Weigh in: NM wildlife need safe passages across NM roads

AS FALL slips into winter and snow starts to accumulate in higher elevations, such big game as mule deer, elk and pronghorn have started moving from their summer to their winter ranges.

These animals must have access to quality habitat where they can rest and nourish themselves along their journeys between seasonal ranges. They don’t recognize boundaries as they move through public lands, private lands, over and through fences, across roadways and encountering numerous other man-made hindrances. In addition to the toll these barriers take on our wildlife populations, vehicle-animal collisions are a costly and dangerous threat to drivers on our highways.

Fortunately, the state of New Mexico in 2019 signed into law the Wildlife Corridors Act, a first-of-its-kind legislation in America. The Corridors Act calls for developing monitoring protocols, analyzing economic benefits, identifying movement barriers and developing maps to better conserve these important habitats.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish will soon publish its Statewide Action Plan showing the top 10 hotspots where wildlife is most at risk of causing vehicular accidents. Once released, the public will have an opportunity to offer input and comments through public meetings.

At that point, it will be in the hands of our decision-makers and elected officials to build on the work of migration corridor conservation by dedicating critical funding to ensure safe passage for our wildlife and safeguard important habitat. I urge everyone who cares about our big game herds to speak up and help secure the future of these animals, which are critical to our state’s culture, economy and wildlands.

JOHN CORNELL Southwest Field Manager, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Hillsboro