10 Million dollar price tag for a landscaped overpass, really?

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Landscaped Wildlife Overpass

Last November a young male mountain lion was struck and found dead on the shoulder of the 101 Freeway near the Liberty Canyon Road on-ramp. Much has been made of its untimely demise, more so than the humans who are more frequently killed or maimed along the 101 Freeway. 

Environmentalists now want to build a wildlife overpass spanning the Freeway at Liberty Canyon.  The price tag would be $10 million, and that’s for only one overpass. Three mountain lion kittens were also killed not long ago near Kanan Road, miles away from  Liberty Canyon.     

California State Senator, Fran Pavley, Paul Edelman of the Mountains Recreation Conservation  along with Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, representatives from Caltrans and other officials recently inspected the underpass at Liberty Canyon.  When asked in an email where the funding for such a project would come from Supervisor Parks, who chairs  the Santa Monica Conservancy, answered: “On March 5, 2002, voters approved Proposition 40*a $2.6 billion bond for natural resource conservation, parks, and historical and cultural resources:  http://www.lao.ca.gov/2002/prop_40/prop_40_050702.html

After a cursory exam of the actual text of Prop 40, (you can download it here: http://www.rmc.ca.gov/about/legislation.html#40 ) I saw nothing that indicates that this bond included wildlife corridors. There is a lot about urban parks, clean water, clean air and coastal protection, but nothing on wildlife corridors. Maybe I’m missing something, who knows.  If you’re in government you can be creative with other people’s money.  And this bond, like all of them, is actually a line of credit that we are borrowing against with the promise to pay it back with tax revenue. You can also study the Proposition here: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21876

I’ve personally seen Wildlife Corridors in other States (Nevada, Idaho and Montana) but not in California. I’ve even seen them in Canada. They meet a purpose for deer elk and other

seasonally migratory animals. Even where I’ve seen these corridors in use, I’ve also noted road kills. The overpasses are not cheap and may not be of benefit for the occasional movements of animals that just want to extend their hunting range or seek a mate. The questions that have not been asked are and, of course, not answered: What will this really cost?  What will they do next if the mountain lions still choose to cross the freeway other than by the corridor? How will this be explained to the taxpayer if and/or when it fails?

The male lion was killed on the freeway near Liberty Canyon, the kittens near Kanan Road.  If we spend $10 million on an overpass will they read the signs and only cross there?  One would only hope.

With an already established under-crossing at Liberty Cyn. Rd., why not just use game fencing to block freeway access and redirect them to the under-passage?

Here’s a much more sensible alternative to building a crazy passage over the freeway: http://www.elkhornsloughctp.org/uploads/files/1182960903highway%20undercrossings.pdf

From: “Use of highway undercrossings by wildlife in southern California” you will find the key passage from the abstract:

“To increase the likelihood of utilization and to help prevent animals from crossing road surfaces, we suggest that simple improvements such as habitat restoration near crossing points and animal-proof fencing that serves to funnel wildlife to passages, can facilitate animal movement between fragmented habitats that are bisected by roads.”

Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330-8303
National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 401 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Department of Biology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO

Mountain Lion traveling under a highway in Florida

Fences, gee, not quite the hefty price tag of a landscaped over-sized overpass that may or may not be used: fencing that will guide animals under the freeway and away from cars.  With the state near bankrupt and its people already overtaxed, maybe we should ask our politicians to use some common sense.  Really – it couldn’t hurt.

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William Hicks is a long time resident of Newbury Park and is retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District

Debra Tash, Editor for Citizens Journal, contributed to this editorial

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