WCN’s California Wildlife Program (CWP) has pledged $1 million to the Wildlife Crossing Fund, an organization dedicated to matching public funding to establish wildlife crossings throughout California to benefit connectivity and safe migration for pumas, bobcats, deer, foxes, coyotes, and countless other wildlife. This grant will go toward supporting the construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, a massive, vegetated wildlife crossing spanning U.S. Highway 101 in Agoura Hills that, once completed, will be the largest of its kind in the United States. This crossing will extend 210 feet over the highway, be five-to-six traffic lanes wide, and will link the Santa Monica Mountains and Sierra Madre Range to sustain wildlife populations found in both.
This project is gaining increased attention due to California Wildlife Reconnected, a recently launched campaign developed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, state agencies, and nonprofits which aims to raise awareness and ignite the construction of a series of similar wildlife crossings along key highways and transit points across the state. These crossings will preserve vital connectivity for California wildlife which, in conjunction with habitat protection and restoration, will maintain healthy biodiversity. The campaign is also an essential strategy toward realizing California’s 30×30 goals to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and coastal waters by 2030.
“Through our California Wildlife Program, we at the Wildlife Conservation Network are energized to partner with the Wildlife Crossing Fund to address critical wildlife connectivity challenges across the state,” said Neal Sharma, CWP’s Senior Manager. “This is just the beginning of a comprehensive effort to leverage substantial funding, drive policy improvements, and strengthen public-private collaborations to protect California’s biodiversity and ensure the safe passage of wildlife for generations to come. To help launch this partnership, the Wildlife Conservation Network has pledged $1 million to the Wildlife Crossing Fund, which will be further leveraged by additional investments from WCN’s California Wildlife Program and other funding partners. Together, we’re advancing proven and innovative solutions to reconnect habitats and safeguard the future of wildlife.”
Learn more about this gigantic wildlife crossing project to protect connectivity in southern California.
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