TIGER for lions and bears (and elk), oh my!
More evidence that Conservation Northwest employees must really love their work, and a huge chance for the state of Washington to score a win for wildlife in the I-90 corridor. Plus, really cool videos!
We wish all it took was a cute drawing to make sure I-90 was safer for wildlife in the vital habitat of the Cascades, but it will take some money, too. Right now the state is able to apply for federal stimulus funds. Drawing: Jennifer from North Bend Elem
Today the US Department of Transportation released its second round of stimulus transportation grant dollars called TIGER II grants. For more information on government grants than any human really needs, 84-pages of guidance on how projects will be rated and prioritized for eligibility to receive grant dollars is now available. Enjoy!
From our first read of the guidance (yes, social life is not a requirement to work at Conservation Northwest), it seems that the I-90 Snoqualmie East Project is a prime example of both the Primary and Secondary selection criteria for the grant dollars.
First, under the Primary criteria, a project must meet long-term outcomes including environmental benefits, "for example, improved air quality, wetlands creation or improved habitat connectivity" (p. 22). The project must also have a significant contribution to the national/regional economy. Well, hey, we've got that in spades!
The I-90 project has been recognized by a wide diversity of organizations and individuals to be a vital project to our entire state's economy, while also meeting a host of long term objectives for our state socially, economically, and ecologically.
"If we expect viable populations of wildlife in the Washington Cascades to persist, particularly the rare carnivores, such as wolverine and lynx, we must modify I-90. The interstate functions as a barrier to wildlife movement, effectively cutting the state in half, preventing gene flow between local and regional populations." -- Patricia A. Garvey-Darda, biologist for Okanogan/Wenatchee National Forest.
The Secondary criteria looks at a project's innovation and partnership; the feds want the best projects out there. The I-90 project is the leader in our state for both innovation and partnerships, and is the only highway project we are aware of that has brought such creativity to design while uniting a wide variety of supporting parties.
As far as we know, the I-90 project is also the only shovel-ready highway project with a completed full environmental analysis that actually incorporates habitat connectivity into its design to produce a highway that is safer for people and wildlife.
This is a unique time for the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project, where we can utilize additional federal dollars now to build upon the 5 miles of construction already funded by the state. The proposal to extend Phase 1 an additional mile to the end of the lake and include the Rock Knob overpass better sets us up for additional phases of the I-90 project in the future, and allows us to build upon construction already underway on this important economic corridor this summer.
We meet, no, exceed the requirements in that bear of a document for TIGER II funding, and we have a huge opportunity on our hands.
We hope that our state sees the wisdom in competing for these funds with the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project!
[And look! Not only do we read long government docs on your behalf, we have great video, too: Gold Creek Witness for Wildlife and an I-90 wildlife bridges virtual fly-over]
Here! Here!