Bull elk on Keechelus Lake Wildlife Overcrossing | September 2021

Happy Friday from Snoqualmie Pass! This majestic bull elk took a stroll across I-90 on the Keechelus Lake Wildlife Overcrossing at sunset yesterday. Video courtesy of our partners WSDOT.
Each fall, elk and mule deer herds in the Cascade Mountains migrate from lush summer range in highcountry basins to their winter range down in the valleys and shrub-steppe. Interstate 90 and other highways bisect these seasonal migration routes, disrupting habitat connectivity and leading to loss of life for these large ungulates as well as serious accidents for motorists.
Thanks to the dedicated work of Conservation Northwest's local staff and an entire community of agency, non-profit, science and construction partners over the past 15 years, I-90 Wildlife Crossings are now helping reduce this needless loss of life!
Elk have used this wildlife bridge well over 500 times this year, and more than 1,000 times total in 2021 across all the existing I-90 wildlife crossings. Construction is now underway on a second large wildlife overcrossing near Easton, and is expected to ramp up in 2022 as part of Phase 3 of WSDOT’s I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project.
This phase will also include several more large wildlife undercrossings and culvert expansions to benefit a variety of wildlife, amphibian and fish species large and small, along with various other freeway improvements for motorists.
Learn more on our website at www.conservationnw.org/I90
#I90Wildlife #wildlifecrossings

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