Conservation Northwest

Roads and wildlife Jen Watkins Conservation associate, jen@conservationnw.org i-90 Wildlife BridgeS Rock Knob shines on A victory for wildlife was included in the flurry of legislative bills signed by Governor Gregoire this year— funding for the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project and a more wildlife-friendly freeway. It's been a roller coaster for the project. At the end of the last legislative session, we celebrated with our partners such as AAA, Kittitas County, and the Potato Commission, when the final transportation bill directed the Department of Transportation to apply nearly $100 million in savings from building the first 5 miles of the I-90 Project to the next phase, including Washington's first-ever wildlife overpass. But in this hard economy, budget battles threatened to delay funding until 2020. Our partner organizations and people like you sent a message that delay was unacceptable, and would result in a tremendous loss of momentum and financial inefficiencies. On behalf of this project, legislative leadership displayed by Senators Rolfes, King, and Frockt, as well as Representatives Clibborn and Armstrong, restored timely funding of the I-90 project. "Preventing the delay of $67 million for the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project avoids five years of delay to vital improvements in this east-west lifeline. That's great news for all the people, businesses and conservationists who understand how important this project is for our state," said Rep. Judy Clibborn, chair of the House Transportation Committee. The final bill directs funding to complete design of the next phase, followed by construction in 2013-2017. Under this direction, the wildlife overpass at Rock Knob would break ground in 2015. The timing couldn't be better. This June, a field tour during the Western Governors Association's annual meeting will visit the project area including a look at the soon to be completed Gold Creek underpass. Even while we celebrate this success, we must safeguard it against defunding in repeat legislative sessions, and we must continue to identify funding sources to bring it to completion. Just this month, we worked with Kittitas County to submit a TIGER IV application for federal stimulus dollars to leverage off of this state funding. We'll keep our fingers crossed for good luck on this application, as we look forward to a busy construction season ahead at Snoqualmie Pass, procuring safe passage for wildlife. Black bear using existing I-90 culvert "Good gains," continued 4. Through the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative, we secured Legacy Roads and Trails funding for Washington, bringing millions of dollars annually to decommission unnecessary roads and to maintain needed. (See page 14) 5.We are also bringing strategic private dollars to encourage restoration on the ground in the high priority Chewuch watershed in the Methow Valley. Funding was directed to stormproof and maintain nearly 140 miles of road in 2010. We engaged in a timber sale to ensure that the Forest Service was reducing the woody debris that can fuel wildfire and improving watershed health by closing roads before logging began. We continued to look at the affects of roads on the entire Chewuch watershed in 2011. And this year, for road restoration, we're bringing $9,000 of private funding (thanks to The Mountaineers Foundation) while leveraging greater work by our partners, including The Wilderness Society. Volunteers with the Cascades Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project documented tracks of a coyote they had observed bound successfully past speeding cars along a busy I-90. Wildlife bridges, anyone? Conservation Northwest 6 Spring-Summer 2012 www.conservationnw.org

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