GRIFFITH PARK—The groundbreaking ceremony for the world’s largest wildlife crossing is scheduled for April 22. There will be a celebration to follow California’s new landmark, Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, and a special art exhibit will be featured with the artist, Obi Kaufman, alongside the celebration.
The 10-lane wildlife crossing coming to Griffith Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, is a decades-long effort of wildlife advocate, author, and California Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Beth Pratt who has worked with both Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks for over two decades.
Commemorating 10 years since P-22 appeared on Miguel Ordeñana’s Griffith Park trail cam with @bethpratt, leader of the #SaveLACougars campaign which will soon break ground on the world’s largest wildlife crossing #coexistence #wickedawesome pic.twitter.com/X7JuVlZbwM
— Lauren Gill (@ldgill) February 13, 2022
According to the National Park Service, a major threat to mountain lions is anticoagulant rodenticides, known as rat poison. The leading cause of death for the species in the region is vehicle strikes. The National Park Service estimates 24 known mountain lion fatalities due to motor vehicle accidents.
P-104, a subadult male mountain lion, was killed by a car on PCH today. He was the most recent cat to be captured as part of our puma study. He is the 25th cat & 8th collared study cat to be killed by a car and the first we've documented being hit & killed by a car on PCH. pic.twitter.com/CVytayL6wM
— Santa Monica Mtns (@SantaMonicaMtns) March 23, 2022
An estimated 300,000 cars travel on the US-101 freeway. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is being built to protect California’s mountain lions as they cross the 101 freeway in western L.A. into Griffith Park and enter the Santa Monica Mountain region.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, the wildlife crossing is part of the #SaveLACougers campaign. The $25 million conservation challenge grant from Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation to the National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign helped the National Wildlife Federation reach their goal.
The wildlife crossing is an effort between private and public leadership. The partners in the wildlife initiative include, but are not limited to: The National Park Service, Caltrans, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy/Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, The National Wildlife Federation along with leadership from landscape and architects from Living Habitats LLC.
Governor Gavin Newsom secured an additional $10 million in funding for the project. To learn more about the efforts to build the wildlife crossing visit https://savelacougars.org.
