‘First of its kind’ report praises I-99’s wildlife corridors

CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – A new report is highlighting successful wildlife protection stories across Pa., and Centre County is on the list.

The report comes courtesy of PennEnvironment, a Pa. environmental advocacy group. It includes a list of wildlife protection efforts that are already underway, and they are calling it the “first of its kind.” One such success story is the several wildlife corridors along I-99 near Port Matilda, and according to PennDOT, their cameras have seen animals using them.

“They were able to capture and monitor the usage of those wildlife corridors and everything from deer to bear to geese to bobcats, really, you name it,” Environmental Planning Manager Chris Peacock said.

These wildlife corridors allow animals to travel through I-99 without having to cross directly into oncoming traffic. PennEnvironment attributes the success of the corridors to their placement in “priority locations,” and hope others will follow suit.

“Doing the interagency research to figure out what those are and making sure that we have the tracking in place, that is, I think, going to be key to making sure that not just our wildlife, but that Pennsylvania drivers are safer,” Stephanie Wein, clean water and conservation advocate for PennEnvironment and author of the report, said.

While PennDOT does not have specific numbers, Peacock said these corridors do “eliminate a large number of vehicle and animal collisions.” Wein says she is happy that the corridors are becoming more of a priority for PennDOT but wants more agencies to get in on it.

“What we lack is the statewide set of priorities for all the agencies to work towards together in concert to make sure that, the Game Commission and PennDOT and the DCNR, they’re all working together to pursue the most critical corridor projects across the state,” Wein said.

The full report is available on PennEnvironment’s website.