Proposed Wildlife Corridors over Interstate 40 in Coconino County.
Step 1: The area I choose to design my wildlife corridor is
located in Northern AZ in Coconino County. The two habitats that my corridor
will be reconnecting is the northern and southern part of Coconino County that
is divided by Interstate 40. Interstate
40 divides the southern area of Coconino County and runs directly through
flagstaff causing habitat fragmentation.
The spatial area of
Coconino County consists of 1.8 million acres and is part of the United States
National Forest. The temporal
idea of Coconino County was originally established as the “San Francisco
Mountains National Reserve” was later
designated a U.S. National forest in 1908 when the reserve merged with land
from surrounding forests creating what we know as Coconino County. Coconino
County has a diversity
of abiotic features
like: deserts, ponderosa pine forests, mesas, flatlands, alpine tundra, and
ancient volcanic peaks. The edge
effect of Interstate 40 is putting many wildlife animals life at risk
due to heavy traffic patterns as this one of two Interstates in Arizona, the
other being Interstate 10. The topography and elevation ranges anywhere from 2,600 feet to
12,633 feet; the lowest point being the Verde River and the highest point of
Humphreys Peak, both which are natural features in that county but one amazing
natural feature in that county is Mormon Lake; the largest natural lake in the
state of Arizona. Two human imposed features of Coconino County are Lowell
Observatory located near Anderson Mesa and at the base of Anderson Mesa are two
man made reservoirs that are known as Upper Lake Mary and Lower Lake Mary.
Step 2: Although Coconino County is the home to over a dozen
species. The one I choose for my wildlife corridor is Elk or Cervus canadensis, which is largest
member of the deer family and one of the largest mammals in North America. Elk there can weigh up to 1,200 pounds. But normally
range anywhere from 600 to 800 lbs.
Step 3: The core habitat of Elk inhabit the forested areas of Coconino
County at higher altitudes where there is a good water source that is nearby. They
prefer to be at higher elevations anywhere from 7,000 feet to 10,000 feet
during the summer months. During the winter however they migrate to lower
elevations of Coconino County because the snow forces then to seek lower
ground. Because of Interstate 40 it
causes geographic isolation for elk and other wildlife that migrate south
during the winter months. Current condition of Interstate 40 is a death zone
for elk and people who travel on this roadway. There are many accidents due to
Elk crossings and can be fatal for both the travelers and the elk. The corridor
would be designed not only for the safety and protection of the species but
also the protection of the traveler due to the fact that hitting an elk can
cause a fatal accident and does so each year often. Possible future conditions
that we face are the increase of population in the flagstaff and surrounding
areas and those that travel on Interstate 40. With increased travel there is a
higher percentage of accidents due to elk crossing. The corridors along
Interstate 40 would lower the chances of accidents and deaths of both travelers
and elk.
Step 4: The Corridors would be constructed over designated
areas of Interstate 40 in populated areas that elk migrate. Engineers and
researchers would practice adaptive
management prior to construction. The elks would then be tagged with a
GPS monitoring tag that can be tracked on a map that shows frequent areas that they
migrate or travel often. The Corridors would be varied widths according to how
much each path is travelled and how many elk use that path. The lower number of
elks that use any specific path would narrow the corridor. The corridors would
range anywhere the width of a two lane road, about 30ft wide, to the middle
range width of a six lane highway which can be 90ft wide, to the largest corridor
that would be nearly 200ft wide. This is all based of tracking the most used
paths of travel. The goal is to make the species comfortable to cross over the
corridor without being disturbed by oncoming traffic. The Corridors would be
built directly over the Interstate and would allow the elk to travel over the
traffic. The corridor would be constructed like any over pass would be except
the landscape (dirt, rocks, and plants) would be used in place for the surface
covering. There would also be higher edged walls about 6ft -10ft tall to
prevent animals from jumping onto the interstate below. The larger corridors
would have dim lighting on the underside of it for safety as cars travel
through the underpass without causing light pollution in their natural environment. There would also be a fence that leads up to
the entrance/exit of each side of the corridor to lead the animal to the
corridor itself and would be connected to existing fences that travel along
Interstate 40. The corridors would be maintained if and serviced often to make
sure that dirt and vegetation is still present after large storms where any
water may wash out dirt and plants. Along the roadside there would be signs installed
that warns the driver of any elk crossing and the corridor itself. The speed
itself would not be changed due to the fact that many freight trucks travel on
this interstate; which would potentially irritate them having to slow down and then
try to regain speed, especially at higher elevations.
Step 5: These proposed corridors would allow for geographic isolation and
safe travel for the elk population as they migrate to and from the northern and
southern regions, in addition to preventing the impediments of a potential decreasing population,
promoting population or maintain current population. Maintaining the current
population would increase the birth rate of these species by decreasing the loss of elk to which
can reproduce, but would have no effect on inbreeding of the species. The mitigation of the
corridors would be in the effort to keep the species safer for the species and
travelers on Interstate 40 lowering the risk of fatal accidents and death the
species. The corridors will accommodate the elk in many ways but the two that
would be the most important is that due to the travel patterns researched that the
elk travel, the path will seem familiar to them and make it a comfortable area
to travel across and because of the wide areas of more traveled areas, the elk
would not be too cramped while migrating together.
Step 6: Map of Corridor. The corridors will be designed to
match the area it is built. Construction of the corridor will be mostly made
from steel and concrete.
Citation
Design Corridor Render. Digital image. No Title.
N.p., n.d. 17 Oct. 2014 Web.
<https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fz0ZmhSyMVavU6e472fKYUyG2MQB_PKvNSIaR2fhD0bVuh3U3N1AljISSm-GVy_7tyUhhiOIqI6yN7F1h5cqhSvLGStKvXmyaj3HxE8ewEZwNDUFO4Vsoy7Ej_tpQckwnz1McW9SX95w/s1600/wildlife+corridor+1.png>.
Digital image. Elk Photo. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct.
2014. <http://www.vallescaldera.gov/comevisit/elk/images/elk_running.jpg>.
It sounds like you might have some experience with these animals. Your brief history of Coconino County is interesting. The "peaks" areas is very special. I think it would be wonderful if corridors would be included in every road plan. I know the City of Flagstaff is getting some corridors in line for use.
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