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“We are very excited to celebrate this big milestone in the construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. With the placement of the horizontal supports, the structure is truly going to start looking like the bridge it will become,” said Beth Pratt, California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation. We know that closures of the freeway do have impacts on traffic and the community, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Caltrans has a thorough plan for detours, and we trust their excellent team to manage this to minimize disruption. And these ‘closures for cougar’ are for a good cause—helping to save the area mountain lions from extinction and ensuring a future for all wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains.” The #SaveLACougars campaign is preparing to celebrate an exciting and major construction milestone on the monumental effort to complete the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Los Angeles County. To date, more than 6,100 tons of concrete have been poured and over 426 tons of bar reinforcing steel have been placed to create the walls of the structure on either side of the freeway and the columns in the median on the 101 freeway. Next month, Caltrans construction crews are planning to begin the complex process of installing the large-scale concrete beams that will be the first horizontal supports for the crossing. Caltrans’s plan includes placing the girders late at night as well as other measures to make the process as convenient as possible for highway users. With this next step in construction, Caltrans will close half of the 101 freeway—all lanes in one direction—for the first time for this project. Closures are expected to begin around April 16, but this date is subject to change. Closures will occur on Monday through Friday nights for five hours starting at 11:59 p.m. Each night, only one direction of the 101 Freeway will be completely closed – lanes in the opposite direction will stay open for traffic. The entire process of placing these concrete beams is expected to take from thirty to forty-five days to complete and will feature the placement of a total of 82 concrete beams, or girders, across all ten lanes of the 101 freeway. The girders, long boxes of reinforced concrete, will become the first level of the wildlife crossing’s multilayered structure above and across one of the nation’s busiest freeways. To avoid lengthy closures of the freeway, the girders were manufactured off-site in Riverside County and large trucks will transport them to the construction site. Each girder over the northbound lanes is 103 feet long and weighs 140 tons. Each girder over the southbound lanes is more than 93 feet long and weighs over 126 tons. For context, the weight of just one girder is equivalent to the weight of more than 14 African elephants! For more info, sign up for a weekly newsletter by contacting Michael Comeaux at Caltrans at michael.comeaux@dot.ca.gov or by calling (213) 897-9372.

https://lnkd.in/gpwyYiih Open Space Institute and Partners Acquire More Than 900 Acres of Culturally Significant Land in Central Georgia. Project will preserve public access and safeguard invaluable Muscogee (Creek) Nation land. MACON, GA (June 26, 2024)—The Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the protection of 931 acres of land in Georgia’s Twiggs and Bibb counties. Conservation of the land will support the long-term protection of the nearby Ocmulgee Mounds and bolster efforts to preserve the Ocmulgee River floodplain as Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve. The two properties, known together as the “Branson Tracts,” are considered priority acquisitions by the USFWS and the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (ONPPI) for their role in protecting cultural resources important to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, creating new public hunting and fishing opportunities, and preserving wildlife habitat. In 2022, OSI added nearly 1,000 acres to Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, doubling its size and providing significant protection for the Ocmulgee Mounds. The mounds are some of the most important examples of ancient Indigenous engineering in North America. The protection of the Branson Tracts serves the residents of the Macon-Warner Robbins area, but also safeguards the site of 17,000 years of Indigenous history.

The Largest Wildlife Crossing in the US!   🚧 Construction of the nation’s largest wildlife crossing on Los Angeles County's 101 Freeway starts Monday, closing parts of the freeway overnight and on weekdays for several weeks. 🚧   Here’s a little info…   🟨 Spanning 10 lanes, the bridge aims to provide safe passage for wildlife, specifically uniting populations of mountain lions, as well as other animals, between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills of the Santa Susana mountain range.   🟨 Covered in soil and native plants, the bridge will blend with the natural environment, addressing major highways' barrier effects on wildlife movement. Serving as a global model for urban wildlife conservation.   🟨 Initially, southbound lanes will be closed between Cheseboro Road and Liberty Canyon Road for about five hours beginning at 11:59 p.m. PT on weekdays, and potentially longer closures on Saturday mornings. These will shift to northbound lanes as the construction progresses.   🟨 The closures are necessary for crews to lift and install concrete beams and girders over the freeway. Each girder weighs between 125 – 140 tons   What an amazing project! 🐺🦁😺🦝🐰🐭🦌🦨🐿️🐍🐜 Here’s how to navigate your journey… 🚧 Drivers who need to get through this area during the closures are advised by California Department of Transportation officials to use the 118 Freeway as an alternate route between State Route 23 and the 405 Freeway.  Localized detours on area streets will also be in place. via unsplash

The worst spots for wildife-vehicle collisions in the #bayarea include the 101 in Marin, I-680, Hwy 24 in East Bay, I-280, & Hwy 17. To reduce roadkill and increase habitat connectivity, the CA Dept of Transportation plans to construct five new #wildlife crossings across the Bay Area. Crossings and other corridors connect wildife habitat patches, allowing species to find mates, thereby reducing inbreeding. #wildlifecrossings #mountainlion #habitatconnectivity #conservation #norcal #wildcat https://lnkd.in/gQFvYpfe

Our Bankhead Moss Wildlife Reserve is an uncommon habitat in #Fife due to rainfall being lower in the region compared to West of Scotland making it one of only two significantly sized bogs in East Fife. It is home to many specialised bog species such as 12 species of sphagnum moss, some of which are vital for peat creation and the locally rare, carnivorous plant, the sundew. In the past the peat has been cut for fuel, ditches have been dug for drainage and the surface disturbed as lint holes were dug to ret flax fibres for linen production. Funding from Peatland ACTION enabled the Trust to hire contractors to work on raising the water table at the moss by blocking ditches, digging pools, creating peat bunds and reprofiling the surface of the peat bog. There are already positive signs, as pools are holding water and cotton grass and mosses are populating the restoration site. You can join our Fife and Kinross group to help with ongoing management of the site. Read more https://lnkd.in/eui2Pzek #peatland #peatlandrestoration #peatlands #moss #peatlandsmatter NatureScot IUCN UK Peatland Programme

We’re excited to announce the release of a new resource that provides guidance for forest managers to support wood turtles. In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO), we’ve put together the outreach product called, “Wood Turtles: Conservation Considerations for Forest Landowners,” which recommends voluntary actions that managers of working forests in the Northeast can take to help conserve the species, which has experienced population declines across its range. To learn more, visit: https://lnkd.in/ed54fwZQ. This is the first landowner outreach product to come out of the Wildlife Conservation Initiative, an unprecedented agreement between the USFWS, NAFO and NCASI, Inc. formalized in 2023 to advance the conservation of at-risk and listed species on private working forestland across the nation. NCASI is excited to be part of the Wildlife Conservation Initiative and using our technical expertise and experience to help deliver science-based solutions for conserving at-risk and listed species on private forestlands. Decades of research have demonstrated the conservation value of private forests and applying sound science to conserving these species is essential. Developed with input from 16 conservation agencies and forest management organizations, the document covers: - Wildlife-Friendly Practices: Specific forest management practices that are not only compatible with, but beneficial for, wood turtles - Strategic Timber Harvesting: Timing harvests to minimize disruption to wood turtle activities - Mitigating Vehicle Risk: Implementing strategies to reduce harm to wood turtles from vehicular traffic - Turtle-Friendly Stream Crossings: Guidance on materials and design, whether upgrading, replacing, or installing new structures - Nesting Area Enhancement: Transforming excavated areas and former gravel pits into valuable nesting sites for wood turtles The wood turtle was selected as one of the focal species for the Wildlife Conservation Initiative because it’s wide ranging —found in 12 states in the eastern U.S., four states in the northern Great Lakes region, and four Canadian provinces — and it often occurs on private lands. The species prefers cobble- and sandy bottom streams that wind their way through fields and forests where the turtles spend most of the summer foraging. #NCASI #USFWS #NAFO #woodturtle #conservation #workingforests #WCI #forestproducts

We’re excited to announce the release of a new resource that provides guidance for forest managers to support wood turtles. In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO), we’ve put together the outreach product called, “Wood Turtles: Conservation Considerations for Forest Landowners,” which recommends voluntary actions that managers of working forests in the Northeast can take to help conserve the species, which has experienced population declines across its range. To learn more, visit: https://lnkd.in/ed54fwZQ. This is the first landowner outreach product to come out of the Wildlife Conservation Initiative, an unprecedented agreement between the USFWS, NAFO and NCASI, Inc. formalized in 2023 to advance the conservation of at-risk and listed species on private working forestland across the nation. NCASI is excited to be part of the Wildlife Conservation Initiative and using our technical expertise and experience to help deliver science-based solutions for conserving at-risk and listed species on private forestlands. Decades of research have demonstrated the conservation value of private forests and applying sound science to conserving these species is essential. Developed with input from 16 conservation agencies and forest management organizations, the document covers: - Wildlife-Friendly Practices: Specific forest management practices that are not only compatible with, but beneficial for, wood turtles - Strategic Timber Harvesting: Timing harvests to minimize disruption to wood turtle activities - Mitigating Vehicle Risk: Implementing strategies to reduce harm to wood turtles from vehicular traffic - Turtle-Friendly Stream Crossings: Guidance on materials and design, whether upgrading, replacing, or installing new structures - Nesting Area Enhancement: Transforming excavated areas and former gravel pits into valuable nesting sites for wood turtles The wood turtle was selected as one of the focal species for the Wildlife Conservation Initiative because it’s wide ranging —found in 12 states in the eastern U.S., four states in the northern Great Lakes region, and four Canadian provinces — and it often occurs on private lands. The species prefers cobble- and sandy bottom streams that wind their way through fields and forests where the turtles spend most of the summer foraging. NCASI FOUNDATION #NCASI #USFWS #NAFO #woodturtle #conservation #workingforests #WCI #forestproducts

We have a technical update on the status of the Tennantite Map (TM) for the 13 lot subdivision for sale in Clairemont (San Diego). Please read below and let me know if you need the updated OM. Offers are now being requested. The Mt. Albertine’s discretionary actions regarding a Site Development Permit (SDP), Neighborhood Development Permit (NDP), Easement Vacation (EV) and Tentative Map (TM) to subdivide two legal lots into 13 lots for the development of 13 single family homes has been a lengthy process. As of today, we’ve addressed all City comments, the environmental determination has been made and we’ve received BSO concurrence from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The next steps are, 1) receive BSO concurrence from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding the proposed off-site mitigation requirements. Once the BSO concurrence from the USFWS is provided, 2) the Mt. Albertine project will be scheduled for its first public hearing to Planning Commission for recommendation to City Council and 3) the final step would be the City Council public hearing. The Mt. Albertine application requires an SDP due to environmentally sensitive lands within the project site. As part of the review process a biological report was drafted and determined that the proposed development would impact sensitive species and jurisdictional wetlands therefore triggering the requirement of on-site and off-site mitigation. Today there’s limited mitigation bank availability and has required us to seek alternative options regarding the off-site mitigation requirement. As of today, a private mitigation site has been located for the Mt. Albertine off-site mitigation requirements and are currently coordinating with the City of San Diego and the USFWS for BSO concurrence.  #thebovegroup #boveland #subdivision #qualityhousing #housing #clairemont #sandiego #neighbor #tenativemap Casey Sanders Casper Rooney Jared Wallach Brandon Philo Sarah Will

Whilst I'm en route to the joint Association of Field Ornithologists/Society of Canadian Ornithologists/Wilson Ornithological Society meeting, have an exciting read: Even Texas is getting in on the bird safe building code action! Austin is best known in the bird watching world for Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos (people come from literally all over the world to see them), but it's also a vibrantly biodiverse area in general - Travis County has a higher bird species list than quite a few STATES have. Keep Austin weird, but also, keep Austin birdy! Hope to see a bunch of you at #AFOSCOWOS24! #birdsafeglass #birdsafebuildings #birdsafedesign #sustainability #conservation #Austin #greenbuildings #sustainabledesign Note: <1% of collisions happen at high-rise buildings, angled + opaque glass are not considered effective collision deterrent methods but can be combined with other strategies to be effective. https://lnkd.in/etJZYpZY