Oregon’s first wildlife overpass will be built on I-5 at milepost 1.7 south of Ashland, thanks to a coalition of conservation groups, including OHA, and agencies that successfully obtained a $34,000,000 federal grant.
State OHA has been working with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition since 2021 on this effort to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity. Since the early stages of the project, OHA has played a critical role in providing relatively small amounts of funding for the project’s feasibility study, attaining support from Jackson County Commissioners, supporting state legislation, and committing to oversee minor fence repairs associated with the new structure.
Every year across the western United States, wildlife-vehicle collisions account for an estimated $10,000,000,000 in vehicle damage, medical expenses, and hundreds of thousands of dead animals. These staggering numbers are derived from reported crashes, so the actual estimated costs are likely much higher. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a major problem for Oregon’s deer and elk populations, and we are hopeful that this project will pave the way for construction of additional structures across the state.
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