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Final Project by Jacqueline Zhang
 
INTRODUCTION

Introduction

There have been numerous successful wildlife crossings around the country and abroad. Some examples include the Animals' Bridge in Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana, and the wildlife overpass in Banff National Park, Canada. However, wildlife crossings are almost nonexistent in California. This is a major concern because of the damages to both wildlife and human health. It was calculated that the number of traffic collisions with wildlife in Europe was at 507,000 per year. This resulted in at least 300 people killed, 30,000 injured, and property damage costing $1 billion (Bruinderink &Hazebroek, 1996). Wildlife crossings can be costly as well--typically costing $2-4 million to build an overpass crossing--but the damage without wildlife crossings have higher costs (Chung, 2014).

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The first wildlife crossing in California will be the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2020 (Barragan, 2017). This is an overpass that will allow passage across the 101 Highway and is focused primarily on helping the mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains. Due to habitat fragmentation, these mountain lions have no safe way of crossing over highways. This reduces gene flow and reduces genetic diversity. Without genetic diversity, these mountain lions are at high risk of becoming endangered. 

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The main problem behind this project is habitat fragmentation. Due to habitat fragmentation and loss, animal species are becoming more and more vulnerable to extinction. In California, the habitats of our wildlife are separated by major roads and many animals end up becoming roadkill when attempting to cross over. However, these habitats can be connected with wildlife crossings (culverts, bridges, overpasses), allowing animal species to cross over anthropogenic barriers safely. Not only are wildlife crossings important for conservation, they also help reduce collision damage costs and injuries of human drivers and passengers. 

 

The goal of this project is to analyze Southern California's fragmented habitats and to help reduce wildlife-vehicle conflicts by allowing a passageway for wildlife to cross anthropogenic barriers. This will help provide a solution for habitat fragmentation and reduce the number of collisions between vehicles and animals. With these wildlife crossings, animal species will be able to thrive and we will be able to provide a safer environment for both humans and wildlife.

Wildlife crossings in Banff National Park (left) and Flathead Indian Reservation (right). Source

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