{"id":134526,"date":"2026-06-24T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-wildlife-crossings-now-have-dedicated-funding\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T11:00:00","slug":"colorado-wildlife-crossings-now-have-dedicated-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-wildlife-crossings-now-have-dedicated-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado wildlife crossings now have dedicated funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The U.S. 160 wildlife overpass and underpass project between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs was completed in 2022 on Southern Ute Tribal Lands. The project incorporated several safety strategies for mitigation, including wildlife crossings, fencing and escape ramps. (Courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

From the perspective of wildlife and transportation officials, the everyday threat of wildlife-involved car collisions is not an \u201cif\u201d but a \u201cwhen.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2025, statewide roadkill data showed 7,770 car wrecks occurred with wild animals, not counting unreported accidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMule deer, moose and elk \u2013 if you hit these large animals, it could be a loss of life. As traffic increases statewide, elk and deer have to move. They have such large home ranges providing for their life requirements,\u201d said Michelle Cowardin, Colorado Parks and Wildlife movement coordinator.<\/p>\n

Plus, she added, drivers are now more distracted. Between 2010 to 2024, Colorado Department of Transportation recorded over 54,000 animal-car collisions, 48 of which were fatal to humans and over 5,100 left motorists injured.<\/p>\n

The environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb\u2019s book \u201cCrossings\u201d explores the field of road ecology. Goldfarb\u2019s text points to hundreds of millions of animals killed in crashes. Whereas roads serve purposes of human travel, they pose \u201calien\u201d sources of death for animals while also affecting biological migration capabilities.<\/p>\n

The passing of state legislation, Senate Bill 26-141, creates a dedicated funding source for wildlife crossings providing for the planning, engineering, and building stages.<\/p>\n

State partners like CPW, CDOT and the Wildlife & Transportation Alliance have for decades strategized and built innovative systems to allow animals to cross habitats safely. The state departments have 75 wildlife crossing structures in the database \u2013 although not all operate the same.<\/p>\n

The departments have erected several massive structures across highways and at hot spot intersections, combining multiple safety features for successful passage that include underpasses, overpasses, miles-long fencing and sometimes escape ramps or deer guards.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecuring the long-term funding was very important for us in Colorado,\u201d Cowardin said. \u201cThrough wildlife transportation studies, CDOT and CPW identified hundreds of miles in need of wildlife crossings, and now that money can now be leveraged with federal transportation grant funds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis signed the act for wildlife crossing funding in May. It was primarily sponsored by Sens. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, and Dylan Roberts, D-Routt County, and Reps. Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction.<\/p>\n

\"In
In May, Gov. Jared Polis signed the Wildlife Collision Prevention Act into law in Winter Park. (Courtesy of Headwaters Trails Alliance)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The bill authorizes an optional $5 collision prevention fee that will be collected during vehicle registrations beginning in 2027. The revenue \u2013 an expected $4 million annually \u2013 will be credited to two funds: CDOT\u2019s Bridge and Tunnel Enterprise Fund and a CPW fund for maintaining wildlife habitat connectivity.<\/p>\n

\"The
The I-25 overpass crossing near Greenland. (Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Transportation)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The picture shows concrete forms being set for U.S. 160 Fort Garland wildlife underpass. (Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Transportation)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado has built wildlife passageways since the 1960s that have proved useful to both humans and the state\u2019s thriving Rocky Mountain elk herd, as well as numerous other native wildlife species such as bighorn sheep, pronghorn, black bears and moose. But early infrastructure, such as standalone culverts, were not the sound, highly customized infrastructure built specific to regional landscapes today.<\/p>\n

Current examples include the 2015 Colorado Highway 9 project between Kremmling and Silverthorne, which resulted in five wildlife underpasses and two overpasses, about 10 miles of wildlife fencing, landscaping and widening road shoulders to about 8 feet. Data provided in the senate bill shows officials believe the Highway 9 project has reduced collisions by 92% since 2016.<\/p>\n

\"A
A wildlife escape ramp along Colorado Highway 9 north of Silverthorne. The ramps allow animals trapped along highway fencing to leap safely back into grazing land. (Courtesy of the Colorado Department of Transportation)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The project cost $40 million and affects 3,100 to 3,600 vehicles daily, according to CDOT.<\/p>\n

Cowardin said project costs may vary depending on the amount of structures and existing topography.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor these projects to be successful, you need wildlife fencing. If you have fencing, you must have escape ramps, and then you need wildlife guards. There always has to be a system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Locally, the U.S. 160 Mesa Verde project is still in the works and has been named a Wildlife & Transportation Alliance priority for 2026. From the western edge of Cortez to just past Mancos, CPW recorded 404 wildlife\u2011vehicle crashes from the years 2020 to 2025.<\/p>\n

The project focuses on constructing a large-game underpass near Mesa Verde National Park and Cortez on 160 \u2013 a corridor well-known for conflicts between motorists, mule deer and black bears because it is a popular winter-range site. Crossings for smaller-sized animals are also planned, including drainage systems and culverts.<\/p>\n

CDOT spokesperson Adair Christensen said the project timeline is currently in design phases, expected to be constructed in the early 2030s.<\/p>\n

awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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