Wildlife Crossings Can Mend a Landscape

Communities in the United States are slowly replacing small culverts that alter the flow of streams and block the paths of migratory fish species with wider culverts and bridges, allowing the ecosystems to recover.

Environmentalists, biologists, wildlife advocates, and even ski clubs formed the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition to push for wildlife crossings to be a part of a massive construction project on Washington’s heavily trafficked Snoqualmie Pass. The Department of Transportation took notice. It's working with other government agencies and wildlife experts to install bridges and tunnels designed for animals of all sizes to safely cross the road.

Researchers and conservationists in European countries like Finland are buying obsolete dams and dismantling them to allow river ecosystems to recover and fish to travel freely.

Python removal agents with South Florida’s Water Management District hunt the invasive Burmese python in the Florida Everglades to prevent the snakes from continuing to destroy the ecosystem. Since launching the program in 2017, agents have removed 8,565 pythons across the state.

The volunteer-run Friends of Uplands Park Society works to restore and protect Uplands Park in Victoria, British Columbia. The members have helped native species, many of which are designated as at risk, thrive again by removing invasive species, planting more native species, and educating the community.

Nepal combined strict protected area management with community participation (including buffer zone revenue-sharing, community-based anti-poaching patrols, and prey base restoration) to nearly quadruple its wild tiger population from 121 (in 2010) to 429 (in 2026). Simultaneously, tiger-related human deaths reduced from 21 to 7 per year, despite the tigers' growing population.

Women's conservation collectives in Nigerian villages surrounding Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary use community patrols, enforcement of bylaws, and collaboration with traditional leaders to reduce illegal logging, river pollution, and wildlife crimes. Their approach has reduced river poisoning in some communities, fostered the return of chimpanzee calls, and delivered forest regeneration.

Government initiatives, certification programs, ecological consultants, and international environmental associations are all part of Singapore's concerted effort to coexist with its wildlife and reduce impacts of climate change like air pollution and stress.

Bsal is a fungal pathogen that causes a deadly disease in salamanders. Experts from Mexico, Canada, and the United States came together to create the volunteer-based North American Bsal Task Force to prevent it from spreading further and prepare a plan of action for when the pathogen reaches the continent.

Resiliency parks in Hoboken, New Jersey, look like typical playgrounds and basketball courts. Unlike the average park, they have discrete drains and sit on top of underground tanks that prevent flooding by holding millions of gallons of rainwater.