Wildlife friendly culverts

[kenneth11]

Please see below link showing an important issue about wildlife friendly culverts. I looked at my state Louisiana and summarized my findings. Louisiana and many other states address fish friendly culverts but do not seem to address wildlife friendly culverts.

Wildlife Friendly Culverts - Home

Thanks
Ken

[kenneth11]

Added information:

Please visit my wildlife friendly ciulverts site.
Wildlife Friendly Culverts - Home
Excerpt:
...Culverts have been installed for hundreds of years and this has removed habitat for 35 to 40 different wildlife species. There is a solution for this concern but only a few States in the US are incorporating the solution. Three main reasons why I believe many States do not install wildlife friendly culverts.

1. Huge culverts that allow large animal crossing of roads are very costly

2. Arched wildlife friendly culverts are also very costly

3. Replacement arched culverts may allow too much flow and housing flooded downstream

A high percentage of biomass of areas is composed mostly of small animals and installing wildlife friendly culverts only for these animals will minimize cost in item 1. Sketch SK-1 has a design where a standard circular culvert can be converted to a wildlife friendly culvert for the same cost except concrete footing and support will need to be added. This culvert should performance just as good as an arched culvert removing most of the added cost of item 2. Because replacement circular culverts have the same area as the old culvert seems like the new culvert resistance will not be more than the old culvert and there should not be much concern for adding flooding downstream removing most of the concern for item 3. This is only an idea and a review by design and engineering would need to be performed to determine if this is true....

[paul m]

Yes, it's very important that we provide corridors for movement of all animals. As you suggest, incorporating 'dry land' banks (or at least muddy/sandy ones) when watercourses have roads built over them will be very useful for all animals: amphibians would just swim along a stream but larger mammals and invertebrates would stop and try to cross over the road (). So, some good plans.
I'm not aware of much in the way of this type of structure in UK (too high a density of roads to change now) but it is now common for tunnels to be built under new roads to aid small mammals. We're also, at last, building raised ways for larger animals.

[kenneth11]

I have only been studying this for a few months and I was devistated that my electicted officials would not even reply to the concern and now I think I understand. Informing as many people as possible is one good way to have a general concensus.
Ken

[goosey]

Hi Kenneth and welcome .

I don't know if you have seen this old thread but it may be of interest to you. I have had to add a new link at the bottom of post one as the one from 2007 doesn't work anymore. It's in Dutch but I added it for the photo.

Ecoducts in Holland

[kenneth11]

Thanks for the picrure. Not only saving wildlife but removal of damaging of vehicles from large animals will pay for the crossing.
Ken