Wildlife Crossings Make Economic and Ethical Sense
By Tom Cardamone
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. They exist all over North America and Europe. We can do it here.
As I was shepherding the science-based Roaring Fork Watershed Biodiversity and Connectivity Study (2018-2022) I made many presentations around the community and always found enthusiastic support for the idea of wildlife crossings. That study is now a model for a statewide biodiversity study and also provides a foundation for Roaring Fork Safe Passages, a nonprofit formed by Cecily DeAngelo that’s focused on getting wildlife crossings done locally.
Wildlife crossings can reduce roadkill by 80% to 90%, avoiding costly wildlife vehicle collisions, (averaging as much as $25,000 to $75,000 for a deer or an elk accident respectively). Importantly, crossings enhance the vitality of wildlife populations by providing access to good habitat and allowing genetic mixing. All these outcomes add to the strong public appeal beyond simply ending the jarring experience of driving a highway sometimes littered with carcasses.
Since 2022 Roaring Fork Safe Passages has advocated for wildlife crossings in the Roaring Fork Watershed and notably has conducted community-supported feasibility studies with private and public funding. These professional feasibility studies are determining the most effective and practical locations for crossings. A recent community survey demonstrated strong support for the concept of wildlife crossings, with 95% of 730 respondents registering support.
The devilish details lie in funding, particularly in today’s political climate. But these are long-term projects that stretch beyond any particular administration. It’s important to be laying the groundwork now, so when engineering and funding are accomplished we, the community, can get to work.
Success in taking on the challenge of highway crossings involves some motivation. My motivation is in knowing that in Colorado more deer are killed by cars every year than by hunters. Wildlife accidents in the stretch from the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport to Woody Creek have cost motorists, first responders and others an estimated $10 million in the last decade. That’s just one of several hotspots for wildlife-vehicle collisions from Aspen to Glenwood.
A global perspective can spur action too. In 1850 wild mammals were equal in biomass to humans and our livestock (50/50). Now the wild portion is just 4%, with humans and livestock accounting for 96% of mammalian biomass globally. Ours is a watershed where the ratio today is 50/50. Nature still has half here, and we residents bear some ethical responsibility to keep it that way.
Yes, wildlife contributes immeasurably to the quality of life, for both residents and visitors. But also consider that wildlife watching, fishing and hunting drive an economic engine in Colorado that is larger than skiing. Wildlife activities generate $7.6 billion annually, while winter activities including skiing/boarding, backcountry touring, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling generate $6.6 billion. We’d be both ethically and economically wise to do all we can to steward wildlife and all biodiversity.
I’ll leave you with an analogy: At a certain age you are increasingly likely to know someone who is enjoying prolonged health and vigor with the simple intervention of a coronary artery stent. It’s a very small medical device with enormous health benefits; a little mesh tube that props open narrowed or blocked heart arteries. Stents restore blood flow to the heart muscle and provide the ability to exercise and live normally and fully.
Like stents, wildlife crossings are high-value items that are also priceless for the beneficiaries — and cost effective. Crossings save lives and restore healthy functioning of ecosystems by opening up blocked wildlife corridors to revitalize entire landscapes and wildlife populations. Whether it’s a friend, a family member or a living wild landscape, we have the means, the tools and the motivation to save and enhance lives.
To learn more and get involved, contact Cecily DeAngelo or Tucker Burton at roaringforksafepassages.org. Sources for data and information are available upon request.
Note: This roadkill rate is based on CPW estimates that 2% of the mule deer population is killed annually by vehicles — together with anecdotal evidence from CPW, CSP, and CDOT that 70-80% of wildlife vehicle collisions are unreported. Estimates are used to arrive at these numbers in the absence of hard data.
Tom Cardamone served as executive director of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies for more than four decades. He is currently a volunteer board member of the nonprofit Roaring Fork Safe Passages.
