Nonprofit gets $26k from PitCo to further wildlife crossing studies along Hwy 82
Roaring Fork Safe Passages/Courtesy image
Traffic is a “novel predator” for wildlife, and collisions between animals and vehicles are a visible problem along the Colorado Highway 82 corridor.
A local non-profit is working to improve safety for the local fauna that traverse the road.
“From 2012 to 2021 in the Roaring Fork Valley, wildlife vehicle collisions were the number one cause of crashes,” said Roaring Fork Safe Passages Executive Director Cecile DeAngelo. “They accounted for 30% of the crashes on Highways 82 and 133.”
The estimated cost impact for those crashes is about $5.2 million annually, and she said the actual number of collisions is likely 2-4 times higher due to gaps in reporting.
Roaring Fork Safe Passages is a 501(c)(3) non-profit born out of the Watershed Biodiversity Initiative aimed at reducing wildlife/vehicle collisions along highways in the region. The organization recently wrapped up its prioritization study identifying high-impact areas along the corridors, laying the groundwork for investment in safety mitigation.
At a joint work session between the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners and the Open Space and Trails board, Safe Passages got the green light for a $26,000 supplemental budget request to help fund the next phase of their work. The City of Aspen also contributed $26,000.
The money will help fund a 3-stage project to study stretches of the highways, with a portion of Hwy 82 between Woody Creek and the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport as a high-priority area. Safe Passages estimates the total cost at $110,704.
The first stage will address site assessment, partner and stakeholder engagement, and evaluation of mitigation alternatives from April-December 2024. The second stage, anticipated for September-December 2024, will tackle mitigation concept development or site-specific models and visualizations of proposed mitigation features. The third stage, set to move into 2025, will focus on outreach and communication with the public and potential project funders.
In that Woody Creek/airport stretch of Hwy 82, Eco Resolutions consultant Julia Kitsch reported the area sees an average of 5.2 collisions with large animals every mile every year, which she said is markedly high.
“To me, what is really notable is the number of elk collisions in this segment is so, so high. This is much higher than we see in a lot of other areas that I’ve worked, certainly in Colorado and beyond, where we have nearly three reported out collisions per mile per year,” she told the two boards. “The actual number of collisions could be as high as six to 12 elk per mile per year. And that’s very, very significant.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently updated the county commissioners on the state of local elk herds: they’re not doing well due to dwindling calf populations.
But not just elk cross the roads. Mule deer, frogs, coyotes, foxes, and even bears or mountain lions can get caught in traffic on the highways. It’s not uncommon for bears who live near the Pitkin County Solid Waste Center wander onto the highway just below.
Wildlife crossing bridges are the most visually impactful mitigation strategy to prevent collisions on the highways, but Safe Passages will explore other options like fencing and box culverts installation and improvements.
The non-profit outlined many other blocks of highway in its prioritization study that could be good candidates for wildlife crossing systems or other mitigation strategies. Tier Two priorities identified locations that might not be well-suited for a bridge but instead other mitigation efforts.
The purpose of the exhaustive study is to help secure future funding from partners like the Colorado Department of Transportation, federal funding, or private partners like Aspen Skiing Company.
Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury expressed some hesitancy at Safe Passages’ potential to over-study the highways.
“I have some concerns about feasibility. I want to be really realistic. If we do one (bridge), is that successful?” she asked. “Some of these are really high price tag things, or if we do just Tier 2, is that success?”
Open Space and Trails Director Gary Tennenbaum noted that Safe Passages will come back to OST and the county throughout the project stages for updates and further supplemental funding requests as needed.
