New Project To Document Wildlife Sightings Along I-90

The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition has launched I-90 Wildlife Watch, "a new citizen-based wildlife monitoring project that invites motorists to report wildlife sightings along I-90 in the Snoqualmie Pass region of Washington state."

From the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition's news release:

"The I-90 Wildlife Watch program complements other wildlife monitoring work being conducted by the Washington State Department of Transportation and its partners as part of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project. I-90 crosses the Cascades at Snoqualmie Pass, where traffic volumes average 28,000 vehicles per day and are increasing by ~ 2.1% per year. While the interstate is a vital east-west transportation corridor in Washington, it also bisects a critical north-south wildlife corridor for animals moving throughout the Cascade Mountains. Through the I-90 Project, WSDOT will help re-connect the north-south wildlife corridors by constructing 24 large wildlife crossing structures along a 15-mile stretch of highway between Hyak and Easton. Structures will range in size from enlarged culverts to 150-foot-wide wildlife bridges.

“I-90 Wildlife Watch is a very timely initiative to engage motorists in reporting wildlife observations during the first year of construction associated with the I-90 Project,” said Jason Smith, Environmental Manager for WSDOT South Central Region. “The information reported by motorists will complement ongoing research to determine which species of wildlife are trying to cross the highway today, and will allow us to assess the ultimate effectiveness of the crossing structures following their construction.”