Brush Creek Corridor Considered ‘High Conflict Zone’ for Wildlife

The Brush Creek corridor accounts for more than half of all reported wildlife collisions in the upper Roaring Fork Valley.

Between 2014 and 2023, the six-mile stretch saw 337 wildlife-related crashes, including 116 elk, 195 mule deer, and 14 black bears.

Because of this, the Wildlife Crossings Across America road trip made a purposeful stop in Aspen on Friday, May 16, to spotlight one of Colorado’s most hazardous corridors for wildlife-vehicle conflicts.

The visit, organized in partnership with Roaring Fork Safe Passages, began with an EcoFlight aerial tour, offering participants a sweeping view of the high conflict zone from above. The Brush Creek corridor is not only a vital travel route for motorists, but a critical wildlife migration route where habitat fragmentation and vehicle collisions pose persistent threats to local species.

Beth Pratt, California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation and co-founder of the Wildlife Crossing Fund, led the Aspen stop — one of several nationwide visits aimed at raising awareness and private capital for wildlife crossings across the U.S. She was joined by representatives from ARC Solutions and National Geographic photojournalists Steve Winter and Sharon Guynup, who are chronicling connectivity projects across the country.

Steve Winter, an award winning National Geographic photojournalist, takes a photo of the Wildlife Crossings Fund and RFSP.

Westley Crouch/The Aspen Times

Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman also attended, underscoring local government support for the initiative.

After the aerial tour, the group convened at the Intercept Lot near Brush Creek Road before walking to the lower Brush Creek drainage — one of the most active wildlife crossing zones along the highway.

There, Pratt and Cecily DeAngelo, executive director of Roaring Fork Safe Passages, led an on-site discussion with Julia Kintsch, who performs the studies and reports on data and strategies related to habitat connectivity for Roaring Fork Safe Passages.

“It’s so nice to be out here and learn about Roaring Fork Safe Passages,” Pratt said. “Our Wildlife Crossing Fund is actually helping with this project in various ways but, most notably, by telling this story.”

DeAngelo emphasized the significance of the visit, saying, “I feel like we are starting to see this incredible mitigation work happening across the U.S.”

The event also featured live-streamed interviews, photo documentation, and conversations with transportation officials and regional conservation leaders.

Roaring Fork Safe Passages will asses the need for wildlife passages across Colorado Highway 133 immediately to the south of Carbondale.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale/The Aspen Times

Roaring Fork Safe Passages and its coalition of partners — including Pitkin County, Aspen, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and several regional nonprofits — have developed a comprehensive, multi-phase mitigation strategy outlining the construction of wildlife underpasses and overpasses, the installation of directional fencing, and the coordination of conservation easements to ensure long-term landscape connectivity.

Brush Creek drainage area is a focal point, where elk frequently attempt to cross between Cozy Point Ranch and the airport, often with fatal results.

“The minute that I learned that we could do something about wildlife-vehicle collisions — and this wasn’t just the invincibility of the valley that I grew up in — I knew we had to do something,” DeAngelo said.

The Brush Creek corridor is designated a Tier 1 priority in Roaring Fork Safe Passages’ Prioritization Study, which evaluates wildlife mortality, landscape permeability, and the feasibility of mitigation infrastructure.

If implemented, the project could reduce collisions by up to 90%, while bolstering elk and deer populations under increasing ecological pressure.

More information and opportunities to support these initiatives can be found at roaringforksafepassages.org and wildlifecrossingfund.org/roadtrip.