The journey out of Denver west on the I-70 is a beautiful and scenic drive, but it's also one that's fraught with peril for drivers, and more importantly, for wildlife. The corridor between Denver and the resort communities of Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge, is an important migration path for black bears, cougars, bobcats, deer and an array of other animals, but over time, this area has become an increasingly dangerous place for them to cross. To bring some relief to the animals, a number of architects have designed the next generation of innovative wildlife crossings that are both attractive, effective and appropriately landscaped with native vegetation.
I remember a West Wing episode years ago where “dimwitted” conservationists proposed building a animals only highway as a way to protect animals. In the show the scientists were basically laughed out of the building. The shows “solution” was rediculous but the problem that it tried to address is very real.
It’s nice to see that people are taking looking into ways to save lives and protect animals.
this is a good idea in theory…but most animals aren’t goin to say…hey why don’t i walk a couple minutes down that way and safely cross over the highway with that bridge…. they are just going to cross the highway…
In response to tjane09′s comment:
Yes, it’s true that animals won’t naturally seek out bridges unless the bridges are designed to take advantage of land-form and habitat patterns. Another key component of these bridges which has not been widely reported is that all of the proposals include fencing between bridges, underpasses, and disruptive terrain features (i.e. steep rocky slopes – though not a problem for bighorn sheep). Animals don’t cross the highway randomly, rather a significant amount of field research suggests that ideal locations for bridges such as these can be pinpointed and that animals can be funneled onto them. Of course, these proposals will need to be refined over time as the knowledge expands, but they’re a great start!
This type of land bridge structure for animals has been in use or years (approx 10yrs to my memory) in Banff And Jasper National Parks in Canada. The Hwy system is fenced-off in all directions with the bridges as often as 2-3km, thus funneling the animals towards the land bridge. YES they work great, and have been saving the lives of Humans and the Animals since introduced.