Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Department of Transportation have partnered with the Southern Ute Indian tribe and several other organizations to construct a new wildlife mitigation project in southwest Colorado. The project, slated to begin this coming spring, will construct several features on U.S. Highway 160 between Durango and Pagosa Springs that will promote safer travel for motorists, enhance safer movement of wildlife, and reduce animal-vehicle collisions along this section of highway.
}The location of the project will bring a great improvement for that section of highway, explained Scott Wait, senior aquatic biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
“This is a heavily used corridor by vehicles and an important area in the San Juan Basin for big game,” Wait said. “Deer and elk spend the warm months in the high country to the north; but most big game move to the important winter range areas south of the highway during the winter. So there is a huge number of deer and elk that cross the highway at that location.”
