Southern Oregon wildlife crossing project receives federal funding | Local [Video]

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – Congress recently approved $400,000 in funding for fencing to be built for a wildlife crossing corridor over Interstate 5 that would be built in the Mariposa Preserve.

The areas being connected with the crossing are the Klamath, Siskiyou and the Cascades, a junction point critical for biological diversity. Without a corridor fragmentation of habitat can lower bio-diversity making the animals less able to withstand the climate.

This comes after five-year tracking finds the two-mile stretch that will be covered by the fence had 34 deer-vehicle collisions from 2016 to 2020. This marks the first piece of funding for the crossing that specifically targets a distinct and tangible portion of the project.

“[The crossing] benefits wildlife but it also creates a much higher level of public safety,” Said Steve Wise, the executive director of the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, “The collisions that take place on this …