Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Motor Vehicle Collisions and Protect Colorado's Wildlife Introduced in Senate
Colorado lawmakers Senator Dylan Roberts (D, SD-8), Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson (R, SD-6), Speaker Julie McCluskie (D, HD-13), and Representative Rick Taggart (R, HD-55) today introduced the Wildlife Collision Prevention Act (SB26-141), a crucial measure to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions across the state.
VandeBoom: ‘We must share it with our wildlife’
Wildlife and humans in Pitkin County do not live in a vacuum from one another. On the contrary, we are a multi-species community, a political theory developed by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka, largely discussed in their work “Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights.” Ignoring or denying that reality serves neither humans nor non-human animals that reside in this county.
The wildlife here is sentient, just like we humans are. While their inner lives, herd lives, communication methods and relationships look and are different from ours, it doesn’t negate their biological sentience. Nor does that difference exclude them from being members of our community, with whom we share this land.
Pitkin County expenditure to aid wildlife a no-brainer
Some Pitkin County commissioners support these efforts, but a few others seem to be dragging their feet and quibbling over a couple hundred thousand dollars to support an engineering feasibility study. In a county with a multibillion-dollar economy whose attractions largely depend on wildlife and open space, investing a relatively small sum to back this initiative seems like a no-brainer. To put this in perspective, the Pitkin County budget for 2026 is north of $300 million.
Safe passages save money and lives
We have the science, the community support, and the proven models. In a recent community survey of 730 respondents, 95% expressed support for wildlife crossing structures and 85% believe it will improve their quality of life in the valley, reflecting strong, nonpartisan support. Statewide, a 2024 Colorado College survey found 87% of Coloradans support wildlife crossings. We have matching funds in hand, CDOT partnerships, and a project that aligns directly with the values in the county’s Vision 2050 goals for environmental stewardship and safety. Support from the BOCC for the Open Space and Trails’ thoughtful recommendation in December 2025 to fund efforts to protect wildlife not only demonstrates a continued commitment to wildlife but will serve as a catalyst for future funding from other sources.
Help Us Cross the Finish Line — Tell the BOCC You Support Wildlife Crossings
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our community, we met our $200,000 challenge match. Now we are headed before the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to seek approval of the $200,000 already recommended by the Pitkin County Open Space & Trails Board — bringing the total to $400,000 for engineering feasibility work for wildlife crossings at Sky Mountain and Brush Creek along Highway 82.
The BOCC needs to hear from you. A personal letter or a few words of public comment can make a real difference. Here's how to help.
Wildlife crossings gain traction upvalley
“We're super lucky,” said Cecily DeAngelo, executive director of Roaring Fork Safe Passages. “We live in a state that's an advocate of this work. We are in a country that's starting to actually fund this in a bipartisan way, and I think that Pitkin County is moving in the right direction.”
VIDEO: Colorado Has a Chance to Save Lives and Money with More Wildlife Crossings
Every year in Colorado, wildlife-vehicle collisions change lives in an instant. These crashes injure drivers and passengers, devastate families, and take a heavy toll on wildlife and communities. But they are preventable, and we know what works: wildlife crossings.
The video below shares the powerful stories of three Coloradans whose lives were forever altered by crashes with wildlife.
Roaring Fork Safe Passages discusses plans with Aspen
Thirty percent of recent vehicle crashes in the Roaring Fork Valley were due to wildlife-vehicle collisions, resulting in an estimated $5.2 million of damage.
That’s according to 2012 to 2021 data presented in Monday’s Aspen City Council Work Session by Roaring Fork Safe Passages, a local nonprofit committed to mitigating wildlife-vehicle collision risk through infrastructure projects on Colorado Highways 82 and 133.
“There’s consequences for drivers,” Julia Kintsch, senior ecologist at Denver’s ECO-Resolutions who was contracted by Roaring Fork Safe Passages, said of the impact of wildlife collisions. “There’s consequences for wildlife mortality and wildlife connectivity.”
We Were Lucky. The Deer Wasn't.
On Friday May 5, driving down valley on 82, on the final leg of a long travel day coming home from vacation, I was the latest RFV resident to hit an animal on 82. It was bitterly cold, a full moon, and the roads were a little slippery. Traffic was moving slow, but the car in front of me suddenly slammed on its brakes and swerved off the road to avoid the deer. I had no time to react and a car next to me. There was no choice but to slam on my brakes and hit the deer.
Take Action: Support Federal Wildlife Crossings Legislation
KEY MESSAGING POINTS AND DRAFTED TEMPLATE LETTER TO REP. HURD FOR NEW WILDLIFE CROSSINGS PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT
Colorado Can Build a Safer Path for Wildlife and Drivers Alike
A few years back, I hit an elk at night near the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. My car was totaled. Miraculously, I was OK — but not everyone is that lucky. The collision shook me. And what lingers is the question of who else could have been hurt if I hadn’t been driving alone? Even worse is knowing that it could have been prevented.
Officials Must Take Action
Last spring I had an experience on my commute home from work on Highway 82 (between the airport and Brush Creek Road) that could easily have ended in tragedy. While driving home in the dark, an elk ran into the road, and before I even had time to react, it slammer into my car.
Seven Animals, Five Hours, 20 Miles
One morning early this week, as I turned onto Highway 133 toward Carbondale, I watched a young buck weave through traffic. Minutes later, driving toward Aspen, I passed a freshly killed elk calf and a deer near Aspen Village, an abandoned SUV with a crushed front end nearby. On my return trip, I witnessed a large buck struck by a vehicle near Red Hill, left alive but paralyzed as cars swerved around him on the blind curve. In less than five hours, on a 20-mile stretch of road, I encountered seven dead or dying animals.
We Need to Get Going on Hwy 92 Wildlife Crossings
Over the last two weeks I have counted eight dead elk or deer along Highway 82 between Snowmass Canyon and the Aspen airport — it is heartbreaking. This means there are at least eight people who have been traumatized with wrecked vehicles and I hope no physical injuries.
Let’s Protect Wildlife With Safe Crossings
In his guest commentary in support of wildlife crossings, specifically the local nonprofit Roaring Fork Safe Passages, Tom Cardamone noted “nature still has half here, and we residents bear some ethical responsibility to keep it that way.”
I passionately agree, this time, from the heart. Wildlife crossings began in France in the 1950s. They then took off in the Netherlands, which built more than 600 crossings. The Dutch built the world’s longest animal crossing, more than half a mile long. In the United States, the idea has taken longer to catch on. Wildlife crossings began here less than 20 years ago. But we have a chance to catch up.
Wildlife Crossings Make Economic and Ethical Sense
Wildlife crossings over and under highways save lives, are cost effective and enhance the vitality and ecological functioning of the large landscapes they connect. These crossings require community engagement and creative strategies to get them done.
Aspen Highway Data Shows Wildlife Cause Majority of Incidents
On a six-mile stretch of Highway 82 extending from the Sinclair gas station and the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport toward town, there were a total of 410 traffic accidents reported to the police between 2013 and 2024.
More than half of those incidents — 224 to be exact — were wildlife-vehicle collisions, according to data from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
The RFV’s Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Problem Deemed Solvable
Standing in a grassy field across from the Brush Creek Park and Ride, Cecily DeAngelo motioned toward the nearby shale bluffs rising above Highway 82.
Over the sound of speeding cars and the occasional plane overhead, she explained where a wildlife bridge could be built to guide animals up and over the busy road.
Aspen Wildlife Crossing Proposal Addresses Critical Valley Problem
Highway 82 has created a divide in the Roaring Fork Valley.
The presence of the four-lane highway between critical pieces of habitat for multiple species not only presents a threat to ungulate populations such as deer, elk, moose, and other animals, but also a threat to public safety, as well.
Safe Passages Recommends Projects Near Airport
With high-dollar priorities identified in its mission to reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions, the organization Roaring Fork Safe Passages is looking for public feedback on underpass and overpass plans.
The coalition’s latest report, “State Highway 82 Wildlife Mitigation Strategy: Airport to Aspen Village,” drills into mitigation strategies in the high-priority stretch of Highway 82, identified in earlier studies as the best stretch of regional highways to invest in terrain mapping and infrastructure feasibility. It runs from milepost 32.5 to 37.3.