The new Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, a bridge that connects two portions of Callifornia’s Santa Monica Mountains separated by 10 lanes of highway, has its first beneficiaries: A coyote used it to cross the 101 freeway on October 28th, and a few days later, a second coyote did the same.
The crossing, which measures around 210 feet in length and 174 feet in width, isn’t finished yet, with the official opening scheduled for December, but it’s encouraging that it’s already helping animals get from point A to point B without having to risk their lives getting through L.A. traffic. The $114 million project will also include a second wildlife bridge and 13 acres of restored habitat. It connects the Simi Hills in the north to the Santa Monica Mountains in the south.
Wildlife expected to benefit from the crossing include bobcats, badgers, black bears, deer, birds of prey, foxes, and mountain lions. Since 2002, at least a dozen mountain lions have been killed on the 101. Moreover, GPS trackers have shown other lions approach the road, but then turn back—which has led to physical abnormalities in the isolated populations.
“This is more than just about whether animals use the crossing,” Seth Riley, of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said in a statement. “We want to understand how effective it is in reconnecting an ecosystem that’s been divided by the freeway for decades. That’s a much bigger scientific question and answering it will take years.”
The new structure owes a significant debt to P-22, the Mountain Lion of Hollywood that made it across two freeways before eventually being euthanized in 2022 due to health complications. The story of P-22—and the iconic photos of him—helped raise awareness of conservation efforts in L.A., and the need for crossings that would expand the habitat available to these animals.
Even before the official opening, we already know it’s working. As one Facebook post put it: “To everyone who wondered how wildlife would know where to go without signs… apparently, they’ve figured it out.”
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Lead Image: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
