A wildlife crossing at the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Center
Over the last 25 years, National Park Service biologists and collaborators have studied habitat fragmentation and the importance of connectivity in the area, leading to the construction of a wildlife overpass in Liberty Canyon that is set to open this week. This is a video and photo album about the mountain lion study.
Friday, April 22 is the date of the ground breaking. Through this new crossing, wildlife will be reunited with an entire ecosystem that has been fragmented for years by the 101 Freeway and its ten lanes filled with traffic.
It was organizations and institutions like the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Caltrans, Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy who contributed to resolving this conservation crisis.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) superintendent David Szymanski said that our partners have applied our science and changed this corner of the world. The group has acquired critical lands, designed and built public works, raised funds, and developed protections that ensure the survival of wildlife.
In California's Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding regions, NPS biologists have been studying carnivores and other wildlife since 1996. Initially, it focused on bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions in Liberty Canyon, and subsequently expanded to include other wildlife.Overall, it examined urbanization and habitat fragmentation in wildlife communities.
Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief for SMMNRA, describes how exciting it is to see all of our research coming to fruition, in order to benefit wildlife. As a conservation initiative and as a park, this is a pivotal time.
Species with wide-ranging ranges like carnivores faced a major obstacle to movement due to the 101 Freeway. The barrier effect was later demonstrated in studies by the National Park Service and UCLA. As a result of urbanization and roads, bobcats and coyotes exhibit genetic differentiation, as do smaller, more abundant species as well, like western fence lizards and even wrentits, a migrant bird.
Mountain lions are the species that have shown the most notable genetic effects so far.
In the state or the western region, the Santa Monica Mountains population has one of the lowest levels of genetic diversity. Researchers at UCLA have documented that this lack of genetic diversity is manifesting physically in the form of kinks at the tail end of mice, a single descended testicle in males, and poor sperm quality. Mountain lions that nearly went extinct in Florida in the early 1990s had all of these common characteristics associated with inbreeding depression.
A recent discovery of inbreeding depression in our isolated mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains makes this crossing especially pertinent, said Jeff Sikich, the lead field researcher on the study. The most pressing challenge facing wildlife in this region is habitat fragmentation.
A wildlife crossing will benefit not only mountain lions, but also other species whose movements are obstructed by this massive freeway. Despite the fact that mountain lions may be most affected and at greatest risk, Sikich believes that other species will benefit as well.
As a result of this crossing, the Santa Monica Mountains will be more closely connected to other large natural areas, removing the greatest barrier to connectivity. While the connectivity in other areas needs to be improved, it is crucial to better understand the issue and to subsequently improve it.
North of the 101 Freeway, the 118 Freeway separates Simi Hills from Santa Susana Mountains. NPS and Caltrans recently began studying wildlife movement, survival, and potential road crossings.
In addition to the Conejo Grade, along the 101 Freeway, and along the 5 Freeway in the Santa Clarita area, where the freeway separates natural areas to the east and west, are also significant locations.
Located in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country. The park has more than 150000 acres of mountains and coastline. National Park Service unit that comprises local, state, and federal parks connected to private lands. There are 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities in the SMMNRA, one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems worldwide.