There are many town-built wildlife crossings across the state, but DEEP wants to add more.
An initial draft of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's (DEEP) updated ten-year action plan to protect wildlife, released last week, includes plans to look closely at wildlife road mortality, especially that of amphibians and reptiles.
Cities and towns across the state already have built thousands of wildlife crossings -- places at which animals can cross roads and highways safely. In the action plan draft, DEEP outlines plans to standardize those crossings, create signage at the crossings, and develop systems for drivers to report animal road mortality (similar to the Maine Audobon Wildlife Road Watch).
DEEP also wants to build crossings for larger animals.
Connecticut built one larger wildlife crossing in 2010, a tunnel under a highway in Brookfield. Hank Gruner, vice president of programs with the Science Center of Connecticut, was part of the team of researchers that helped design the tunnel. Gruner said that tunnel is meant to serve as a crossing for a group of box turtles who live nearby.
“Just their biology is, they can’t cross a road rapidly, so they’re more vulnerable to being hit," Gruner said.
Gruner said the tunnel had to be large enough for light to come through, so turtles could see through to the other side. They made the tunnel seven feet tall and 35 feet wide. When they did that, Gruner said larger animals started using it, too.
“Deer, bobcat. A wide variety are using the tunnel, and so they’re avoiding the road," Gruner said.
This report includes information from WSHU Public Radio.