@WakeUpCall – UPDATE: Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

Amy talks with the California Regional Exec. Director of the National Wildlife Federation Beth Pratt about the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing entering its second and final construction stage.  

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's say good morning now to the California Regional executive
director of the National Wildlife Federation, Best Praut, Good morning, Best.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good morning Amy. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Yeah, so we're hitting another big benchmark in the construction
of the Wallas Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. I call it the
Annenberg Wallace earlier, but it's a wallace Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.
What's about to start.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Yeah, it's really amazing. I've been working on this project
almost fourteen years and to think we're now just lower
a year out from completion. So stage one, which is
over the freeway. That structure's been completed twenty six pounds
a concrete board and as you know, we have soil
on top and the plants will go on top of

(00:42):
that structure fall. But what we're moving towards is extending
for state. The final stage, extending that structure over the
Agora Road which runs parallel to the freeway. We have
to do so we have to underground some utility lines
which run in between where you know the one on
one structures and whether your gore structure needs to go,

(01:03):
and then we will be open for business for a
wild life next year. It's really exciting to contemplate.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Open for business. I love that. And this next phase
of the of the bridge or the overpass, whatever is
it's a little bit tricky. And I was reading the
press release it says that going over the two lanes
is going to be trickier than going over the ten
lanes of the one on one.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, you know a lot most wildlife crossings are in
the middle of nowhere, and they build them where it
is easiest to engineer. This is all. We had sixteen
hundred feet of protected space left in that entire region
on that freeway, and it was not an easy site.
You know, the one oh one structure is kind of
a straight shot right over the freeway, but this one

(01:50):
is much trickier. The slope is something that we have
to move earth and get down so the animals you
wouldn't be going straight up the hill. But even more importantly,
there is a creek right there watershed as well as
many many heritage oaks, and so we need to thread
and angle that crossing in between those so that we

(02:11):
maintain the watershed and preserve the oak.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Got to be careful with the environment. So you've got
you mentioned that you've got dirt across the ten lane crossing. Now,
have any animals been kind of sniffing it out? Like, Hey,
what's that? Could I cross?

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Now? I'm so glad you asked that. I was actually
up there last week and saw a Western sense lizard,
and at first I didn't think anything of it. Western
senselizards are one of the most common animals you see
in California. But then I'm like, wait a minute, this
Western census is on top of the crossing, and this
is remarkable for two reasons. One is a the crossing's

(02:49):
not connected to the landscape yet. We obviously don't want
the animals on a bridge to nowhere. So this little guy,
all the western sensuszs can climb that. You know, I
had to climb up a significant concret wall to get there.
It's the only way to access it. But the other
reason that is significant is we are building this wildlife
crossing from everything from mountain lines to monarch butterflies, and

(03:12):
the National Park Service in other people's research, you know,
showed that mountain lions were genetically fragmenting because of this freeway.
Their research also showed that Western sense wizards were doing
the same, So he is another representative of animals impacted
by this, and hey, that is one small step for
lizard kind.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Right, yeah, all creatures great and small can use this.
And then my one last question for you, I think
we may have talked about this, and I think I said,
you know, if you build it, they will come. Are
you going to do anything to attract the animals to
the crossing or will they just find it on their own?

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, it's a really good question. I will say that overall,
animals really seek these crossings out, you know, and word
really does get out in the animal world, like, hey,
safe path is this way? There was a fame us
a video of a badgero and a coyote teaching each
other how to use an underground culvert. But with decades
of wildlife crossings, we also know what works to help

(04:09):
them find it. And one of the biggest things we
do is what we call exclusionary fencing. There will be
fencing about two miles on the freeway either way to
cut off their options and basically we'll lead them right there.

Speaker 1 (04:21):
Okay, perfect, And if all goes according to plan, we're
still looking at and opening next year and the next
phase is starting soon. Thanks so much. A best prat
for giving us an update. I can't wait for this.
It's been so long in coming here. It's just I bet,
I bet you guys are working on it day, every day,
so it's very exciting.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, it's going to feel good when that first mounta
line passes.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
Thanks for having me, Amy, all right, we'll talk to
you again soon. Thanks Beth,