A rendering of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.
“Wildlife crossings are powerfully effective at doing just that—restoring ecosystems that have been fractured and disrupted. It's a way of saying, there are solutions to our deepest ecological challenges, and this is the kind of fresh new thinking that will get us there,” Annenberg continued.
The bridge is designed to seamlessly integrate with the landscape and will feature vegetated sound walls to decrease the light and the noise coming from the freeway.
The crossing will allow animals on both sides to have access to the entire 150,000-acre space in the Santa Monica mountains. It will also help support the local mountain lion population, which is estimated to have dwindled to 10 to 12 animals. At least 25 big cats have been killed on L.A.-area freeways over the past 20 years.
The latest death was last month when a young mountain lion was struck by a car on Pacific Coast Highway.
“We have the chance to give these mountain lions a shot at a future,” said Beth Pratt, a conservation leader with the National Wildlife Federation.
via Living Habitats
The bridge will help improve the area’s biodiversity and it will also serve as a reminder for the 300,000 people who drive through the area each day that we share the planet with other living beings.
“Someone could be in rush-hour traffic, and there could be a mountain lion right above them,” Pratt said. “I think that’s such a hopeful image, and one that inspires me that we can right some of these great wrongs.”
via Living Habitats
The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, says the project is an "inspiring example" of public-private partnership.
"California's diverse array of native species and ecosystems have earned the state recognition as a global biodiversity hotspot. In the face of extreme climate impacts, it's more important than ever that we work together to protect our rich natural heritage," Newsom said in a statement.
The project's lead architect, Robert Rock from Living Habitats in Chicago, hopes the bridge will inspire a movement that reconnects man and nature.
“As both a tool for and a symbol of connection, it will stand as an alluring challenge to future generations to pick up the mantle of design to bridge the gaps elsewhere in our world,” he says.
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