A Photo Journey through the Northern Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range

A few weeks ago Wildlands Network's California Program Manager Mari Galloway and Chief Scientist Dr. Ron Sutherland visited wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots, existing wildlife crossing structures, and study sites in sections of the Pacific Wildway. Join us for a photo journey through their field trip across Northern California and Southern Oregon, narrated by Mari.

Interstate 80 in California

On the first day of our trip, I picked up Ron from the Sacramento airport and drove to Truckee, California to meet our partners Tanya Diamond and Ahiga Snyder with Pathways for Wildlife. Together, we looked at sections of I-80 that have been identified as "priority barriers to wildlife movement" by both Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Our goal was to find existing bridges and culverts that could be modified to enhance wildlife connectivity across the interstate.

Interstate 80 poses a significant barrier to north-to-south wildlife movement in the Sierra Nevada. We explored priority barriers on the highway in order to identify opportunities for potential infrastructure enhancements that would facilitate safe passage for wildlife.

The rivers and rugged landscape around Donner Pass pose a challenge to wildlife attempting to move throughout the landscape.

I had the chance to scheme conservation opportunities with Pathways for Wildlife’s Wildlife Ecologist Tanya Diamond while we assessed bridges, culverts, and existing wildlife underpasses on I-80.

I-80 has several underpasses for vehicles that also showed signs of use by coyotes, deer, and even bobcats!

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been proactive in using mitigation strategies to construct needed wildlife underpasses along several sections of I-80. At several thousand feet above sea level, snow was still plentiful in some areas we visited, including this underpass that Pathways for Wildlife’s Wildlife Researcher Ahiga Snyder investigated.

Exploring the existing structures on I-80 allowed us to see examples of the impressive wildlife underpasses that Caltrans has constructed along I-80. The expertise of Ahiga and Wildlands Network Chief Scientist Dr. Ron Sutherland were invaluable for these site visits.

We also found that I-80 has a handful of large structures in priority areas that could potentially be modified to enhance wildlife use.

The trip was not without wildlife sightings! Ron spotted this mountain bluebird on a nearby hike on land managed by the Truckee Donner Land Trust.

Highways 395 and 50 in California and Nevada

From I-80, we went on to check camera traps on Highway 395, which runs north to south along the California-Nevada border. These cameras are part of Wildlands Network's ongoing study of Highway 395, which Pathways for Wildlife is conducting. Ron and I then drove north of our study area to check out a stretch of highway that has been identified as a wildlife-vehicle hotspot and is considered a priority barrier to movement by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. We found a culvert where we counted fifteen deer carcasses and saw landscape features that could lend themselves well to a wildlife overpass. After sharing our observations with Caltrans, District biologists deployed cameras along the Highway 395 to capture additional data to the north of Wildlands Network's study area.

From Highway 395 we drove on to Highway 50 where we investigated more of Caltrans’ wildlife underpasses.

The section of Highway 395 that runs from the California-Nevada border to Honey Lake is an important transportation corridor in the Eastern Sierra and frequently has wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Traffic on Highway 395 has increased with Reno, Nevada's growing population and developments.

Several large underpasses on Highway 395 provide important safe passage for various species of wildlife, including mountain lion, bear, pronghorn, deer, and badgers.

Wildlife Researcher Ahiga Snyder of Pathways for Wildlife checks camera traps in Wildlands Network's ongoing Highway 395 study, conducted by Pathways for Wildlife.

Landscapes around the Highway 395 study area.

Our Highway 395 study will inform what enhancements are needed to allow safe passage for wildlife and reconnect the Sierra Nevada to the west to the low-lying sagebrush to the east.

The study area contains a 12-mile stretch that bisects an important migratory corridor for the Doyle deer herd yet lacks any culverts or bridges that can be used by deer. Pathways for Wildlife deployed cameras at road level (like this one) to better understand how wildlife move across this stretch. Sadly, we’ve captured footage of deer being hit by oncoming traffic during attempts to cross the highway.

Our study has shown that large bridges, like the one pictured here, are used heavily by migrating mule deer.

Installing large corrugated culverts, like the structure on Highway 395 pictured here, provide safe passage for multiple species of wildlife, especially when coupled with directional fencing.

Assessing wildlife tracks in existing culverts and bridges provides additional context and information into what wildlife are nearby.

Tanya explained how to tell the difference between a male and female mountain lion track we spotted near a large culvert on Highway 395.

Ahiga is resourceful at spotting and using the human-made and natural features around culverts and bridges that provide optimal camera placement to record wildlife movement.

Ron and I explored a stretch of Highway 395 north of our study area, extending from Janesville to Susanville, California, which is considered one of the worst roadkill hotspots in the state.

We identified potentially functional structures on this stretch of the highway between Janesville and Susanville.

We also visited parts of the Plumas National Forest, adjacent to the Highway 395 study area, to see some of the higher elevation habitats used by migrating deer herds.

Exploring Highway 50 allowed Ron and I to see structures that Caltrans constructed to benefit wildlife. Here, directional fencing leads to a large, 12x12 foot concrete box culvert.

Interstate 5 in Northern California and Oregon

Ron and I then headed north along Interstate 5. We met partners from Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to check out existing structures between Redding and Castle Crags State Park that could benefit from added directional fencing.

Further north in Ashland, Oregon we convened with other Wildlands Network Pacific-based staff for the Cascade-Siskiyou Connectivity Summit, which we helped organize. The Symposium was well attended and had partners from state and federal agencies, private firms, and others worked to brainstorm how to protect critical wildlife linkages in the Northern California and Southern Oregon Region.

Then, on the final day of our trip, we joined with members of the Southern Oregon Crossing Coalition for a tour of the group’s ongoing efforts to install directional fencing, modify existing culverts and bridges, and construct wildlife overpasses on Interstate-5 between Ashland and the Oregon-California border.

Mount Shasta looms large over significant stretches of I-5 in Northern California.

I-5 presents one of the most significant barriers to wildlife movement in Northern California.

Not only did we explore ways to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions along I-5—we also considered how road enhancements could increase connectivity throughout the landscape.

We met with partners at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath-Siskiyou Connectivity Project, and Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center to identify opportunities for road crossing enhancements that would promote safe passage for wildlife along I-5.

Our site visit revealed an impressive and confounding large culvert that was presumably built decades ago to facilitate fish passage.

Although this existing structure may allow fish to pass through safely, it’s unlikely that it’s used by terrestrial species—one of many examples of why we need more specialized infrastructure for safe wildlife passage.

Several of the sites we visited along I-5 intersected the Pacific Crest Trail.

Our visit also coincided with native Ceanothus blooms. Viewing the I-5 from adjacent forest roads allowed us to gain perspective on how the Interstate impacts the landscape.

Our Director of Strategic Initiatives Jessica Walz Schafer presents Pacific Wildway projects and aspirations at the KCascade-Siskiyou Connectivity Summit in Ashland, Oregon, which was co-sponsored by Wildlands Network, Klamath-Siskiyou Wild, and the Selberg Institute.

Wildlands Network's Pacific-based staff attended an I-5 site visit with the Southern Oregon Crossing Coalition, which works to enhance wildlife movement and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions on I-5 from Ashland to the California-Oregon border.

From Northern California to Southern Oregon, I-5 presents a formidable barrier to wildlife movement throughout the Cascade-Siskiyou region, which provides a critical linkage between the Eastern Cascade Mountains and coastal ranges.

Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition member Amy Amrhein explained the barriers and opportunities for wildlife crossings along this stretch of I-5.

Existing underpasses on I-5, south of Ashland showed signs of wildlife use. Can you spot the faint trail running beneath the bridge?

A motion-sensitive camera trap set up by Southern Oregon University as part of the Southern Oregon Crossing Coalition Camera is used to assess wildlife movement on roadway structures.

Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition member Jack Williams of Trout Unlimited showed structures that are being considered for enhancements to allow for safe wildlife passage.

This trip was informative for both Ron and me, especially seeing the opportunities to connect landscapes in northeast California firsthand. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners across the Pacific to keep movement pathways for wildlife connected!