HUSON — For bears, deer and fish, crossing the street is pretty hard — especially if that street is Interstate 90.
A plan is in the works to improve safety for people and wildlife along a stretch of highway between Huson and Alberton.
The Missoula Regional Connectivity Group (MRCG) submitted a proposal to the Montana Wildlife Transportation Partnership to improve wildlife crossings in the Sixmile area.
The Montana Department of Transportation recently contracted a feasibility study, which will examine the options over the next year.
“This area is full of wildlife. There's over 300 elk that live around here. We have grizzly bears that live here. Lots of black bears, cougars, pretty much all wildlife, deer, and a lot of them get hit out on the interstate,” said Pat Sweeney with the Ninemile Wildlife Workgroup. “What we're trying to do is prevent some of those animals getting hit and people getting hurt and destroying their vehicles.”
The project aims to improve the crossings that currently exist under interstate bridges along the Clark Fork River in the Ninemile and majorly revamp the 60-year-old culvert under the highway at Sixmile Creek.
“Right now the culvert is half full of gravel and it's not very good for fish passage. It's more of a barrier than a passage,” said Sweeney.
The proposal suggests building up fencing along the highway, routing wildlife to the two existing crossings and two new open bridges, which would replace the culvert.
The coalition of agencies and organizations behind MRCG say this would help large mammals cross more safely.
“Those species like big openings. They won't use small, dark tunnels, culverts, really. They need that open-span sort of sight lines to feel comfortable,” said National Wildlife Federation wildlife connectivity manager Simon Buzzard. “Right now, elk do use the banks on the river under the two bridges on the Clark Fork. It's a matter of just fencing off the interstate so that they're encouraged to do that.”
Those behind the project say it’s a win-win for wildlife and people.
“There's been at least one fatality due to wildlife in this stretch,” said Buzzard. “We've seen semi-trucks topple over trying to avoid elk. This stretch of highway crashes with wildlife makeup over a third of all crashes reported. That's a lot higher than the state average.”
Buzzard said that with wildlife encouraged to use crossings and the highway fenced, safety will be greatly improved.
While fencing off the highway alone could accomplish the goal of reducing crashes, it would fully isolate wildlife across I-90.
“If we just put up fencing, then we're cutting off these wildlife movements that are really key to preserving wildlife in this area,” said Buzzard.
The coalition of conservation groups, government agencies and nonprofits behind MRCG say their plan offers a solution to both problems.
“Not only for human safety, animal safety, but also for connectivity because there's not too many places in the world where we have intact ecosystems like we have here in Montana,” said Sweeney.
Allowing safe passage, provides a link for wildlife populations, and genetic diversity, between ecosystems like the Bitterroot, the Continental Divide and the Cabinet-Yaak.
Sweeney — who retired as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service — lives just miles away from the proposed crossing.
It’s become a mission for him, and several of his neighbors to make the project a reality.
“This is one of the few places where we have connectivity pretty close. There's a lot of people passionate about wildlife here,” he said. “Since I've known about it, this is what I wanted to do, actually, is get this through. It's kind of my bucket list, to get this project completed because it's, I feel, very important.”
As the feasibility study takes place, MRCG will continue to hold community meetings and speak with nearby landowners about the project.
Following the study, they hope to apply for grants and look for other sources of funding.
