Pew Applauds Utah’s $20 Million Appropriation for Wildlife Crossings

WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts this week praised Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) for signing a state budget that includes $20 million for the construction of wildlife crossing infrastructure. Pew also applauded the state legislature for its bipartisan support of this budget. The funding will go to construction of over- and underpasses and other structures that allow wildlife to cross roads without encountering vehicle traffic—crossings that have helped reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions throughout the West.

The $20 million likely will be worth more in real dollars as the federal Department of Transportation offers grants that will match some of Utah’s spending. The appropriation, introduced by state Representative Doug Owens (D), will help to make roads safer for drivers and animals; nearly 5,000 deer and 1,000 elk are killed in vehicle collisions in Utah each year. A 2019 study estimates that these and other wildlife-vehicle accidents cost Utah taxpayers nearly $138 million in human injuries and deaths and damage to vehicles.

The $20 million allocation for the 2023 fiscal year follows $1 million in fiscal 2022 seed funding, and is the latest in Utah’s long history of investments in wildlife crossings: In 1975, the state Department of Transportation installed the first wildlife bridge in the nation on Interstate 15 near the town of Beaver. Since then, more than 50 wildlife crossings have been built throughout the state.

Nic Callero, officer with Pew’s U.S. public lands and rivers conservation project, issued this statement:

“Each dollar spent on mitigating wildlife-vehicle collisions will return dividends in savings for taxpayers by reducing crashes and both human and animal injuries and deaths, and reconnecting fractured habitat. Wildlife crossings are a proven technology that save lives and money.

“This funding will allow Utah to build on its legacy of wildlife conservation. The state has been leading the way in crossing infrastructure for decades, and this budget’s inclusion of the additional $20 million is a win for wildlife, a win for drivers, and a win for taxpayers. We applaud the leadership of Representative Owens, Majority Leader Mike Schulz, and Governor Spencer Cox, all of whom made this legislation possible.”