Wild Virginia is excited to welcome Jessica Roberts, the new face of habitat connectivity in our state! She has a background in endangered species population restoration and has many years of experience working in animal husbandry, community-based conservation initiatives, and environmental education program development. Her research with behavior-based management and conservation translocations has been developed… Read more
Wildlife must be able to move through our landscapes to acquire resources, find genetically diverse mates, and adapt to a changing climate. Roads, development, and other infrastructure can impede wildlife movement and create dangerous scenarios on our roadways for both wildlife and people. Virginia continues to build a network of connected landscapes and reduce human-wildlife… Read more
Wildlife crossing structures help to connect habitats, providing animals with safe passages they can use to avoid heavily trafficked roads and highways. On November 5th, 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contains $350 million in federal funding for a “Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program” to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. The new legislation creates… Read more
As the state of Virginia continues to develop with new roads and neighborhoods, animal habitats are becoming increasingly divided, cutting through wildlife crossings. Wildlife such as deer, foxes, raccoons, and even frogs and turtles, are constantly on the move. More often than not, these animals need to cross roads to find wider areas of suitable… Read more
by Brooke Cormons, Mountaintop Montessori School, Charlottesville The Roanoke Logperch is an endangered fish that occurs in only five river systems throughout Virginia and North Carolina. It is very sensitive to pollution and sediment in the clear streams where it lives, which means that unnecessary projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline cause major harm to… Read more
There is over $500 million in damages in Virginia for wildlife vehicle collisions. That’s substantial. Yet, recently the wildlife corridor bill made its final steps through the Virginia house, signaling a brighter future. For this episode of Wild Virginia Virtual Coffee Talk, Wild Virginia Executive Director, Misty Boos, tells us about the concept behind connectivity… Read more