The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation recently joined fellow conservation and sportsmen’s groups to strongly support a bill to fund, study and/or build wildlife crossings in the state. It would also supply $5 million from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife general fund to improve wildlife habitat connectivity.
Mule deer populations continue a steady decline in Oregon. Protecting their migration corridors is one way to both ensure seasonal movement while also bolstering safety for wildlife and drivers alike. Video and photos from a recently constructed wildlife overpass/underpass in Colorado show the structure kept nearly 2,000 deer and elk off a busy highway.
In addition to being an important building block and funding source to continue the state’s investment to maintain and restore habitat within priority corridors, the bill will also serve as a state match when Oregon applies for new federal grants such as the or the America the Beautiful grant program through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
RMEF is a member of the Oregon Sportsmen’s Conservation Partnership, a bipartisan coalition of organizations that support and advocate for hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation.
(Photo source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)