Cecily Dangelo stood in a grass -covered field opposite the brush Creek Park and Ride and meant to the nearby slate bluffs that climbed over the Highway 82.
About the sound of speed of cars and occasional aircraft above them, she explained where a wildlife bridge could be built to lead the animals across the busy road.
Dangelo went off when she noticed a koyot in the distance.
“I only saw him prance and got a little creature or something there,” she said.
Dangelo is the executive director of Roaring Fork Safe Passages, a non-profit organization that has been examining solutions for wildlife vehicle collisions since 2022. You have recently published one Damage limitation planIn the first phase, the construction of a transfer near the brush Creek Park includes and rides and expands a tunnel closer to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport.
The dancing Coyote is one of many species from which the prospective intersections could benefit from it, but this place was selected for a much larger mammal.
“You can see a really delimited place where the moose has traveled,” said Dangelo, pointing to a path that cut through the brush behind the bluff.
When she looked down, she noticed that the animals had also left their traces in the field.
“We are in Elch Poop,” noted Dangelo.
The Highway 82 is the main route in and from Aspen and weaves through the base of the scenic Roaring Fork Valley.
Mulate deer are the most common victims of collisions, but this part of the highway also has a high rate of vehicle collisions with moose, an animal that can weigh up to 900 pounds and damage cars and drivers considerably.
The plan of the safe passages to build up a transfer and underpass could eliminate almost all of these accidents. The structures would be surrounded by fences to carry animals across the bridge or through the tunnel and keep them away from the highway.
However, the non -profit organizations estimate that the combined construction projects would cost between 22 and 32 million US dollars.
Julia Kintsch heads a consulting company called Eco-Realutions and headed the research report for safe passages.
“The infrastructure itself has a great preliminary cost,” said Kintsch. “But we also see that there is nothing to do.”
Kintsch has been studying wildlife connectivity problems throughout the American west for 20 years.
She says that the six miles of the motorway north of Aspen/Pitkin County Airport stand out in Colorado.
“This section of the motorway has some of the highest conflicts of moose vehicles that I have observed,” said Kintsch.
From 2014 to 2023, the Colorado Ministry of Transport found that 55% of all collisions between the airport and Aspen Village contained wild animals.
Menches, deer and other mammals are active in these areas because they have to travel to lower increases to find food in winter.
“Seasonal resources are exactly that,” said Kintsch. “You can't access you all year round.”
Since climate change leads to increasing challenges of the habitat, Kintsch is said that the ability of the wild animals to move, becomes even more compelling for their survival.
“What if there is a fire? Where do animals go?” Asked Kintsch. “Where do animals go when there is a drought, and maybe the resources here are not so accessible? Connectivity helps animals to move over the landscape in response to these extreme weather events or other environmental changes.”
The idea of wild animals that use structures manufactured may seem far -fetched, but it is a proven concept.
Kintsch has co-LED research for a number of intersections north of Silverthorne, which were built in 2016.
Kintsch explained that animals do not distinguish between people so differently, and if they are confronted with oncoming traffic, they will choose the path of the slightest resistance.
“If there is a passage in which I can ride my bike under the street, instead of trying to line up between cars like Frogger, I will take this round,” said Kintsch. “Wild animals are exactly the same way. They don't want to be more in traffic than in traffic.”
According to Dangelo, public-private partnerships have successfully financed other intersections. The damage reduction plan recommends a transfer of Pitkin County's country, and the district commissioners have been discussing the concept for several years.
During a district seat in 2022, Commissioner Greg Poschman said that he understood that the structures would be expensive, but the district had to go in this direction.
“I think back to the collision of this winter … Ten moose were killed in a wreck,” said Poschman. “And then directly at my house in the Brush Creek Road and the Highway 82 a few years ago we had a driver who must have looked down on his phone or something – five moose.”
An underpass that was built north of the airport road would expand a current sub-highway round that some animals use, but it is too small for moose. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport also has a legitimate interest in preventing collisions.
According to Dangelo, dead animals attract large birds that create an aviation danger, and airport officials regularly clarify the slaughterhouse themselves.
There are other highly effective areas along the highway, but these two locations were also selected due to the considerable amount of protected land that they surround. The wildlife crossings covered with local plants combine high -quality habitats on both sides of the street.
The areas have relatively little development, but Dangelo said that this can change quickly.
“If you wait too long, these options are lost,” she said.
On September 9, Safe Passages are to broadcast his recommendations to Pitkin County's commissioners, with a financing request to initiate the design phase.
The organization currently has one Online survey Open until September 5 to collect public contributions to his reduction plan.