New Mexico releases unprecedented plan to safeguard wildlife corridors
Today, New Mexico Departments of Transportation and Game and Fish released a draft of their Wildlife Corridors Action Plan. Stemming from the Wildlife Corridors Act of 2019, the 700-page report identifies 11 priority safe passage projects such as underpasses and overpasses throughout the state that will improve driver safety and increase habitat connectivity for the state’s native wildlife including elk, deer, pronghorn and bighorn sheep.
The first-of-its-kind legislation, derived from a template bill developed by Wildlands Network, directed the agencies to develop a report identifying:
a list of priority wildlife crossing projects;
information about other human barriers to wildlife movement;
anticipated effects of drought and other climate-related impacts;
and the economic benefits of protecting and improving wildlife movement.
Western Program Director Michael Dax checks one of Wildlands Network’s trail cameras near I-10 in the Peloncillo Mountains, part of ongoing research on wildlife movement in the region.
“This report is a monumental achievement that will empower the state to improve wildlife movement for the benefit of both drivers and wildlife,” says Michael Dax, Western Program Director for Wildlands Network. “We’re looking forward to working with New Mexico Game and Fish, DOT, legislators, tribes and other partners to implement the report’s recommendations.”
Of the 11 priority safe passage projects identified in the report five were selected based on wildlife-vehicle collision data, while the other six projects were prioritized based on the ecological and migratory needs of native wildlife.
One of these projects focuses on a site along Interstate 10 near the Arizona-New Mexico border where the highway bisects the Peloncillo Mountains. Since early 2020, Wildlands Network has been leading a trail camera project to document wildlife movement in the area.
"The Peloncillo Mountains play an outsize role in their contribution to continental connectivity for North American wildlife,” said Wildlands Network Borderlands Program Coordinator Myles Traphagen. “It’s the only mountain range that connects the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico to the Gila Mountains in the U.S. and one of only a handful of places where the jaguar and the American black bear share the same trail."
Although this project has captured more than 8,000 photos of wildlife, the interstate remains a significant barrier to the north-south movement of wildlife. Relatively few species use the existing box culverts that cross under the highway, an indication further, specialized crossing structures are needed. This is especially notable for the genetic health of the region’s bighorn sheep population. Currently, isolated populations of sheep exist both north and south of the highway, but without the ability to mate with individuals on either side, these populations’ long-term health and survival are at risk.
Alongside an existing culvert under I-10, Borderlands Program Coordinator Myles Traphagen examines another trail camera.
This site along I-10 is also essential to the continental connectivity of species like Mexican gray wolves, jaguar and coatimundi.
Although the final report is still pending, New Mexico’s historic budget surplus exceeding more than $1.6 billion provides a unique opportunity to direct funding and begin implementation of the priority projects identified in the report.
The timing of the report coincides with the creation of the federal Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which was included in the bipartisan infrastructure package that President Biden into law in November. The competitive grant program will provide funding to safe passage projects, but requires 20% in matching funds. New Mexico’s 30-day legislative session begins January 18 during which the legislature can allocate funding towards these projects.
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Contacts
Michael Dax, Western Program Director, 518-598-3442, michael@wildlandsnetwork.org
Danielle Fisher, Communications Manager, 202-280-8318, danielle@wildlandsnetwork.org
Photos
Additional photos from Wildlands Network’s I-10 research are available upon request.
