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Wildlife Bridge at
West Vail Pass
Colorado's first vegetated wildlife overpasses,
or wildlife bridge, is being proposed on I-70, just west of Vail Pass. A Wildlife Bridge at West Vail Pass was first recommended by the CDOT convened, interagency group, called "A Landscape Level Inventory of Valued Ecosystem Components" (ALIVE).
A project of national
significance, the bridge will reconnect critical wildlife habitat that
the interstate bisects. This wildlife linkage serves as one of the last
remaining forested connections for wildlife moving north-south through
the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Heavily developed resort areas, high
levels of recreational use, and streams of passenger and freight traffic
severely constrict wildlife movement.
Project Status:
Location Determined
On January 17, 2008, a Wildlife
Panel consisting of biologists and
engineers from the CDOT, USDA Forest
Service, US Fish and Wildlife
Service, Colorado Division of
Wildlife, Eagle County, SREP, CSU,
and Felsburg Holt & Ullevig (the
project consultant) met to discuss
available information for selecting
a location and designing a vegetated
wildlife overpass on West Vail Pass.
The goal of the meeting was to
determine that sufficient
information was available to the
panel to identify target species and
a location for the structure. Information from
several published reports, animal vehicle collision data, the
citizen science photodatabase, and a GIS analysis was presented
and discussed. The panel concluded that this information was
suitable for the goal of the meeting.
Target Species:
After a discussion of wildlife species located on Vail Pass, 11
target species were identified. The target species were
identified for their habitat/crossing characteristics that might
affect the characteristics of structure, but also for the pre-
and post-construction monitoring. Target Species for project
area: elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, moose, black
bear, lynx, coyote, American marten, marmot, snowshoe hare.
Structure Location: The Wildlife Panel reached consensus that mile marker 187.4 is
the selected location for the overpass structure because of the
favorable engineering characteristics of the site and the
wildlife use of the site appears to be high in that area.
Next Phase: The
project will move into the design phase which includes the
following design criteria that affect the wildlife usage of the
structure: width, depth, fencing requirements, and preliminary
layouts. The Wildlife Panel will reconvene in the same format to
discuss identified design criteria suitable for target species.
Click here for the full Wildlife Panel report on the Wildlife
Bridge.
The I-70 Mountain Corridor
Travel demand is increasing on the I-70 mountain corridor between Glenwood Springs and C-470 near Denver. In response to that demand, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) released the I-70 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) in
December 2005 to detail transportation alternatives, environmental impacts, and associated mitigations.
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Section of I-70 just west of the Vail Pass summit where wildlife
bridge is proposed. Small water body is Lower Black Lake. East
Vail visible at top of photo. Photo by Sloan Shoemaker/Lighthawk |
In 2001, CDOT formed ALIVE to guide wildlife mitigation strategies as part of the development of CDOT's I-70 PEIS. The ALIVE group made comprehensive recommendations on wildlife crossing mitigations in thirteen key wildlife movement areas, with the wildlife bridge at West Vail Pass rising to the top as a high priority.
According
to the draft PEIS, “the
primary issue affecting wildlife
in the Corridor is the
interference of I-70 with
wildlife movement and
animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs).
Barriers to wildlife movement
include structural, operational,
and behavioral impediments to
wildlife trying to cross I-70.”
As stated
in CDOT’s draft PEIS, the
wildlife bridge at West Vail
Pass may be an “early action”
conservation measure for the
impacts of the expansion of I-70
and/or a conservation measure
for the impacts of I-70 on
wildlife, including, but not
limited to, the threatened
Canada Lynx. This means that
CDOT may construct the wildlife
bridge as a conservation measure
to minimize impacts of the
project on lynx as part of
consultation under Section 7 of
the Endangered Species Act. By
constructing the bridge as an
early action measure, it helps
CDOT meet their mitigation
requirements early on and
hopefully streamline a long-term
project involving billions of
dollars of capacity improvements
to I-70.
Our Vision: We
envision an I-70 corridor that
provides efficient
transportation, multimodal options,
and safe passage for wildlife.
We believe the way to get there
sooner than later is an
ecosystem-based approach to
developing infrastructure on
I-70. This includes high
priority early action projects
that address capacity, the
environment, and multimodal simultaneously. In this vision, environmental features are restored, created or enhanced in conjunction with or in advance of projects in areas where environmental needs and the potential environmental contributions are the greatest. This approach includes ecosystem-based mitigation agreements that build on existing banking systems and are an outgrowth of integrated planning. An ecosystem-based approach is outlined in the recently published Eco-Logical report by the Federal Highway Administration.
Why Vail Pass?
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Canada Lynx |
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This location has been identified as an ecologically significant site both statewide and regionally for wildlife and habitat connectivity in independent studies and reports.
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A diversity of wildlife - elk, mule deer, moose, mountain lion, coyote, black bear, pine marten,
bighorn sheep, snowshoe hare, and the endangered Canada lynx - all use the habitat in this area and will benefit from improved access to their habitat across the interstate.
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Extensive public lands managed for wildlife protect the lands leading up to the wildlife crossing in perpetuity: the north side of the bridge is Eagle's Nest Wilderness and the south side is White River National Forest. These kinds of opportunities do not exist further down the Valley near Vail and Eagle making land management and protection a major obstacle.
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There are 7 span bridges that currently allow passage for wildlife under I-70 between mp 185 and 182 (town of Vail is mp 179).
However, there is no
wildlife fencing along this
stretch to encourage use of
these structures, and a five mile gap occurs from the top of the pass at mp 190 to mp 185.
The wildlife bridge is proposed somewhere within this
five mile gap. Fencing
will tie together the
existing underpasses and the
wildlife bridge. This addresses the landscape permeability needs of the entire Vail Pass landscape,
providing multiple
opportunities for safe
passage within this eight
mile stretch.
Why A Wildlife Bridge?
Wildlife crossing structures including overpasses and underpasses, in
conjunction with wildlife fencing, are a proven and effective way to
reduce animal-vehicle collisions and maintain landscape connectivity.
Overpasses are quite successful for the largest spectrum of animals when
designing mitigation measures for highway systems. The vegetation on an
overpass encourages use by everything from insects to large carnivores.
Wildlife fencing will be installed on the bridge and along the
highway connecting the existing span bridges east of the Town of Vail
with the new overpass, located just west of Vail Pass. This will ensure
that animals trying to cross the interstate will be
guided to use one of the structures provided and prevent random
crossings between structures that would jeopardize motorists and
wildlife.
A wildlife bridge is the
crossing structure of choice at West Vail Pass because of the favorable
engineering characteristics of the site and the high wildlife activity. Due to engineering constraints, a span bridge at this location would be cost prohibitive and create unnecessary traffic delays.
Take the Virtual Tour!
To take a virtual tour of the wildlife bridge, please click on the link below. Once the tour is loaded, you can view the bridge from the wildlife perspective or the driver perspective under the "view" button. Or, you can use your mouse and keyboard to move around in the landscape. You can also toggle the bike path, fencing and the bridge on or off under the "hide" button. To optimize performance of the tour, please close down other applications you currently have running. This interactive scene is currently available for Windows only and is not intended for Mac OS.
Please view the "README.txt" file before running the tour for information and appropriate hardware configurations.
To download and view the interactive scene, click here. File size: 7 MB (high speed connection required). You can choose to run the file directly from the internet or save it to your computer for later viewing.
**Please note that the dimensions of the digital rendering of the wildlife bridge (above and in virtual tour) are not exact. These depictions are meant to provide a general feeling for what the wildlife bridge will look and feel like.
Local Support
The Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project has partnered with the Wilderness Workshop to work at the local level. Wilderness Workshop has been instrumental in developing relationships with local governments and community members. The Town of Vail and Eagle County have written letters of support and countless citizens have similarly expressed their support. In addition, we are committed to collaboration with other conservation and educational partners, natural resource agencies, and CDOT on this project.
History of the Project
In November 2005, thanks to the efforts of the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project (SREP) and Wilderness Workshop, $420,000 was allotted to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for preliminary analysis and design of a Wildlife Bridge West of Vail Pass.
On Thursday, February 1, 2007, CDOT posted a scope of Work for those funds. The Scope includes compiling existing data and collecting additional data (if needed) to determine the exact location of the wildlife bridge at West Vail Pass. Once a location has been determined, preliminary engineering designs will be completed.
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Pine Marten at Wildlife Monitoring Station
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Citizen Science Wildlife Monitoring
In the summer of 2006, SREP joined the
Denver Zoo and the Gore Range
Natural Science School (GRNSS) to launch the
Citizen Science Wildlife Monitoring program. The program engages
local citizens to collect critical wildlife movement data through field
work at key wildlife linkages throughout
Colorado. The program was launched between
Copper Mountain
and Vail along I-70 - the site of future wildlife crossings, including the proposed wildlife bridge.
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Restoring Landscape Connections
Habitat fragmentation is a serious threat to wildlife. Highways,
roads, and backcountry routes fragment wildlife habitat, severing
historic wildlife migration routes and isolating wildlife populations.
At the same time, road construction and an increasing number of cars on
our roadways are making transportation corridors more hazardous for
people and wildlife. Click
here
for more information.
Wildlife Benefits
Vail Pass is home to myriad species including
moose, mountain lion, coyote, black bear, pine marten, snowshoe hare,
mule deer, elk and Canada lynx. All of these species will benefit
from improved access to their habitat across the interstate via a
wildlife bridge.
In particular, the species of concern that this
project will affect is the Canada lynx, which is struggling to
reestablish itself in Colorado. Two of the nine lynx killed in
animal-vehicle collisions in Colorado were at West Vail Pass, indicating
that this structure will be of great importance to this threatened
species.
Lynx mortalities map (click to
enlarge) |
Global Warming
According to
scientist Reed Noss, "the combination of habitat fragmentation and rapid
climate change is devastating because fragmentation makes it difficult
for many species to respond to changing climatic conditions through
dispersal." For wildlife to survive into
the future they need to be able to migrate between fragmented, shifting
habitats and ecosystems.
The best way
to provide connectivity at a regional scale is to maintain intact
networks of protected lands. At strategic locations where wildlife
corridors intersect roads, well designed wildlife crossings can provide
safe passage and important habitat connections for wildlife.
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