Caltrans Will Build Wildlife Corridor In Agoura Hills

Caltrans has plans in place to build a state-of-the-art wildlife corridor at the Liberty Canyon underpass to protect animals from oncoming traffic, according to Seth Riley, wildlife ecologist with the National Park Service. 

"That area is really critical because there are so few places left where there is even natural habitat up to the freeway on both sides," Riley said.

Man-made obstacles, such as the 101 Freeway, can prove dangerous to animals seeking to expand their territory, Riley said. Mountain lions, for instance,   require up to 100 square miles to hunt.

"The lions have huge home ranges, especially the males, so they are not really in one spot. A number of them use the entire Santa Monica Mountains, from Camarillo to the 405," Riley said. "There is plenty of good habitat right in the middle of the mountains there. The problem is that there is not enough habitat in the long run, because they need so much." 

The solution the National Public Service has found is providing hospitable habitats for wildlife at freeway underpasses with help from Caltrans. Liberty Canyon is one such spot.

"We are selling it [to the state] as a way to keep the animals off the highway so that we don't have accidents and fatalities," said Ron Kosinski, deputy environmental planner for Caltrans. 

The approximately $15-million project has been slow to take off, said Kosinski. The Federal Highway Commission will provide Caltrans with an estimated cost and size of the corridor by July. Kosinski hopes to submit the plan to the state in August and have the project slated for 2012. 

"We've been working on it for a couple years now," said Kosinski. "It is certainly a battle to get through the bureaucratic hurdles." 

Given recent state budgetary woes, Caltrans is still struggling to find the funds, but Kosinski is hopeful. 

"My job is to protect environmental resources," said Kosinski. "I think it is a really worthwhile effort."