HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-064 Letter of Support-Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program CITY OF
• SI-ILAND .•
CITY COUNCIL
Tonya Graham,Mayor
•
July 18, 2023
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The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
Secretary of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
•
Washington, DC 20590
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Re; Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program (WCPP) Grant Application Support for the
"Oregon's 1-5 Wildlife Overcrossing Project: Reconnecting the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument"
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
Please accept this letter on behalf of the City of Ashland, Oregon, stating our •
support for the Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Wildlife Crossing
Pilot Program (WCPP) grant application for the project entitled "Oregon's 1-5
Wildlife Overcrossing Project: Reconnecting the Cascade Siskiyou National
Monument." ODOT has partnered with the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing
Coalition, a local group of 17 organizations and state and federal agencies to plan
for this Interstate 5 overpass to improve both wildlife and driver safety.
The Coalition raised funds in 2021 and finalized a'Conceptual Design Study that
identified the Mariposa Preserve, inside the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument,
as the best site for an overpass. With funnel fencing; this site will help wildlife cross
• the 4-lane freeway and decrease wildlife vehicle collisions on this steep, windy
stretch of highway. This overpass will be the first wildlife overpass on Interstate 5 in
Oregon. This project supports our local rural economy that traditionally has higher
unemployment than both the state of Oregon and nation. We have just over 21,000 •
residents and have been hard hit in the past several years withwildfire and
pervasive smoke for weeks during summer months.
Ashland is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival which had to shut for two
seasons because of COVID and smoke impacts, leading to two abysmal tourist
seasons. The impact to our tourist economy has been severe both financially and
•
CITY COUNCIL
20 East Main Street Tel: 541.488.6002 tonya@council.ashland.or.us --
. Ashland,Oregon 97520 Fax: 541.488.5311 council@ashland.or.ug(email all of Council)
ashland.or.ug TTY: 800.735.2900( ,
TonyaForAshland.cp..al
•
emotionally. Our community is renowned for our outdoor lifestyle, proximity to the
Pacific Crest Trail, love of fish and wildlife, and increasing concern for climate
change impacts on habitat and animal movement. The Oregon 1-5 Wildlife
Overcrossing Project supports both the culture and economy of our Ashland
community.
-Thank you for your fair consideration of this ODOT Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program
grant.The_City of Ashland fully supports the grant request and looks forward to
. working with ODOT and the Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition to assure
the planning and design are right-sized and meet the needs of our southernOregon
community and wildlife neighbors.
Sincerely,
Tonyaraham
Mayor,