Lawmakers seek $50M to reduce wildlife-vehicle crashes

Wildlife advocates and state transportation officials are "cautiously optimistic" lawmakers this year will appropriate $50 million to address the issue statewide, where between 2002–18, an average of 911 documented crashes with six focal species occurred across 60 wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots each year.

According to the state's 2022 Wildlife Corridors Action Plan, deer and elk are the species most frequently in conflict with traffic:

• Deer: 11,404;

• Elk: 3,041;

• Black bear: 650;

• Pronghorn: 221;

• Cougar: 153;

• Bighorn sheep: 17.

Along U.S. 64/U.S. 84, U.S. 285 and NM 38 alone there were a total of 335 documented crashes involving either deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, black bear or mountain lion between 2009–18:

• U.S. 64/U.S. 84: 244 collisions;

• U.S. 285: 72 collisions;

• NM 38: 19 collisions.

"Keep in mind, many collisions go undocumented so it’s reasonable that the total number of WVC’s is much higher," said Jeremy Romero, wildlife connectivity manager for the National Wildlife Federation.

Wildlife crossings, in the form of underpasses or overpasses, "are the gold standard" in mitigation strategies, VeneKlasen said, adding that flashing warning signs that alert motorists to wildlife in the area have proven effective in Colorado and other neighboring states.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation and state Game and Fish Department were directed to develop the action plan in the 2019 state Wildlife Corridors Act. "Wildlife corridors" are defined in the act as “areas used routinely by wildlife to travel through their habitat, and include corridors used by migrating wildlife.”

The law also established the Wildlife Corridors Fund, but relatively little has been allocated to it, and carrying out the plan's priority projects carries a significant price tag. A single wildlife crossing overpass can cost $150 million, VeneKlasen said.

"But what is one human life worth?" VeneKlasen added. He collided with an elk last year while driving along NM 68 just south of Ranchos de Taos. "We need to minimize this not just for the wildlife, which have incredible value on lots of different levels, but for the safety of our community. It's really dangerous stuff."

The fund currently has a balance of about $8.5 million, according to James Hirsch, NMDOT wildlife coordinator. A $50 million appropriation proposed last year was reduced to $5 million by the time the state budget was signed into law.

A majority of the $50 million currently proposed would be dedicated to wildlife crossings north of Cuba along NM 550, which is among the state's most notorious hotspots for wildlife-vehicle collisions. The state has spent $3.5 million in previously allocated funds to design the NM 550 Cuba project.

"We're going to try to match those funds with Federal Highway Administration dollars" the state has pursued over the past couple of years, Hirsch said. "We're going to try again."

A portion of the proposed appropriation would be spent to plan and design several other priority projects, including crossings along U.S. 70 east of Tularosa, where the state hopes to collaborate with the Mescalero Apache Tribe, which is working on a wildlife corridors feasibility study, Hirsch said. Some of the $50 million could also be used to maintain existing collision mitigation infrastructure. Additionally, language in the annual state budget bill extends to 2026 a deadline for expending $2 million that was appropriated to the fund in 2022.

"The other area we're considering is I-25 at Glorieta," Hirsch said. "Deer and black bear are the species of concern there; that would be a big project" and expensive due to the challenging terrain. He added that flashing signage, which require motion detectors in order to function, aren't his preferred method of collision mitigation.

"They've been used successfully in other states, but I am leery of animal detection systems," he said. "Wind can shake the cameras and set them off."

VeneKlasen noted the boom in oil and gas revenue in the southeast part of New Mexico continues to produce an excess of cash year over year. More of that, he said, should be allocated to wildlife crossing solutions like fencing, signage and overpasses and underpasses. This infrastructure, he said, can save lives and protect wildlife. He said several lawmakers, including District 36 Rep. Nathan Small, District 17 Sen. Mimi Stewart and District 42 Rep. Kristina Ortez have been dedicated "champions" for wildlife crossing project funding.

While it may not be in the cards this year, District 42 Rep. Kristina Ortez said she will continue to advocate for funding to address hotspots in Taos County and North Central New Mexico. NM 38 between Questa and Red River, U.S. 285 through the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, and U.S. 64 west of Tres Piedras are listed as priority hotspots in the action plan.

As local residents are all too aware, NM 522 north of Questa cuts across the migratory path of an elk herd VeneKlasen said numbers as many as 500 head in some years. Herds of elk also cross NM 38 in the Moreno Valley. Adding to the risk motorists and wildlife face, migration typically occurs at dusk or dawn.

And large game species aren't the only wildlife whose habitat is disrupted by roadways. Motorists report collisions with reptiles, rabbits, foxes, skunks and other species that benefit from wildlife crossings established for ungulates and other large animals.

"While $50 million may seem like a lot, in New Mexico there are roughly 1,200 crashes reported to law enforcement each year, costing drivers nearly $20 million in vehicle damage, emergency response, and hospital bills," Emily Diamond-Faulk, U.S. communications officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts U.S. Conservation Project said in an email. "This does not include the hidden costs," she added, like missed work, medical costs, and vehicle repairs or replacement.

Diamond-Faulk said wildlife crossings and other mitigation measures pay for themselves relatively quickly and result in "sharp, if not total" reductions in wildlife-vehicle collisions.

One such example is along U.S. 64 on the east side of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Collisions with bighorn sheep along the highway corridor were reduced to zero after Taos Pueblo installed fencing and several wildlife underpasses.

"It's made a huge difference," VeneKlasen said.