Please Support the Wildlife Crossings Program - This Save Lives!

I am writing as your constituent to urgently call on you to vote YES to reauthorize and strengthen the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program (chatgpt://generic-entity?number=0) in the upcoming transportation bill. Protecting our environment is not optional. It is a fundamental responsibility of Congress. The health of our ecosystems, the survival of our wildlife, and the safety of American families on our roads all depend on it. Every year in the United States, an estimated one to two million wildlife-vehicle collisions occur. These crashes cost roughly $8 billion in damages and cause approximately 26,000 injuries annually. These are not abstract statistics — they represent shattered families, lost wildlife, and preventable tragedies. Wildlife crossings have been shown to reduce collisions by up to 90 percent. That is an extraordinary return on investment in both public safety and fiscal responsibility. At the same time, habitat fragmentation remains one of the leading drivers of the global extinction crisis. Highways and roadways carve up migration routes and isolate animal populations, weakening genetic diversity and pushing already vulnerable species closer to collapse. Wildlife overpasses and underpasses are proven, science-based solutions that reconnect habitats, strengthen biodiversity, and increase ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. In 2021, Congress took bipartisan action through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (chatgpt://generic-entity?number=1), committing $350 million to establish this critical program. The response has been overwhelming. Demand for funding has far exceeded available resources because states, Tribes, and local governments understand what is at stake. From desert tortoises in Nevada, to mountain lions in New Mexico, to pronghorn in Wyoming, wildlife crossings are protecting iconic species while making our roads safer for the people who travel them every day. Now, as the next surface transportation bill comes before Congress, this is a defining moment. Reauthorizing and expanding the Wildlife Crossings Program is not just an environmental decision — it is a public safety decision, an economic decision, and a moral decision. I urge you to act with urgency. Vote to permanently continue and expand the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. Strengthen its funding. Improve its implementation. Demonstrate that Congress understands that protecting our environment is inseparable from protecting our communities. The American people expect leadership that safeguards both our natural heritage and our families. Please vote YES.