Help may be on the way for elk and other wildlife trying to cross a busy highway in central Oregon. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined several other partners in supplying funding for a feasibility study to pinpoint locations along US Highway 20 between Bend and Suttle Lake for possible wildlife crossings.
“This region provides critical habitat for a wide diversity of species, linking forested areas along the crest of the Cascade Range to the sagebrush grasslands of the High Desert. Highway 20 is a formidable barrier to wildlife movement, and the risk of injury or mortality to wildlife is increasing as traffic volumes rise. The highway bisects critical migration and movement pathways for mule deer and elk, and makes it more difficult for all wildlife, large and small, to access the resources they need to survive,” Rachel Wheat, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s wildlife connectivity coordinator, told KTVZ-TV.
A coalition of state and federal agencies, landowners and other partners identified four potential crossing sites based on their importance to migration corridors, propensity for wildlife-vehicle collisions and their location related to public land and the nearest crossing sites.
The next step includes raising more funding and completing designs. RMEF also awarded funding to help with engineering.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)