Thu, 6 Jul 2023 04:02:27 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<https://apnews.com/article/wildlife-highways-collisions-infrastructure-ab02e06fda340d87a22e85132d0a503c>
"SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — Native American tribes, as well as state and
local governments, will be able to tap into $350 million in infrastructure
funds to build wildlife corridors along busy roads and add warning signs for
drivers in what federal officials are billing as the first-of-its-kind pilot
program to prevent collisions and improve habitat connectivity.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rolled out more details about the
program during a visit to Santa Ana Pueblo on Tuesday. Wildlife managers with
the New Mexico tribe have been tracking mountain lions, elk and other animals
across tens of thousands of acres in north-central New Mexico and have
documented casualties along busy highways that cut through tribal boundaries.
Buttigieg visited one of the culverts under Interstate 25 near the pueblo that
serves a migratory byway for animals that travel between the high desert
mountain ranges that border tribal land and the cottonwood and willow forests
along the Rio Grande.
He called it a great example, saying the safety solution needed in one
location, like a busy crosswalk in the middle of a dense metropolitan area, is
different from what is needed in an area where there are so many conflict
points between traffic and wildlife.
“Whether you’re talking about the broader effects on climate that come with
what we do or don’t do on everything from transit alternatives to the very
design of our roads, all that is at stake in good transportation policy,” he
said, adding that not all the answers need to come from Washington, just more
of the funding.
Nationwide, about 200 people are killed each year in collisions involving
wildlife and vehicles, federal officials said."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
"SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — Native American tribes, as well as state and
local governments, will be able to tap into $350 million in infrastructure
funds to build wildlife corridors along busy roads and add warning signs for
drivers in what federal officials are billing as the first-of-its-kind pilot
program to prevent collisions and improve habitat connectivity.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rolled out more details about the
program during a visit to Santa Ana Pueblo on Tuesday. Wildlife managers with
the New Mexico tribe have been tracking mountain lions, elk and other animals
across tens of thousands of acres in north-central New Mexico and have
documented casualties along busy highways that cut through tribal boundaries.
Buttigieg visited one of the culverts under Interstate 25 near the pueblo that
serves a migratory byway for animals that travel between the high desert
mountain ranges that border tribal land and the cottonwood and willow forests
along the Rio Grande.
He called it a great example, saying the safety solution needed in one
location, like a busy crosswalk in the middle of a dense metropolitan area, is
different from what is needed in an area where there are so many conflict
points between traffic and wildlife.
“Whether you’re talking about the broader effects on climate that come with
what we do or don’t do on everything from transit alternatives to the very
design of our roads, all that is at stake in good transportation policy,” he
said, adding that not all the answers need to come from Washington, just more
of the funding.
Nationwide, about 200 people are killed each year in collisions involving
wildlife and vehicles, federal officials said."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
