The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the WYldlife Fund have teamed up to raise $2.7 million in donations to contribute to the non-federal match requirement for the state’s application for more than $17 million from the federal Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program for U.S. Highway 26 in Wyoming.
The federal funding would help “keep people safe and wildlife alive” along the roadway, the nonprofit organizations said in a press release this month.
“This substantial fundraising effort will strengthen the state’s application as it competes for these highly competitive federal grant funds,” the press release states.
‘Top priority’
U.S. Highway 26 from Stoney Point to the Wind River Reservation has been identified as the state’s “top priority for wildlife crossings,” the press release states, with the wildlife crossing project location accounting for nearly three in four wildlife-vehicle collisions.
“Thousands of mule deer migrate between summer range near Grand Teton National Park and winter range at the Wind River Reservation each year,” Greater Yellowstone Coalition Executive Director Scott Christensen said. “This project will make the highway safer for both wildlife and people, while allowing animals to reach their summer and winter ranges.”
He added that “the support for this wildlife highway crossing project has been tremendous.”
“I am thrilled at the way Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s supporters and partners stepped up to help fund an effort that will benefit wildlife and communities for years to come,” Christensen said.
The nonprofit partners had just 90 days to raise the matching funds required to submit a competitive application, the press release states.
“Wildlife crossings bring together those who are passionate about protecting wildlife,” WYldlife Fund President Chris McBarnes said. “In Wyoming, there are approximately 21 big-game collisions every day, totaling more than 7,656 wildlife-vehicle collisions each year. More than 70 percent of these incidents involve mule deer. This pressing issue is why the WYldlife Fund is dedicated to securing crucial funding for the development of the Wind River to Grand Tetons Wildlife Crossing.”
Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce said “the money raised for this project through partnerships reflects Wyoming’s passion for conserving our world-class wildlife.”
“This project is an investment that helps to preserve big game movement and save lives,” Bruce said.
If the funding is awarded, the press release says the project will entail designing and building one wildlife overpass and four wildlife underpasses, enhancing five existing structures to improve wildlife movement, and installing about 18 miles of big game fencing as well as jump-outs and cattle guards in strategic locations.
“I’m hoping for a successful outcome for this worthy project,” Wyoming Department of Transportation Director Darin Westby said. “This project is a win-win for highway safety and safe wildlife movement that will benefit our state and those who travel through it.
“This is also an exciting opportunity for WYDOT to work with our state and private partners on a project that has a lot of public support, and we are grateful to be a part of it.”
The press release says the project partners for the new wildlife highway crossing infrastructure project include:
-Wyoming Department of Transportation
-Wyoming Game and Fish Department
-Wind River Tribes (Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho)
-WYldlife Fund
-Greater Yellowstone Coalition
-Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust
Wyoming has committed over $5 million for the project, should it be awarded the federal Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program dollars, along with the $2.7 raised by GYC and the WYldlife Fund, according to the press release, noting that the work is contingent upon a successful application to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In addition to the state of Wyoming, the press release said financial supporters of the project include: Anna Moscicki and Michael Kenney, Blue Ridge Chapter of the Muley Fanatic Foundation, Cook Family Giving Fund, Dubois Anglers & Wildlife Group, Dubois Outfitters Association, Ed and Estela Kynoch, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Knobloch Family Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, National Bighorn Sheep Center, Steve and Kathy Cooper, Steve Meadows: 49er Inn and Suites, Ten Country Chapter of the Muley Fanatic Foundation, The BAND Foundation, The Donald Slavik Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The WYldlife Fund and Muley Fanatic Foundation’s Golf for Wildlife Outing, Tory and Meredith Taylor, Wilburforce Foundation, Wildlife Barrier Breakers, William Adam Sedlacek, WOW Weekend, WYldlife For Tomorrow – a signature program of The WYldlife Fund, and Wyoming Wildlife Federation.