State agencies want to build wildlife crossings on a stretch of highway around Dubois, to make it safer for drivers and deer alike. But federal grant freezes have created a bit of a roadblock for the potential project, which has a $28 million dollar price tag.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) and the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) are leading the Wind River to Grand Teton wildlife crossing project, which would build three overpasses and an underpass to reduce accidents on a stretch of Highway 26/287.
Daryl Lutz is a wildlife management coordinator for the Lander region with WGFD. In a previous interview with Wyoming Public Radio about the project, he said the area has one of the highest rates of wildlife-vehicle collisions in the state.
“Of all the crashes that occur on this stretch of highway, 74% of them are due to wildlife-vehicle collisions. And of those collisions that occur on an annual basis, on average, they cost about $791,000 a year,” he said.
WGFD director Angi Bruce said the Dubois wildlife crossing project is high on the agency’s priority list.
“ When it comes to large projects in the state, this one is at the top right now,” she said. “We just keep chipping away at collecting the funds, trying to fundraise until we get to the total price tag.”
WYDOT applied for $17 million of federal funding through the Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program last fall, which launched in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The agency previously received $24.3 million from the program during its first round of funding in 2023 for a wildlife crossing project between Kemmerer and Evanston that’s set to go to bid this summer.
While the agency wasn’t selected for the second round of funding, the intention was to reapply for the third and final round of funding this May. But the application didn’t open up and the program is on pause.
“The federal government has not provided a timeline for further announcements or opportunities,” said WYDOT spokesperson Doug McGee.
According to WGFD Director Bruce, the plan is to apply for funding through the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program if it comes back online. She said agencies have been able to pull off some smaller projects without federal dollars in the past, but emphasized it’d be difficult for a project of this magnitude to come to fruition without that support.
“I'd like to say yes, but I am not sure. It would be rather difficult,” she said.
Bruce said because so many tourists drive on that particular stretch of road, the wildlife crossings could have a big impact on improving safety for both residents and out-of-state visitors.
“ Especially with the location of this project and heading towards Yellowstone and other really popular tourist spots, to have a federal funding source make sense because so many people across the nation benefit,” she said.
Scott Christensen is the executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, which raised nearly $3 million of nonprofit match funds with the WYldlife Fund for the 2024 funding application. He said the project is important from a wildlife and human health perspective.
“ Lander is 50 miles down the road and getting into a wreck there is just a dangerous situation,” he said. “From a public safety standpoint, it's a really important stretch of road to address.”
Christensen said that the initial roughly $3 million is still committed to the project as the stakeholders work to find other funding sources to keep the ball rolling.
“Everyone is still fully committed to building the project. The need has not gone away,” he said. “On the private side, we're really grateful that our donors continue to stand by us and are still fully committed to supporting the effort.”
According to Christensen, the funds awarded to projects during the second round of funding are also frozen. That’s impacted roughly $20 million for the Rocky Point Project in eastern Idaho, which would build three wildlife underpasses for mule deer near Montpelier.
“ Some of those animals come from the Wyoming Range in western Wyoming and migrate down towards Bear Lake in eastern Idaho for winter range,” said Christensen. “That pinch point there at Rocky Point is really critical for them to get through without being hit.”
Christensen recently traveled to D.C. to meet with delegation members from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and ask them to work with the Federal Highway Administration to unfreeze the funds. He said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is “really important” to that effort because of her position on the Environment and Public Works Committee in the Senate.
“ We are hopeful that by working through the state congressional delegations and with agency officials, we can figure out what's going on there and what needs to happen to get the funds moving again,” he said.
