{"id":5081,"date":"2026-07-21T14:37:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5081"},"modified":"2026-07-21T14:37:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:37:49","slug":"animal-crossings-rise-in-second-year-of-highway-17-underpass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5081","title":{"rendered":"Animal crossings rise in second year of Highway 17 underpass"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SANTA CRUZ \u2014 When a tool designed by humans and meant for animals is introduced into the wild for the first time, success is never assured.<\/p>\n

Read more Packages, bicycles, vehicles reported stolen in Los Gatos<\/a><\/p>\n

And while no one knows that better than Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Conservation Director Bryan Largay, the latest figures emerging from the wildlife undercrossing at Laurel Curve in the Santa Cruz Mountains \u2014 the first structure of its kind in the Central California region \u2014 have him convinced that the experiment is working.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Drivers hit 196 animals on this Bay Area \u201croadkill hotspot.\u201d A new project aims to make it safer.<\/p>\n

Between February 2024 and January 2025, more than 1,100 animals and approximately 10 different species were recorded passing through the 85-foot-long, car-free tunnel beneath Highway 17. That\u2019s at least 100 more than the total number of animals observed the previous year, which was the crossing\u2019s first in operation after more than a decade of research and planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil this structure was built, this was an experiment. There was some uncertainty about whether utilization would be observed,\u201d said Largay. \u201cThat we\u2019re now at 1,000 crossings a year is a wonderful affirmation that the experiment is working well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using several strategically placed cameras installed around the crossing, the land trust and its collaborators documented 862 black-tailed deer, 22 bobcats, 240 gray foxes and six skunks utilizing the passageway throughout 2024 and early 2025. The greatest gains were seen among bobcats and gray foxes, which were observed using the crossing only seven and 56 times, respectively, during the crossing\u2019s inaugural year.<\/p>\n

Just because the project was, by its nature, experimental, Largay stressed that these totals are not the result of a simple guessing game. The idea for the crossing was founded in strong scientific evidence that the land trust compiled in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz\u2019s Puma Project and Pathways for Wildlife, which specializes in wildlife connectivity ventures. The groups analyzed years of collision data and the movements of collared pumas and discovered a hot spot of activity along the sweeping curve, which is about 3 miles south of the Highway 17 summit.<\/p>\n

These findings were convincing enough to rally support from Caltrans, the state agency responsible for the highway, along with a number of elected officials and private donors who helped the project reach viability.<\/p>\n

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Notably absent from the most recent figures were mountain lions, which were a key driver of the project in the first place. Experts said the pumas faced \u201cgenetic disaster\u201d as a result of inbreeding and that they needed a way to safely migrate from the Santa Cruz Mountains to a larger acreage of wild terrain in Santa Clara County and beyond.<\/p>\n

During the crossing\u2019s first year of operation, four mountain lions were spotted passing through while none were seen during the second year of observation. Largay said he\u2019s not concerned by the absence of pumas, as there are fewer than 100 adult mountain lions spread across 300 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the odds of funneling them all through Laurel Curve are low. Plus, the steady stream of other species at the crossing will likely help facilitate puma adoption eventually.<\/p>\n

Read more Suspect dead in Vallejo police shooting after alleged carjacking<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the deer go, the mountain lions follow,\u201d said Largay.<\/p>\n

In addition to the swelling usage totals, it is also the absence of some data that has been encouraging to project leaders. , with 34 of those incidents occurring within the vicinity of Laurel Curve. But during the two years of study since the crossing opened, only one animal has been killed: One puma was hit by a car after slipping past directional fencing that had been installed at the edge of the project zone.<\/p>\n

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Since that incident, Caltrans extended the preventative walls on the border of the crossing, but other tools continue to funnel wildlife to the underpass. These include the creation of simple mountain trails for the animals to use, as well as installation of electric concrete mats near where Laurel Road meets Highway 17 which produce low-level shocks that signal the animals to turn around.<\/p>\n

Morgan Robertson, Caltrans District 5 biology and environmental engineering office chief, has worked on the Laurel Curve project since its infancy and said she won\u2019t be surprised if crossing numbers continue to rise for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s really exciting is we see a lot of animals with offspring, so they\u2019re basically training their young to use it,\u201d said Robertson. \u201cIt can take animals years to find these crossing points. It\u2019s really (common) to see an increase in use from years one through five.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robertson added that the promising data logged at Laurel Curve will only give the California Legislature more confidence in bills from recent years that encourage Caltrans to make wildlife crossings a more prominent feature of the state\u2019s transportation network. Caltrans and the land trust are collaborating on another crossing that passes over Highway 101 near San Juan Bautista that Largay said they hope to finish within five years, and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is exploring the possibility of establishing another wildlife undercrossing and a separate recreational trail overcrossing along Highway 17 near the Lexington Reservoir.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been installing different types of wildlife crossings in Europe and Canada for several decades now,\u201d said Robertson. \u201cWhat we have seen in the last 10 years is, I think, a great deal of growing interest in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Laurel Curve crossing was constructed thanks to a $5.14 million investment from Caltrans, $10 million from the land trust, including the purchase of more than 700 acres of land adjacent to the undercrossing, as well as $5 million from the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission that was made available through its Measure D sales tax, which was passed by more than two-thirds of county voters in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is a greater willingness to express compassion for wildlife and a willingness to invest in recognizing that we share this place with these other living creatures who deserve to be able to get where they want to do,\u201d said Largay. \u201cIn some ways, the least we can do is \u2014 if we\u2019re going to build our roads through their habitats \u2014 is to provide the occasional passageway for them. I think that sentiment has gained traction in our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Santa Cruz County mall placed on lockdown after killing<\/a><\/p>\n

Laurel Curve wildlife crossing<\/h3>\n

Black-tailed deer: 862<\/p>\n

Bobcat: 22<\/p>\n

Gray fox: 240<\/p>\n

Mountain lion: 0<\/p>\n

Skunk: 6<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Until this structure was built, this was an experiment. There was some uncertainty about whether utilization would be observed,” said Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Conservation Director Bryan Largay. “That we’re now at 1,000 crossings a year is a wonderful affirmation that the experiment is working well.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nAnimal crossings rise in second year of Highway 17 underpass - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5081\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Animal crossings rise in second year of Highway 17 underpass - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Until this structure was built, this was an experiment. 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