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.
To Protect Local Wildlife, Take Action Immediately
As responsible stewards of the environment, we must advocate for policies that promote coexistence and protect our natural heritage. I urge our community leaders to prioritize implementing wildlife-friendly infrastructure and ensure that safe passage for wildlife remains a top priority in our planning and development decisions.
Safe Crossings a Worthy Cause
Hats off to Cecily DeAngelo for spearheading the effort to create protected ways for wildlife to cross Highway 82 (Roaring Fork Safe Passages). While there’s plenty of will in this community, it will take grit, energy, time and determination to thread the separate federal, state and local entities together to see this endeavor through.