Planned underpasses will help boost red wolf recovery

Federal grants and private donations will help fund a series of wildlife underpasses in one of the two places where red wolves exist in the wild. The money will be used to revamp about 2.5 miles of the busy, two-lane U.S. 64 in North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge with underpasses and fencing to shepherd red wolves (Canis rufus) and other wildlife safely underneath traffic. While the exact number and size of the underpasses have yet to be determined, the estimated cost for the project is around $31.5 million, including $4 million in private donations. The Federal Highway Administration’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program also contributed grant money to the project. “This is one of the most important wildlife connectivity projects in the country,” said Beth Pratt, founder of the nonprofit The Wildlife Crossing Fund, which raised funds for the project. There are less than 20 red wolves estimated to live in the wild. “Critically endangered red wolves will disappear if we do nothing.”

Read more at the Associated Press.