Deal benefits Agoura wildlife bridge




EXAMPLE—Wildlife bridge crossings can be found the world-over. This is one offive overpasses on the Trans-Canada Highway in Alberta. Acornfile photo

EXAMPLE—Wildlife bridge crossings can be found the world-over. This is one offive overpasses on the Trans-Canada Highway in Alberta. Acornfile photo

New steps have been taken to make construction of the Liberty Canyon wildlife crossing in Agoura Hills possible.

At its meeting on Aug. 8, the governing board of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority agreed to a partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop the crossing.

“The partnership would be an agreement for the construction of the overpass landing on both sides of the 101 (Freeway) and Agoura Road, where MRCA owns property,” Rorie Skei, chief deputy director of the MRCA said. “It’s an agreement to proceed with construction drawings once the funding is in place, and ultimately for construction of the overpass.”

Caltrans is the lead agency on the project, and will construct the crossing. Once it’s built, MRCA will be responsible for maintaining it.

Skei said partnering with Caltrans is one of the steps necessary in furthering the project.

“It’s a cooperative agreement that we’ll be working together. They’ll need our assistance, we need theirs. There’s no land exchange,” Skei said. “I wouldn’t even call it a hurdle.”

The Liberty Canyon crossing is a $60-million project that will create a 165-foot-wide by 200-foot-long vegetated bridge across U.S. 101, with an extension over Agoura Road. The crossing will funnel animal trails from the Santa Monica Mountains in the south to the Simi Hills in the north.

The project will be funded through donations and public conservation grants. Construction is expected to start in late 2020, depending on funding availability.

The goal of the crossing is to expand the available territory for wildlife in the region, especially mountain lions. There have been at least 18 cases of cougars being hit and killed by cars while trying to cross the freeway, the National Park Service says.

Freeways and major roads have limited the amount of space available to the large carnivores, and researchers say the species could be extinct in as little as 50 years.

As lead agency on the project, Caltrans is working with the MRCA, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the National Wildlife Federation to raise funds.