Defenders Celebrates Oregon Bill that Paves the Way for Safer Roads

Defenders of Wildlife today applauded the Oregon legislature over its passage of HB 2978, a major step toward improving public safety and protecting wildlife. The bill will enhance the state’s ability to build wildlife crossings — overpasses and underpasses that allow animals to safely crossroads and highways — that have been shown to dramatically reduce dangerous and costly wildlife-vehicle collisions by as much as 90% or more.  

“HB 2978 will help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and improve habitat connectivity at a time when avoiding vehicles is one of the biggest challenges to the survival of Oregon's wildlife,” said Colin Reynolds, senior advisor to the Northwest program at Defenders of Wildlife. “This legislation shows that Oregonians value a healthy and sustainable future, one in which the safety of both humans and wildlife is prioritized.”

HB 2978 will conserve wildlife and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by strengthening the Oregon Department of Transportation’s wildlife-vehicle collision program while increasing critical coordination between ODOT and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This bill builds on past investments by strengthening Oregon’s comprehensive program to plan and implement critical wildlife crossing projects. It also enhances technical guidance for incorporating wildlife crossings into highway design, establishes a training program to boost agency expertise, identifies priority project areas and fosters greater collaboration among the ODOT, the ODFW and key stakeholders through the creation of a dedicated advisory group.

Wildlife crossings have already proven successful at dramatically reducing or nearly eliminating collisions and creating safer crossings for elk, deer and countless other species. For example, Oregon’s Lava Butte underpass near Bend reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 85%. The crossings are also an effective and a good investment, yielding annual benefits of $250,000 to $443,000 per structure.  

While HB 2978 will make it easier to build wildlife crossings, it does not provide the necessary money to build these life-saving projects. Oregonians are also urging the state legislature to allocate yearly funding through the transportation package.  

If enacted, the requirements in HB 2978 will be a significant step toward increased state commitment to the reduction of wildlife vehicle collisions and improved wildlife habitat connectivity. Having passed both the House and Senate, the bill now heads to Governor Tina Kotek for her signature.

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