Wildlife Corridors protect animals and humans alike…an important tool for New Mexico

By Mark Allison - New Mexico Wild Director 

At New Mexico Wild, we think of New Mexico as a vital set of roadless wilderness areas and the intact lands that surround those special places. But from the perspective of a migrating elk, a brown trout finding a reliable source of food, or a bobcat seeking a mate, our boundaries matter little. Wildlife will go where it needs to go to survive or better yet thrive. I’m delighted to report that the State of New Mexico passed a “Wildlife Corridors Act” this March which seeks to substantially decrease the risks that wildlife takes as they move from one place to another. Improving wildlife corridors has a direct human benefit as well, reducing the wildlife-vehicle collisions that are so frequent on the vast highway stretches across our state. We’ll be spending more time thinking like an animal on the move over the coming months as we gear up to help the state agencies implement this important new law.

What New Mexico Wild can do to create the most positive impact with the New Wildlife Corridors Act

We believe that non-governmental organizations such as New Mexico Wild play an important role in assuring that the greatest value is realized from the new Act. First of all, continuing our core work to keep wilderness areas and potential wilderness areas roadless is essential. New Mexico Wild and partners can assist with identifying existing highway crossings, dams, fencing, and other barriers that negatively impact the natural migration of wildlife. We can help mobilize the best available science and encourage collaboration between tribal and federal land managers and industry when possible. Each of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plans will have public hearings for input. As we do with so many of these hearings affecting wildlands, wildlife, Second, corridors allow seasonal migration away from barriers caused by human development. Finally, corridors promote interbreeding, allowing animals to find new mates in neighboring regions so that genetic diversity can increase.
The values of wildlife corridors are even more important in New Mexico which is at an unusual ecological crossroads. Much of the state is categorized as “New Mexico Highlands” but that designation represents 36 habitat types from Chihuahuan Desert Scrub to Rocky Mountain Alpine Forb Tundra. The north-south linkage between the Gila National Forest in Southern New Mexico and the Rio Grande and San Juan Forests of Southern Colorado are vital to protecting wildlife corridors for many species.

The Human Toll and a New State Law

From 2002 to 2016, the New Mexico Department of Transportation reported 15,213 animal-vehicle collisions with 738 resulting in serious injury or death of a motorist. Deer, elk, pronghorn, and bear accounted for 75% of these collisions in New Mexico. Across the United States, it is estimated that about 1 million animals are killed by motorists every day.
New Mexico recently passed a “Wildlife Corridors Act” to begin to address this challenge. The Act calls for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the Department of Transportation to develop a Wildlife Corridors Action Plan. The plan will identify key roads and other barriers impacting wildlife movement and migration and create a list of priority projects designed to improve and protect such corridors. New Mexico Wild played an important role in getting this legislation passed and will play a key role as future plansare developed.

What New Mexico Wild Can Do to Create the Most Positive Impact with the new Wildlife Corridors Act

We believe that non-governmental organizations such as New Mexico Wild play an important role in assuring that the greatest value is realized from the new Act. First of all, continuing our core work to keep wilderness areas and potential wilderness areas roadless is essential. New Mexico Wild and partners can assist with identifying existing highway crossings, dams, fencing, and other barriers that negatively impact the natural migration of wildlife. We can help mobilize the best available science and encourage collaboration between tribal and federal land managers and industry when possible. Each of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plans will have public hearings for input. As we do with so many of these hearings affecting wildlands, wildlife, and water, we can help assure voices for conservation are engaged in those sessions.
We recently launched a Wildlife Corridors Campaign to help fund our work in this important area. Over the coming year, we hope to raise $155,000 for this effort. This would include using our statewide grassroots network to build support in local communities and with diverse coalitions.