Wildlife crossing seeks to reduce elk strikes in Siskiyou County

By Mario Montalvo
District 2 public information officer

The Wildlife Crossing project is situated in Siskiyou County approximately 15 miles north of Weed. It spans from 0.5 miles north of Deer Mountain Road to 0.2 miles south of the Grass Lake Maintenance Station and is meant to create a safe wildlife crossing over U.S. Highway 97 with funding from Caltrans and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The project, which is expected to go to construction in 2024 and be completed in 2025, aims to reduce collisions involving animals and vehicles, which occur frequently, about once a month on average, along this stretch of corridor.

“From Weed all the way to the Oregon border, it's a lot of impacts to deer and elk and other species,” supervising environmental planner Wes Stroud said. “This location in particular was selected through a process with a bunch of regulatory agencies.”

The project also aims to improve the natural landscape and restore wildlife connectivity. The preferred plan includes a wildlife bridge, fencing, escape ramps and guards to prevent wildlife access to the road. Measures will also be taken to protect wildlife and cultural resources during construction.

The region is also home to various animal species whose habitats have been severely impacted by the highway's presence. The construction of the wildlife overcrossing and fencing on Highway 97 in Siskiyou County should help in preserving and protecting the diverse wildlife while also increasing safety for the traveling public and Caltrans maintenance workers.

“It was really the first situation in District 2 where we were seeing a problem like this,” Stroud said. “And so it was maintenance who reached out to us, and we started looking into how do you solve this problem.”

By providing a dedicated crossing and implementing safety measures, such as the exclusionary fence and escape ramps, the project aims to reduce elk strikes and enhance the overall well-being of the local wildlife population. It also aligns with broader environmental goals, including promoting landscape permeability, reducing human-wildlife conflicts, and restoring ecological connectivity. Through the combined efforts of Caltrans, federal funding and careful construction practices, this project will contribute to a safer and more sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife in Siskiyou County.

“So it's just was our way of trying to create a safer highway, not only for our people but also the traveling public and the elk, deer and all the other species that will end up using that crossing, from the biggest elk to the tiniest squirrel.” Stroud said.