Midwest couple gives $500K to Liberty Canyon wildlife bridge




TEAM WORK—Beth Pratt from the National Wildlife Federation, left, shows the donor from Kansas a design of the Liberty wildlife bridge. Courtesy photo

TEAM WORK—Beth Pratt from the National Wildlife Federation, left, shows the donor from Kansas a design of the Liberty wildlife bridge. Courtesy photo

A retired Kansas couple surprised local officials recently by giving a $500,000 check—what they call a “small donation”—to the Save Los Angeles Cougars campaign.

#SaveLACougars is trying to raise private money to help pay for the Liberty Canyon wildlife bridge in Agoura Hills currently in the planning stages and now estimated by officials to cost more than $80 million.

The organization—which supports the conservation, education and fundraising for local pumas—is a collaborative effort between the National Wildlife Federation and the Santa Monica Mountains Fund.

Campaign leader Beth Pratt, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation and Amanda Leon, the federation’s regional philanthropy officer, traveled to Kansas to accept the check and thank the couple for their donation. The man and woman wished to remain anonymous.

“What I love most is they have only been to Los Angeles once in their lives, but were so inspired by the project they donated, even from afar,” Pratt said.

Two years ago, the couple reached out to Pratt after learning about the story of P-22, the famous mountain lion who appeared photographed in front of the Hollywood sign in National Geographic magazine.

“ I received a phone call from a woman in Kansas who had read an article about the crossing in our organization’s member magazine,” Pratt said.

“She said she had some questions about the project. We had a wonderful conversation that lasted almost an hour. At the end, she thanked me for talking with her and said she would be sending a small donation. Two weeks later, I received a check for $175,000! Since then, they have donated a total of $500,000.”

Including the recent half-million dollar gift, $13.65 million in private money has been raised for the project.

Who is P-22?

P-22 is by far the most famous Southern California cougar.

First photographed in February 2012, the then 2-year-old male mountain lion had safely journeyed into Griffith Park. Two months later, he was captured and fitted with a GPS radio collar.

Unlike other lions killed on the roads and highways across the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, P-22 had successfully crossed both the 101 and the 405 freeways to reach Griffith Park. There, he became hemmed in, biologists say.

The big cat has only eight square miles in which to roam. He likely began feeding on poisoned prey.

When he was captured early in 2014 to have the battery replaced in his collar, P-22 was suffering from a severe case of mange, a parasitic skin condition that is often associated with the ingestion of anticoagulant rodenticides.

Blood samples showed he had ingested the poison.

The animal was treated with a topical medication to kill the parasites and Vitamin K, a treatment for the compounds found in rat poison. He was then released.

The wildlife federation launched their campaign to Save the L.A. Cougars in September 2014 with P-22 featured in the iconic photo of the mountain lion and the Hollywood sign behind him. He became the poster boy for the campaign.

The park service estimates there are between 10-15 mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains. Agency biologists are currently tracking six in the Santa Monica Mountains, three in the Simi Hills and one in Griffith Park.

“P-61 was the most recent,” Platt said. “We lost P-64 and P-74 to the Woolsey fire or its impacts last year. And several (wild) cats in the study have died—or (were) suspected to have died—from rodenticides; most recently P-30 and P-53.”

The more than 200-foot wildlife bridge at Liberty Canyon reportedly will provide a new and safe passage over the 101 Freeway. Save LA Cougars hopes workers will break ground in 2021 and complete the project within a few years.

The story of P-22, confined to a small habitat in Griffith Park, has helped to raise public awareness about the plight of the area’s large cats and the need for the wildlife crossing.

The Kansas couple’s donation to the Save LA Cougars campaign will be used for the crossing and related mountain lion research, outreach and education.

“Caltrans is in the final stages of design and engineering,” Pratt said. “But we have a $20 million utility relocation. We are seeking alternatives with our design consultant, looking at more cost-effective measures.

“With the generous donations of our supporters, we have completed the environmental documents, entered final design and engineering, and we will continue our efforts to keep Caltrans on schedule to break ground in 2021,” Pratt said.

This story has been updated. An earlier version incorrectly identified P-22 as having perished in the Woolsey fire. It was P-64 that died in the fire. P-22 is alive and well in Griffith Park.