FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katherine Boxer, CEO, [email protected]
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD AWARDS ALAMEDA COUNTY RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT $7,094,000 FOR WILDLIFE CROSSING STRUCTURE PLANNING AND DESIGN
Livermore, CA – November 1, 2023. The Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD) is honored to announce that the State of California, Wildlife Conservation Board recently approved their grant application to develop wildlife crossing structures and barrier fencing in Alameda County. The ACRCD Board of Directors is pleased with the award as building wildlife crossings and barrier fencing will enhance public safety by reducing wildlife/vehicle collisions and will concurrently restore habitat connectivity which facilitates the movement of wild species, enhancing the health of local populations.
Portions of I-680, I-580, and SR-84 in Alameda County have been identified by CA Department of Fish & Wildlife as Priority Barriers to wildlife movement. The initial phase of the WCB funded project will study the region to identify three viable locations for the construction of over- or under-crossing structures. Subsequent phases will involve environmental documentation and engineering design for the structures.
The East Bay Wildlife Crossings project will dramatically benefit both public safety and California’s native species, including the iconic mountain lion, bobcat, and tule elk, and the locally endangered CA red-legged frog, CA tiger salamander, and Alameda whipsnake. This wildlife crossings project maximizes efficiency by not simply providing a single crossing structure, but a network of three-crossing structures that will have an even greater cumulative impact on animal movement and resilience across the East Bay. Additionally, completing all designs simultaneously provides significant overall cost savings. The duration of the planning phase of the project is 3.5 years.
The UC Davis Road Ecology Center has been studying potential impacts of East Bay Area highways on wildlife since 2014 with support from the Federal Highways Administration and National Center for Sustaianble Transportation. Over the past five years, the ACRCD and the UC Davis Road Ecology Center (spearheaded by ACRCD CEO Katherine Boxer and Dr. Fraser Shilling), with support from the Altamont Landfill Open Space Committee, have collaborated closely to document wildlife occurrences along Alameda County highways. The data obtained through their wildlife ‘camera-trapping’ program was vital in supporting the ACRCD’s grant application to the WCB.
The Wildlife Crossings Project Implementation Team also includes ACRCD Biologists Dr. Courtney Coon and Dr. Farley Connelly, ACRCD CFO Marilyn Harvey, and experts from Mark Thomas (engineering consulting) and Dudek (environmental consulting).
Please contact Alameda County Resource District Chief Executive Officer Katherine Boxer at [email protected] if you have any questions.
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The Alameda County Resource Conservation District is a special district in CA whose mission is to provide leadership in the County and region to enhance natural resources conservation, preserve wildlife and habitat, improve rangelands and agricultural management best practices through partnerships, collaborative planning, education, outreach and technical support resources.
Photos with Captions (Images courtesy ACRCD and Road Ecology Center, UC Davis)
Juvenile American badgers crossing under East Bay interstate using the dirt embankment adjacent to a street.
Mother and juvenile mountain lion in East Bay hills protected area.
Red fox carrying a freshly killed gopher snake.
Mule deer doe cleaning fawn.
