Bill of the Day: Connecting Wildlife Habitats and Securing Safe Road Crossings
Mother bear and her cubs, Shenandoah National Park
How Can Virginia Reduce Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions?
Virginians are at high risk for wildlife-vehicle conflicts. Virginia is already ranked the ninth highest-risk state for animal-vehicle conflicts in the U.S. With over 60,000 accidents each year costing $41,000 per incident, these events are expensive and dangerous both for drivers and for wildlife. As wildlife continues to move across land and water searching for resources and adapting to changes in our landscapes, the risks for animals and motorists continue to increase.
Despite recent laws that improve habitat connectivity, Virginia’s road infrastructure requires significant maintenance and repair. Existing infrastructure is not ready to withstand the expected rise in flooding, as storm intensity, duration, and frequency increases. More than half of the state’s culverts are unprepared for increased flooding, creating barriers for wildlife movement.
We must update existing wildlife crossing plans to ensure they can incorporate flood preparedness and increase safe movement of wildlife. Incorporating multiple environmental factors early in infrastructure planning will save taxpayer dollars for all Virginians by reducing animal-vehicle conflicts and barriers to wildlife movement.
You can take a deeper dive into supporting habitat connectivity in Our Common Agenda. To learn more, read our “Connecting Wildlife Habitats for Resilient Communities” policy paper.
Connectivity Funding Bills to Support in the General Assembly
Legislators have introduced a bill to update the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan:
(Delegate Debra Gardner) Requires the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan to incorporate wildlife-friendly design in flood resilience infrastructure and identify statewide zones with high animal-vehicle conflicts. Companion to SB 1341.
(Senator Dave Marsden) Creates the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund. Requires the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan to incorporate wildlife-friendly design and a report on the program to the General Assembly every two years. Companion to HB 2025.
(Senator Dave Marsden) Budget item directs $475,000 over two years to establish the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund and implement the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan.
(Delegate Shelly Simonds) Budget item directs $460,000 in FY2026 to establish the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund.
Take Action
HB 2025 has been assigned to the House Appropriations Sub-Committee: Commerce, Agriculture, & Natural Resources. SB 1341 has been assigned to the Senate Finance & Appropriations Sub-Committee: Resources. Reach out to your legislators to support HB 2025 and SB 1341!
You can also sign Wild Virginia’s petition to tell our state and federal legislators that you support this work and hope to see more projects in Virginia that support wildlife corridors to protect public health, reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, allow wildlife to move to more suitable habitats, and make our state more resilient in the face of a changing climate.