Healthy Wildlife Populations Make Colorado a Special Place to Live and Play

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2009

Contacts: Bethany Gravell / Paige Bonaker, Center for Native Ecosystems, 303-546-0214 Monique DiGiorgio, Western Environmental Law Center, 406-451-0051 Kim Vacariu, Wildlands Network, 575-557-0155 Caitlin Balch-Burnett, Defenders of Wildlife, 303-825-0918

West Vail Pass Chosen as Site for International Wildlife Crossing Design Competition

Competition will focus attention on area already identified as a priority crossing spot for lynx, other wildlife

Denver – West Vail Pass has been selected as the site for an international competition among teams of architects, engineers, planners and others to design a wildlife crossing structure over Interstate 70.

Vail Pass was chosen from among twenty two candidate locations for ARC, the North American Wildlife Crossing Structure Design Competition. The competition, convened by a partnership of the Western Transportation Institute and other organizations in coordination with Colorado Department of Transportation, will focus national and international attention on a site long acknowledged as one of the most important and impacted wildlife corridors along I-70.

A wide array of species have been documented crossing or attempting to cross the interstate at Vail Pass. Two of the fourteen lynx killed on roads since 1999, when Colorado began reintroducing the native cats, were killed on Vail Pass. In 2005, Congress approved funding for preliminary studies of the Vail Pass site to support the eventual design of a wildlife bridge.

“Vail Pass is an important highway crossing site for so many creatures,” said Bethany Gravell, Executive Director at Center for Native Ecosystems and a representative of the Colorado Safe Passage Coalition. “Everything from elk and mule deer to endangered species like lynx use this vital movement corridor through our mountains. This design competition focuses on the right location, for the right reasons. This competition will help more people understand the importance of wildlife crossing structures within our highway system.”

“Anyone who has driven over Vail Pass can see it is an important connection between the mountain habitats on either side,” said Caitlin Balch-Burnett, Colorado Outreach Representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “Ensuring wildlife can safely cross roads and highways is crucial to keeping wildlife populations healthy into the future. They are part of the natural heritage and an important draw for tourism dollars. Colorado will serve as an example for the rest of the country by creating an innovatively designed wildlife bridge in this prime location.”

The competition will draw on data collected over the past several years by Colorado Safe Passage Coalition member organizations through a citizen science program that used motion-triggered cameras to record wildlife activity adjacent to the roadway. The competition will also rely on site-specific information from the Colorado Department of Transportation about the topography and construction requirements for the location.

“Highway crossings for wildlife can have so many benefits—improved driver safety, fewer animal deaths, healthier wildlife populations, which also means healthier landscapes,” said Monique DiGiorgio, Conservation Strategist for the Western Environmental Law Center. “Colorado needs to take its commitment to safety for drivers and wildlife to the next level, and Vail Pass is the right place to do it. We believe this competition will be good for Colorado’s mountains and wildlife and will make our state a leader in terms of promoting innovative and practical solutions for wildlife crossings.”

“The completion of a wildlife bridge at West Vail Pass will reconnect one of North America’s most endangered wildlife linkages and represents one more stepping stone toward realization of our goal to create a continental wildway along the Spine of the Continent, from Alaska to Mexico,” said Kim Vacariu, Western Director for the Wildlands Network.

The Colorado Safe Passage Coalition includes Western Environmental Law Center, Center for Native Ecosystems, Colorado Wild, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, and Wildlands Network. The coalition seeks to improve both wildlife health and public safety by facilitating wildlife crossing of roads, highways, and other barriers.