LA's WILDLIFE CROSSING: A BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE

For decades, our dedicated community of supporters and philanthropists set out to #SaveLACougars from extinction by building a wildlife crossing over LA’s 101 Freeway. The visionary Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing does just that. 

BUT WHAT ARE WILDLIFE CROSSINGS, EXACTLY? AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?

Habitat loss due to human development is the most significant threat to wildlife worldwide. This threat is compounded by roads and freeways that fracture functioning ecosystems into islands of habitat that isolate species to the point of inbreeding. Vehicle strike is the number one cause of death for many wildlife species.

Wildlife crossings are infrastructural systems that allow animals to safely utilize habitats that are disrupted by roads and freeways via bridges or tunnels. A well-designed crossing is fully integrated into the ecosystem, significantly expanding safe access to critical resources for survival and essentially eliminating wildlife-vehicle collisions all together (up to a 97% reduction). 

Over $11 billion is incurred annually from wildlife-vehicle collisions. Investments in wildlife crossings at a mere fraction of that number could solve the problem in a single generation. Wildlife crossings not only save wildlife, they also improve roadway safety, build innovative infrastructure into our transportation systems, create jobs that support thriving green economies, and increase ecosystem resilience in a changing climate.

“It actually costs society less to solve the problem of wildlife-vehicle collisions than it costs to do nothing.”Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary of Natural Resources 

Modeled after the transformative public-private partnership that has led to the success of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the California Wildlife Reconnected initiative seeks to build more wildlife crossings and improve wildlife movement across the state via a partnership of the California Natural Resources Agency, Caltrans, the Wildlife Crossing Fund, and the National Wildlife Federation. 

Wallis Annenberg has already pledged a $10 million matching grant to the Wildlife Crossing Fund to accelerate this effort, and we need your help to raise it!  For leadership donations to help with the match, please contact Beth at prattb@nwf.org

How You Can Help

Support the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over LA’s 101 Freeway:

Support California Wildlife Reconnected and the Wildlife Crossing Fund, dedicated to funding and advancing wildlife crossing projects across the United States:

Learn more about the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing at 101wildlifecrossing.org

Learn more about wildlife crossings in general by following @WildlifeCrossings on Instagram

For leadership donations to any of these efforts, please contact Beth at prattb@nwf.org