Wildlife passageways benefit multiple species

All across Long Island, efforts are underway to help wildlife move more freely through their habitat amid human disruptions of it.

Fragmentation of open space due to development means that many species must cross roadways, some of them four lanes deep, to complete their annual cycles. Wildlife crossings, whether under or over the roadway, are a possible next step to help keep both animals and people safe.

“The roads are getting more and more treacherous each year for all wildlife, not only turtles,” said Karen Testa of Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons in Jamesport. “And there’s a lot of habitat destruction. Everybody’s moving out this way. We’re clearing all the land. There’s really no place for them to go.”

The success of a frog tunnel in Brookhaven has proven to be a boon to similar projects throughout Suffolk County. The Central Pine Barrens Commission is looking at both small- and large-scale projects to help animals move more freely. 

“Salamanders, for example need to get into these vernal pools to breed. And if they’re in an upland habitat and the pathway to that pool crosses the road, there is a drastic reduction in the population simply for just trying to cross the road,” said Jason Smith, the commission’s science and stewardship manager. “We were thinking about, especially for a species like a salamander [or frog] who’s doing a seasonal migration, there’s going to be a specific time of the year that they’re going to be trying to cross the road. And maybe we can put some flashing lights on a sign in that specific area to let people know. But if we can figure out a way to get them under the road, then that’s the best solution of all.”

On the North Fork, there are multiple locations where a creek meets the roadway with a wetland on the other side. A number of sites have been identified as potential spots for special culverts to create passageways under the roadway, a project that is separate from what the Pine Barrens Commission is doing elsewhere.

“There is usually an underground culvert that is not utilized as a wildlife passage,” said Jennifer Murray of Turtleback Environmental Education Center. “It may be clogged or broken or just not a viable option for animals to get from one part of the wetland to the other, so they come up and go over the road. This is a multi-species project, even though it was being looked into for turtles.”

The Pine Barrens Commission is using light detection and ranging technology to create 3D models of habitats. These models allow them to remove trees and other vegetation to view the topography, identify obstacles and map potential throughways. This knowledge is then used to plan where to place the tunnels and the funneling structures that will help guide wildlife to the tunnel and increase its use.

“We can go out there with our scanner,” Mr. Smith said. “We can scan the whole situation from the upland, right down to where we know the vernal pool is. In the process, we’re getting all of these additional measurements, all that stuff you can move into engineering, for the folks at local public works or DOTs who are going to be doing the design for the structure. Because the topography shows this is probably going to be the path of least resistance, and if we can just put our crossing here, they move across the road, [and] everybody’s happy.”

Wildlife overpasses have been constructed in the Western United States and Canada, where larger species such as elk and deer cause catastrophic collisions when crossing roadways. According to the Federal Highway Commission, there are more than 1,000,000 wildlife vehicle collisions annually, presenting a danger to human safety and wildlife survival, costing over $8 billion, and resulting in approximately tens of thousands of serious injuries and hundreds of fatalities on U.S. roadways. 

While not feasible for smaller roads, highways like the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise might benefit from a land bridge. A large wildlife overpass for species like deer would be a significant investment, but it comes with savings for both drivers and animals. 

“If we’re talking a land bridge, it could be … a millions of dollars project, but if we can show that a we can eliminate X-number of deer collisions every year, where a deer collision is costing the average driver $9,000 damage to your car, insurance changes, all that other stuff, eventually those projects pay for themselves because we’re not spending all that money to repair cars or increasing our cost of insurance,” said Mr. Smith.

As previously reported, a number of ladders have been installed to help otters navigate dams so that they don’t have to cross roadways to access their full habitat. These animals can also benefit from tunnels that connect waterways.