Wild Virginia has organized the May 18 webinar An Introduction to Virginia’s First Wildlife Corridor Action Plan to introduce Virginians to Virginia Wildlife Corridor Action Plan -- Making Roads Safer for People and Wildlife (PDF). VDOT’s Amy Golden, Land Stewardship Lead in the Office of Transportation Sustainability, will discuss the plan.
A little about the plan
The General Assembly mandated a team made up of Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Transportation, and the Virginia Department of Forestry develop a plan containing six intentions:
- Intent #1: Identify wildlife habitat corridors comprised of high quality habitats for priority species and ecosystem health using the best available data;
- Intent #2: Identify existing or planned human barriers to wildlife movement along such corridors;
- Intent #3: Identify areas of high risk for wildlife-vehicle conflicts;
- Intent #4: Prioritize and recommend wildlife crossing projects intended to promote driver safety and wildlife habitat connectivity;
- Intent #5: Provide a public portal to host this Plan, data, and maps; and
- Intent #6: Update this Plan every four years.
Based on these requirements, the team identified three themes at the core of this first plan: Promote driver safety, improve wildlife corridor connectivity, and advance mutual benefits. Learn more about the plan development process and key challenges on the Department of Wildlife Resources website.
Wildlife on the Northern Neck
The Wildlife Corridor Action Plan map (shown below) is available on the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Data Explorer.
The map visualizes what some people already know, that the vast majority of interactions (“Areas of High Wildlife-Vehicle Conflict Occurrences,” shown in bright pink) happen in Westmoreland County. To a much smaller extent, there are conflicts on Route 3/Mary Ball Rd between Baylor Park Nature Trail in Kilmarnock and just northwest of American Dr in Lancaster.
