Three mule deer have become the first animals to walk over California’s first wildlife crossing, which is nearing completion in Siskiyou County, according to the UC Davis Road Ecology Center and the California Department of Transportation.
The deer were captured on camera last month traversing the crossing over a deadly stretch of State Route 97, where more than 50 deer and 16 elk were struck and killed by vehicles between 2015 and 2020, according to Caltrans. Construction on the project began in July.
The crossing, combined with several miles of fencing, will be critical for the movement of gray wolf, elk, mountain lions, black bear, mule deer and other wildlife, said a statement from Fraser Shilling, director of the UC Davis Road Ecology Center.
“It heralds a new era of wildlife overcrossings to improve wildlife connectivity,” he said.
The crossing is one of several underway in California, including a $114-million project in Agoura Hills, billed as the world’s largest, that is set to open over the 101 Freeway later this year; two smaller crossings in the Mojave Desert and three more spanning Interstate 15.
Similar projects in states including Utah and Washington have significantly reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions and encouraged biodiversity.
Times staff writer Caroline Petrow-Cohen contributed to this report.
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