Mountain lions, which typically roam 150 to 200 miles, will be among the main beneficiaries of the new overpass, providing safe passage from the Santa Monica Mountains, the highway and the Simi Hills of the Santa Susanna Range. An 18-month-old mountain lion, who recently separated from his mother in search of his own land, was hit and killed on Highway 405, Ana Cholo, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service (NPS), told CNN.
Wallis Annenberg’s $ 87 million wildlife transition is named after the president and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, a family foundation that supports nonprofits. More than 5,000 individual contributions have been made, said Tony Tavares, interim director of CalTrans, California’s Department of Transportation, noting that the crossing will also help protect drivers.
“We can protect California’s ecosystems without compromising the transportation and other infrastructure development we need for a growing population,” US Senator Alex Padilla said at the project’s opening ceremony on Friday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was also there, promised $ 50 million for other similar projects across the state, although they will not be the same size and scope. The Anenberg Wildlife Crossing is a partnership of the National Federation for Wildlife and Conservation of the Santa Monica Mountains and will be built by CalTrans.
“This project is truly amazing,” said Wade Crawfoot, California’s secretary of natural resources. “We will look back decades and realize that this project stimulates a new era of nature conservation and reconnection.
Because cougars require so much territory, moving them to an “urban island” surrounded by busy highways has led to inbreeding and a lack of genetic diversity, according to the NPS, which has been studying cougars in the Los Angeles area for two decades.
“You’re tangled up to the point where all you can do is go out on a date with your cousins,” Brad Sherman said of mountain lions, which thrive when they have a large hunting and mating area. “We’re bringing the mountain lions back to Tinder.”
“I’m shocked to hear about the lack of food or sex in Hollywood, but it’s true of mountain lions,” joked Adam Schiff, whose district includes the brilliant region.
P-22, one of the mountain lions tracked by the NPS, has gained fame in the area by roaming the Hollywood Hills, a bad bout of scabies after being exposed to rat poison, and even tortured a koala at the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. With her own social media accounts, annual P-22 Day and branded goods, this cat has earned something of a cult.
California cougars are attracting the lion’s share of attention for the crossing, as their enclosure threatens their very existence, the NPS said. But it will also provide access to the habitat of coyotes, lynx, deer, snakes, lizards, frogs and even ants.
“We can coexist side by side with all kinds of wildlife, instead of laying it down and suffocating it,” philanthropist Wallis Annenberg said at the opening ceremony. “It’s about drawing more attention to an ingenious solution so that urban wildlife and ecosystems like this not only survive but thrive.
The crossing will merge with the surrounding area and will be covered with soil and local plants. The Santa Monica Mountains Foundation has created a special plant nursery that will grow all the fauna that will be used to cover the crossing when it is nearing completion in 2025.
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