The concept of highway safe passages is slowly gaining traction throughout the Northern Rockies, and this spring American Wildlands launched our newest strategy to further increase this growing level of awareness and interest. In other outreach efforts, we are working hard to inform the general public about the ecological, economic and human safety benefits of safe passages. Our “Safe Passages E-Bulletin” is specifically designed for the agency, consulting, and NGO “practitioners” (professionals and volunteers) that work on wildlife safe passages across highways.

To support practitioners of wildlife safe passages, we want to help promote the latest applied science and best management practices emerging from the field of road ecology. Our rational for publishing this quarterly bulletin is that by providing new research, innovations, and resources to these people, American Wildlands is increasing the knowledge and expertise of those actively engaged in making highways safer for wildlife and people. The release of our first quarterly electronic bulletin has become our most visible commitment to assisting practitioners in this way.

In this and future electronic bulletins, we address the two overarching categories of safe passage techniques: [1] providing safe passage structures across highways for wildlife, and [2] providing information that helps drivers know where and how they can reduce the likelihood of hitting wildlife.