The initial study and environmental assessment (IS/EA), which Caltrans issued this month, explains that the project will provide a safe and sustainable wildlife passage across Highway 101 to help reduce wildlife mortality and enhance safety for motorists by reducing motorists’ sudden movements when avoiding animals crossing the freeway.
Caltrans intends to
adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration on the project, based on studies that
show it will not significantly affect the quality of the environment provided
that the project incorporates certain measures such as vegetation and
replanting, water quality permits and post-construction monitoring.
A public hearing on the
report is scheduled for October 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at King Gillette Ranch
Auditorium, 26800 Mulholland Highway in Calabasas. The public is invited to attend
to learn more about the project, ask questions and provide comments as the
project moves forward.
The Liberty Canyon
Wildlife Crossing would be the first of its kind in California. Similar
wildlife crossings have been built and used successfully in other states and
countries.
Liberty Canyon in Agoura
Hills has been identified as the ideal spot for a vegetated crossing to provide
safe passage for wildlife across U.S. Highway 101. No public funds will be
diverted from the state highway construction budget to build the wildlife
crossing. The Caltrans project is being drawn up in conjunction with fundraising
efforts by the National Wildlife Federation and Santa Monica Mountains Fund.
Since 1996, the National
Park Service has been studying carnivores in and around the Santa Monica
Mountains to determine how they survive in an increasingly fragmented and
urbanized environment. During the course of the study, biologists have studied
more than 340 bobcats, 145 coyotes and 60 mountain lions.
A study co-authored last
year with researchers at UCLA found that without increased connectivity,
especially for animals moving in from the north, this would lead to the
continued erosion of genetic diversity and increase the chances of extinction
of the mountain range’s population of mountain lions and other wildlife.
The IS/EA is available
for review online at the Caltrans project website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/d7/projects/libertycanyon/.
The IS/EA is also
available for review and reproduction at the Caltrans District 7, Division of
Environmental Planning Office (100 S. Main Street, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA
90012) weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Additionally, it will be
available for review at the Agoura Hills Public Library (29901 Ladyface Court,
Agoura Hills, CA 91301) weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The public may submit
comments in writing, no later than Oct. 26, to Ron Kosinski, Deputy Director, California
Department of Transportation, Division of Environmental Planning, 100 S. Main
Street, MS 16A, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
For additional
information, the public may contact Ms. Susan Tse at (213) 897-1821 or via
email at LibertyCanyon@dot.ca.gov.