![]() “This is restoring a piece of lost habitat, putting it back across the mountains.” More projects in the future “It’s not just a solution for P22 to get across the road, as much as P22 is the face of the campaign,” says Rock. Cats will follow smaller prey species, who generally more quickly adapt to the new territory. For wary creatures, it may take up to five years to use the crossing successfully. ![]() The scientists say there is a learning curve for animals, and they will slowly begin to explore the bridge. And most of the area’s mountain lions – scientists estimate there are currently between 10 and 12 – live in the area that the bridge will span. But his symbol helped raise the money that will fund the bridge. P22 won’t actually be the intended user of this crossing, since he lives in a part of Los Angeles far east of the mountain range. Photograph: Steve Winter/National Geographic Creative “People really took his plight to heart, and this is not just a California story: the world has come together around his cause.”Ī remote camera captured a radio collared mountain lion in Griffith Park. Pratt points to the local celebrity mountain lion P22, whose exploits around the city have captured headlines, as a catalyst for it all. Leonardo DiCaprio’s foundation chipped in $300,000. A couple from Kansas who had visited the city only once donated $675,000. Pratt says the plight of the region’s mountain lions caught the eye of donors from around the world. “I think that’s such a hopeful image, and one that inspires me that we can right some of these great wrongs.” “Someone could be in rush-hour traffic, and there could be a mountain lion right above them,” she says. ![]() “As both a tool for and a symbol of connection, it will stand as an alluring challenge to future generations to pick up the mantle of design to bridge the gaps elsewhere in our world,” he says.Īpproximately 300,000 cars pass through this area each day, and Pratt calls it an opportunity for millions of Angelenos to see how humans can live more harmoniously with nature. Rock says he is optimistic that the investment could serve as a precedent for how design can play a restorative role in the natural world. Photograph: Living Habitats and National Wildlife Federation Some of the species that are expected to use the wildlife bridge. (Pratt says that planting poison oak and posting signs about rattlesnakes are also effective tools to keep humans off the bridge.) Docents will be posted nearby to discourage people from exploring the overpass. His team includes a soil scientist – who collected samples nearby that are specific to the local trees – and a mycologist, who is studying the fungi of the area and how they can help the seamless flow of plants and animals across the overpass. This one is designed to seamlessly glide into the environment on both sides – and send a message to the people driving below. Robert Rock, a landscape architect with Living Futures in Chicago who led the design, says this nature-centered type of construction makes it unusual among other wildlife bridges and underpasses around the world, which are typically made of cement and steel. This is restoring a piece of lost habitat, putting it back across the mountains Robert Rock, architect The crossing is designed to seamlessly integrate into the mountains, offering big cats, coyotes, deer, lizards, snakes and other creatures a safe way to travel to different parts of open territory in the Santa Monica mountains recreation area – a 150,000-acre space. The project is breaking the mold in many ways: not only is it the largest crossing in the world, stretching over 10 lanes of one of the busiest roadways in the country, but it’s also an engineering marvel. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has called the project an “inspiring example” of public-private partnership. The bridge’s price tag will be covered by about 60% private donations, with the rest coming from public funds set aside for conservation purposes. Construction will mostly happen at night and the project isn’t expected to be complete until early 2025. Photograph: APĪ groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction for the $90m crossing – called the Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing – will take place on Earth Day, 22 April. ![]() A rendering of the wildlife bridge crossing, which will feature native plants and vegetated walls. ![]()
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