As humans continue to expand into nature, our impact on wildlife movements will only increase. But proposed new legislation is hoping to mitigate those issues.
In June, California Senator Alex Padilla introduced the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act, a bipartisan bill that would establish and help support several current programs that aid in the movement of wildlife through migration corridors and other habitat connectivity.
"Wildlife across the country face additional barriers to their migration, threatening the vibrant biodiversity of our nation and putting human lives at risk," Senator Padilla told the Sierra Sun Times. "From the sprawling urban wilderness of Griffith Park to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the Atlantic Flyway, protecting wildlife corridors is a crucial bipartisan priority, and I am glad to work across the aisle to better conserve, restore, and enhance habitat connectivity and migration routes across the nation."
The bill promises to establish the "Wildlife Movement and Migration Corridor Program," overseen by the Department of the Interior, "to conserve, restore, or enhance habitat, migration routes, and connectivity." It would also establish the State and Tribal Migration Research Program, with funds directed to state fish and wildlife agencies and tribes to further apply research into migration behaviors, allow funds from the Fish and Wildlife Service to support connectivity, and direct collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey to continue mapping wildlife movements.
Migration corridors, like the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing currently under construction in California, help wildlife safely cross roadways. The bridge's construction began after public outcry over the death of P-22, a well-known mountain lion in the area that died alone in Griffith Park with no mate after crossing multiple freeways.
These kinds of habitat protection efforts help reduce accidents between humans and animals. The Pew Charitable Trust reported that 1 to 2 million crashes occur between vehicles and large animals every year, resulting in roughly "200 human deaths, 26,000 injuries, and at least $8 billion in property damage and other costs." Protecting wildlife by providing safe passage through busy roadway areas keeps both humans and the environment safer and allows nature to run its course by letting birds, animals, and fish complete their movements to hunt, breed, and live.
Efforts to allow for more wildlife cohabitation with humans are growing across the country as well. In July, the Marine Discovery Center in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, began tearing down a parking lot to convert it into a wetland habitat, an effort known as "rewilding." Adding nature back into human lives has benefits beyond just restoring the environment, including mental health and economic benefits.
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