On Aug. 21, 2019, in a canyon west of Denver, wildlife experts, transportation officials, and a parking lot full of stakeholders gathered to watch Colorado Governor Jared Polis sign an executive order that catapulted state agencies into a frenzy of action focused on identifying and conserving wildlife migration corridors. Since then, Colorado has developed some of the most advanced and groundbreaking migration policy in the nation.
In the spring of 2020, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released the first of two reports, mandated by the executive order, that summarized current knowledge and the best available science regarding the state’s big game herds and the challenges of conserving these animals. And this summer, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is expected to release a second report that will recommend additional policy, regulatory, and legislative initiatives to build upon the order.
Separately, the Colorado Legislature signaled that it is also interested in advancing wildlife corridor conservation and habitat connectivity. The bipartisan Colorado Habitat Connectivity Senate Joint Resolution 21-021 sailed unanimously through both chambers of the Legislature and was enacted in June. Though nonbinding, the resolution should help build momentum among lawmakers and stakeholders to continue to address habitat fragmentation, facilitate wildlife movement, conserve ecological connectivity, and reduce collisions between motorists and wildlife.
New state stimulus dollars also helped create and fund a CPW habitat connectivity coordinator position, a move that Pew and other conservation groups advocated for. This position could prove significant as the agency looks to help the state attract resources from potentially expanded federal programs in the Department of the Interior, and from a new grant program—part of surface transportation reauthorization legislation being negotiated in Congress—to fund wildlife crossing infrastructure.
Colorado policymakers have also advanced other solutions to facilitate safe wildlife movement. In 2016, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), with support from a host of partners, completed a state-of-the-art wildlife overpass and underpass system on an 11-mile stretch of Highway 9 between Silverthorne and Kremmling, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions by 90%. By the end of this year, CDOT will have identified and prioritized all the collision hot spots across the state. And this summer, the agency is breaking ground on a large wildlife crossing project on U.S. 160 near Chimney Rock National Monument.
But the state shouldn’t stop there. Colorado decision-makers can build upon their success by:
Colorado is distinguishing itself as a national leader in science-based management of wildlife corridors. Further progress would demonstrate state officials’ commitment to providing safe passage on the Centennial State’s roads for wildlife and humans alike.
Matt Skroch is a project director and David Ellenberger is a senior associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. public lands and rivers conservation team.