Last month construction started on a new 210-foot wildlife crossing that will pass over 10 lanes of the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills, California. The crossing is scheduled to be completed in 2025. It will enable mountain lions and other wildlife to move safely between protected wildlands and the Santa Monica Mountains. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will be the longest wildlife bridge in the world.
More than two dozen mountain lions have been killed on Los Angeles freeways in the past 20 years. The bridge is the first of several crossings being built to reconnect fragmented wildlife habitats and provide a safe passage through urban areas.
Wildlife experts also hope the new structure will reduce mountain lion inbreeding. A recent study predicted that there is a 99.7 percent chance of mountain lion populations in the area going extinct if inbreeding continues.
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is a public and private partnership involving the National Park Service, Caltrans, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Coastal Conservancy, California Fish and Wildlife, State of California Wildlife Conservation Board, National Wildlife Federation, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Santa Monica National Recreation Area.
The Santa Monica Mountains is coastal mountain range located in Southern California. It runs from the Hollywood Hills to Ventura County’s Point Mugu. The mountain range is home to a diverse community of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish, including mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, newts, salamanders, frogs, toads, turtles, lizards and snakes.
Read more at savelacougars.org
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