Wildlife Crossing Project North of Yellowstone Clears Another Hurdle
Going through the process of getting a wildlife crossing structure on the ground is slow work. It requires perseverance, patience, relationship building, and creativity. There are many hurdles along the way that either advance your progress or set the project back, and Yellowstone Safe Passages (YSP) just cleared another major hurdle.
After four years of collaborating with partners, meeting with landowners, hosting community workshops and events, collecting data, and investigating tangible solutions, YSP is proud to announce that our proposal for two overpasses at the Dome Mountain priority site along US Highway 89 (Highway 89) has been awarded state funding to complete an engineering feasibility study.
One of the Dome Mountain site overpass renderings created in the Highway Assessment process. (Photo Yellowstone Safe Passages)
Dome Mountain Priority Site
Along Highway 89 in Montana’s Paradise Valley, there is a section of highway locals talk about as “running the gauntlet” when driven at dawn or dusk. This is the Dome Mountain priority site.
On the east side of the highway, ranchlands back up to the Dome Mountain Wildlife Management Area and Custer Gallatin National Forest where elk, deer, pronghorn and big-horn sheep frequent for forage and protected habitat. If you’ve driven this section of highway, you’ve likely seen hundreds of elk on both sides of the highway, often not far from the edge of the pavement. Large carnivores including grizzlies, black bears, cougars, and wolves are also residents here.
On the west side of the highway is the Yellowstone River and more irrigated pastures. To travel between the public lands, irrigated pasture ripe with forage, and the river corridor, wildlife must cross the highway – creating the perfect recipe for wildlife-vehicle collisions.
“The Gauntlet” Hundreds of elk approach Highway 89 at the Dome Mountain priority site. (Photo GYC/London Bernier)
In March, YSP released a Wildlife and Transportation Assessment for Highway 89 between Livingston and Gardiner to identify where wildlife crossing structures would be most effective. Dome Mountain was identified as the top priority site. Data for the Dome Mountain sites show 74 crashes with wildlife were reported to law enforcement from 2012 to 2021, as well as 149 carcasses recorded, primarily elk and mule deer along with one grizzly bear.
To put that into perspective, Montana ranks second in wildlife-collision risks in the United States, with 10 percent of all reported crashes involving wildlife. Between Livingston and Gardiner, the average is five times higher, 50 percent of all vehicle accidents involve wildlife. The data for the five-mile Dome Mountain stretch is especially high.
Funding and Engineering Feasibility Studies
To move forward with building wildlife crossing structures at the Dome Mountain priority site, YSP is pursuing an engineering feasibility study.
An engineering feasibility study is needed to break ground on a wildlife crossing project. This step determines if a project can move forward to design and construction. At its most basic, an engineering feasibility study is a pre-design assessment that looks at a number of factors to determine if and how a wildlife crossing structure can be built in a certain location.
The study includes a survey of the project site to determine the amount of work it will take, costs to build the project, as well as evaluation of soil composition, topography, road grade and other factors.
YSP applied for feasibility study funding through the Montana Wildlife and Transportation Partnership Project Program in May. The program is an opportunity for communities that see a need for improved safety and habitat connectivity in their region to get agency support, and possibly funding, for moving wildlife crossing projects forward. If the partnership sees the value in a project, the Montana Department of Transportation will evaluate requests and award funding for an engineering feasibility study.
Next Steps for Dome Mountain
After the engineering feasibility study is completed, there are more hurdles to face. Further design and fundraising (it’s estimated that the Dome Mountain site will cost over $35 million), followed by construction, are the final roadblocks. Funding alone could take a year or more to raise. In the best case scenario, we’d love to break ground on the Dome Mountain project in two years.
Luckily, YSP is set up for success. We’ve spent years building relationships and engaging with the Park County community and landowners adjacent to the highway, we are in close communication with agency partners, our team is made up of dedicated and experienced members, and we already have a lot of support to get wildlife crossing structures built.
Progress is slow, but we are ready to clear this next hurdle and keep on going until we get to the finish line.
—Blakeley Adkins, The Volgenau Foundation Wildlife Conservation Associate (Bozeman, MT)
