In efforts to make roads safer for wildlife crossings, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Friday to require Caltrans to prioritize crossing structures and barriers when building roadways.
The bill, labeled the Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act, recognizes how building roads in the middle of habitats and animal migration patterns can make essential species like mountain lions, elk and deer roadkill. It received bipartisan support in the legislature.
Not only can wildlife-vehicle collisions be deadly for animals and drivers, it can also lead to habitat fragmentation, which threatens the state's biodiversity as species inbreed and face genetic isolation.
State agencies will now be required to include wildlife passage solutions in proposed road projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. This could come in the form of overpasses, underpasses or culvers -- which have been proven to reduce roadkill rates by 98 percent, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"This legislation is proof that public safety and wildlife protection can go hand in hand," stated J.P. Rose, policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity's Urban Wildlands program. "For decades we've been building roads that slice through habitat and block animals' movement. Now we know better and we're finally taking the necessary steps to improve connectivity and make roads safer for people and wildlife."
The legislation was backed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wildlands Network, and builds on laws passed last year that specified how mitigation credits are used for wildlife crossings.
"The Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act signifies an important step towards reconnecting California's landscapes for mountain lions, migrating deer herds, amphibians and other wildlife impacted by roads," stated Mari Galloway, California program manager at the Wildlands Network. "This policy, combined with increasingly available state and federal funding, provides an amazing opportunity to address transportation impacts on California's ecosystems while making roads safer for motorists."
