New Study: Wildlife Crossings Pay Off for Florida
One wildlife crossing. Seventy years. 1,400 fewer collisions on Florida’s roads.
That’s one of the headline findings from a new study commissioned by Live Wildly, which looked at what wildlife crossings deliver and how communities can build them for less.
Over its lifespan, a single crossing could also prevent 1,200 animal deaths and 60 human injuries while returning roughly $10 in public benefit for every $1 invested. In about seven years, the benefits outweigh the costs. And those costs drop even further when communities plan early, retrofit existing bridges and culverts, or build crossings into road projects already on the books.
For Florida panthers and black bears, vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death. Smarter crossings mean safer roads for drivers and a better-connected Florida Wildlife Corridor for everything else.
The infographic below breaks down the key findings.
