Wyoming Game And Fish Build Underpass For Wildlife
$1.25 million was just approved to build two underpasses on Highway 189 for the wildlife to pass from one side to the other, according to Wyoming Public Media.
On this five-mile stretch of road, there is an average of 117 collisions each year between wildlife and vehicles. There are so many accidents on this stretch of highway because in the fall and spring this is the route for mule deer to go to and from the winter range for migration. The Wyoming Game and Fish Dept. like to keep a certain amount of mule deer in population with these accidents the population is down 10,000. The goal is to have around 40,000 mule deer.
"The underpass combined with a deer fence sort of leads deer to the safest passage that they're already accustomed to using," Game and Fish's Sara DiRienzo told Wyoming Public Media.
The new underpasses plan to drop accidents by 90% and they should be completed by 2022.