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<v Speaker 1>Let's say good morning now to the California Regional executive

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<v Speaker 1>director of the National Wildlife Federation, Best Praut, Good morning, Best.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning Amy. Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so we're hitting another big benchmark in the construction

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<v Speaker 1>of the Wallas Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. I call it the

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<v Speaker 1>Annenberg Wallace earlier, but it's a wallace Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.

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<v Speaker 1>What's about to start.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's really amazing. I've been working on this project

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<v Speaker 2>almost fourteen years and to think we're now just lower

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<v Speaker 2>a year out from completion. So stage one, which is

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<v Speaker 2>over the freeway. That structure's been completed twenty six pounds

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<v Speaker 2>a concrete board and as you know, we have soil

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<v Speaker 2>on top and the plants will go on top of

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<v Speaker 2>that structure fall. But what we're moving towards is extending

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<v Speaker 2>for state. The final stage, extending that structure over the

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<v Speaker 2>Agora Road which runs parallel to the freeway. We have

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<v Speaker 2>to do so we have to underground some utility lines

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<v Speaker 2>which run in between where you know the one on

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<v Speaker 2>one structures and whether your gore structure needs to go,

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<v Speaker 2>and then we will be open for business for a

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<v Speaker 2>wild life next year. It's really exciting to contemplate.

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<v Speaker 1>Open for business. I love that. And this next phase

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<v Speaker 1>of the of the bridge or the overpass, whatever is

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<v Speaker 1>it's a little bit tricky. And I was reading the

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<v Speaker 1>press release it says that going over the two lanes

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<v Speaker 1>is going to be trickier than going over the ten

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<v Speaker 1>lanes of the one on one.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know a lot most wildlife crossings are in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle of nowhere, and they build them where it

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<v Speaker 2>is easiest to engineer. This is all. We had sixteen

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<v Speaker 2>hundred feet of protected space left in that entire region

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<v Speaker 2>on that freeway, and it was not an easy site.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, the one oh one structure is kind of

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<v Speaker 2>a straight shot right over the freeway, but this one

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<v Speaker 2>is much trickier. The slope is something that we have

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<v Speaker 2>to move earth and get down so the animals you

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<v Speaker 2>wouldn't be going straight up the hill. But even more importantly,

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<v Speaker 2>there is a creek right there watershed as well as

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<v Speaker 2>many many heritage oaks, and so we need to thread

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<v Speaker 2>and angle that crossing in between those so that we

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<v Speaker 2>maintain the watershed and preserve the oak.

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<v Speaker 1>Got to be careful with the environment. So you've got

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<v Speaker 1>you mentioned that you've got dirt across the ten lane crossing. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>have any animals been kind of sniffing it out? Like, Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>what's that? Could I cross?

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<v Speaker 2>Now? I'm so glad you asked that. I was actually

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<v Speaker 2>up there last week and saw a Western sense lizard,

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<v Speaker 2>and at first I didn't think anything of it. Western

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<v Speaker 2>senselizards are one of the most common animals you see

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<v Speaker 2>in California. But then I'm like, wait a minute, this

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<v Speaker 2>Western census is on top of the crossing, and this

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<v Speaker 2>is remarkable for two reasons. One is a the crossing's

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<v Speaker 2>not connected to the landscape yet. We obviously don't want

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<v Speaker 2>the animals on a bridge to nowhere. So this little guy,

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<v Speaker 2>all the western sensuszs can climb that. You know, I

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<v Speaker 2>had to climb up a significant concret wall to get there.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the only way to access it. But the other

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<v Speaker 2>reason that is significant is we are building this wildlife

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<v Speaker 2>crossing from everything from mountain lines to monarch butterflies, and

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<v Speaker 2>the National Park Service in other people's research, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>showed that mountain lions were genetically fragmenting because of this freeway.

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<v Speaker 2>Their research also showed that Western sense wizards were doing

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<v Speaker 2>the same, So he is another representative of animals impacted

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<v Speaker 2>by this, and hey, that is one small step for

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<v Speaker 2>lizard kind.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, yeah, all creatures great and small can use this.

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<v Speaker 1>And then my one last question for you, I think

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<v Speaker 1>we may have talked about this, and I think I said,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, if you build it, they will come. Are

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<v Speaker 1>you going to do anything to attract the animals to

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<v Speaker 1>the crossing or will they just find it on their own?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a really good question. I will say that overall,

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<v Speaker 2>animals really seek these crossings out, you know, and word

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<v Speaker 2>really does get out in the animal world, like, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>safe path is this way? There was a fame us

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<v Speaker 2>a video of a badgero and a coyote teaching each

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<v Speaker 2>other how to use an underground culvert. But with decades

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<v Speaker 2>of wildlife crossings, we also know what works to help

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<v Speaker 2>them find it. And one of the biggest things we

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<v Speaker 2>do is what we call exclusionary fencing. There will be

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<v Speaker 2>fencing about two miles on the freeway either way to

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<v Speaker 2>cut off their options and basically we'll lead them right there.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, perfect, And if all goes according to plan, we're

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<v Speaker 1>still looking at and opening next year and the next

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<v Speaker 1>phase is starting soon. Thanks so much. A best prat

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<v Speaker 1>for giving us an update. I can't wait for this.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been so long in coming here. It's just I bet,

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<v Speaker 1>I bet you guys are working on it day, every day,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's very exciting.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's going to feel good when that first mounta

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<v Speaker 2>line passes.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for having me, Amy, all right, we'll talk to

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<v Speaker 1>you again soon. Thanks Beth,