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Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico’s Game and Fish and Transportation departments are asking for public comment on the creation of a statewide wildlife corridors plan.

The Legislature passed the Wildlife Corridors Act last year. The law provides $500,000 for the state’s agencies to create a plan identifying highways where projects could address vehicle-wildlife collisions.

Mark Watson, a terrestrial habitat specialist with Game and Fish, said the agencies have completed 10 mitigation projects in areas where drivers often hit deer, elk or other large game.

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“Almost all the projects in New Mexico include standard 8-foot-tall woven wire game fence along the highway that force large game animals and other wildlife to go under existing bridges or through box culverts,” Watson said at a public meeting Thursday in Albuquerque. “Eventually animals learn to use these underpasses.”

Game and Fish and NMDOT have built wildlife corridors in areas such as Tijeras Canyon, Raton and U.S. 550 near the New Mexico-Colorado border. A statewide plan will build on those efforts.

Game and Fish uses GPS collars on big game animals and observation data to track where wildlife are migrating. Data about vehicle accidents with deer or elk are provided by law enforcement, including tribal police. The agencies say that collision numbers are likely underreported by drivers.

“We’re mostly done with gathering ecological data and vehicle collision data, so the next step is to identify those vehicle-widlife collision hotspots,” said Jim Hirsch of the state Department of Transportation’s Environmental Bureau. “Then we’ll do field work to look at potential infrastructure solutions and conduct an economic analysis for those projects.”

The Wildlife Corridors Act doesn’t include project money, but Watson said it’s clear that “the Legislature’s next step is providing funding to implement the projects.”

The draft plan will be completed by the end of 2020, followed by another public comment period.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.