Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope: January 9, 2026
Wildlife crossings!
Colorado is building the world’s largest wildlife crossing over Interstate 25 to help enable elk, pronghorn, and mule deer migrations.
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Reasons For Hope
The state of Colorado recently completed construction of the world’s largest-ever wildlife overpass! The I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass will cross Interstate 25 highway south of Denver with a 200 by 209-foot span to provide a safe migration route for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn.
Before this project (which is funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), the surrounding 18-mile stretch of highway saw about one animal-car collision per day during spring and fall migration periods. This overpass, which is on track to be fully complete and landscaped in 2026, is expected to cause a 90% decrease in wildlife fatalities.
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is likewise currently under construction in Los Angeles, California, thanks in part to private philanthropic funding. When complete in 2026, it should include about 6,000 cubic yards of soil and over 5,000 plants, providing key habitat connectivity to cougars and more.
This is awesome work! In addition to benefiting wildlife and building ecosystem-wide habitat connectivity (increasingly vital as animals are on the move in an age of climate disruption), wildlife crossings can also save money and human drivers’ lives.
A study in Washington State calculated that 13 wildlife crossings in the area had a favorable cost-benefit analysis due to preventing medical, car repair, and cleanup costs, with each wildlife crossing saving an estimated $235,000 to $443,000 per year thanks to avoided collisions!
Wildlife crossings aren’t just charity to be nice to animals — they’re a sensible infrastructure improvement to protect humans and build resilient landscapes. State leaders are key players in making these win/win projects possible!