In the News: Animal crossing for Utah wildlife is 'working'

 Wildlife managers, biologists and the federal government came together to create a Wildlife bridge inUtah, that has saved countless animal and human lives (from highway deaths). This is an awesome story, and I hope that more of these wildlife bridges can be built. Here's the story from BBC News  and Smithsonian.org: 

(Photo: The wildlife crossing is about 50 feet wide and 320 feet long and is covered in rocks and logs. (Courtesy of UDOT )

 Animal crossing for Utah wildlife is 'working' 

 An overpass built especially for wildlife in Utah is proving to be a success, according to officials. The bridge was constructed to help animals cross between two mountains, while avoiding potentially dangerous traffic on the highway below. Deer, bears and moose are among the "long list" of creatures that have been spotted using the connection since it opened two years ago.

Utah’s Department of Transportation completed the bridge in 2018, and new video from the state’s Division of Wildlife Resources shows dozens of animals using it to cross safely above six lanes of traffic, Leah Asmelash reports for CNN.

The overpass is 50 feet wide and 320 feet long, and its location was picked strategically based on animals’ migratory patterns, according to Atlas Obscura. Experts originally anticipated that local wildlife could take years to get used to the new, animal-friendly infrastructure, UDOT spokesman John Gleason told Park Record’s Angelique McNaughton in 2018. But in the last two years, cameras placed along the bridge’s guardrail captured footage of not only the expected deer, moose and elk, but also predators and small mammals.

Utah plans to conduct a full analysis of how the bridge has improved safety for wildlife—and people—after it’s been open for three to five years.