation Institute
Liz Fairbank, Center for Large Landscape Conservation
Max Hjortsberg, Park County Environmental Council
Peter Brown, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
Erin Sito, Wildlands Network
Members of Yellowstone Safe Passages
Other LINKS:
Yellowstone Safe Passages Facebook
Yellowstone Safe Passages Instagram
Download the ROaDS app to contribute data as a citizen scientist! Follow directions on the linked document.
Paradise Valley Online Dashboard of Citizen Science Data
Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Wildlife Crossing, Flathead Reservation
Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group
Ben Goldfarb's book on road ecology, Crossings
Ologies podcast episode with Ben Goldfarb on Road Ecology
ARTICLES:
Introducing Yellowstone Safe Passages
Montana Projects Receive $9 million for Wildlife Crossings
Report calls for highway improvements to lessen wildlife-vehicle collisions (in Montana)
Mandating Wildlife Crossings in Mexico’s Infrastructure
U.S. Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program
This episode is part of the Life in the Land project, which is a series of films and podcasts produced by Stories for Action. The series hears from folks that interact with the complexities of Montana's landscapes, speaking to the value of locally-led work and the holistic approaches needed for the health of communities and the ecosystems they're a part of. Find out more about the project and watch the films at LifeintheLand.org. Reach out if you would like to host a free screening of the content for your community, organization, or classroom!
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