Our judges will now begin selecting our two winners, one from each side of the state.  The winners will be announced by Governor Gregoire on June 10th at the Western Governors Association meeting.

Take a look through the Top 10, and stay tuned to learn about our winners.

This new page will make it easier for project staff to share interesting sightings reported by drivers in the I-90 corridor, new reports and analyses from the project, and remind drivers during high travel times to keep their eyes open when driving I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass.

As a reminder, I-90 Wildlife Watch is a citizen based monitoring effort that asks motorists driving I-90 between North Bend and Easton over Snoqualmie Pass to report any live or dead wildlife they see from their car.  The project offers an easy to use online map to report your sighting and view other motorists sightings.

Visit our new facebook page to get linked in to our updates at http://www.facebook.com/I90WildlifeWatch

And, make sure to report any wildlife you see as you drive this stretch of highway at www.i90wildlifewatch.org

It’s been a roller coaster for I-90 wildlife bridges funding. At the end of the last legislative session, we celebrated with our partners such as AAA, Kittitas County, and the Potato Commission. The final transportation bill at that time directed the Department of Transportation to apply nearly $100 million in savings from Phase 1 construction of the first 5-miles of the I-90 project  to the next phase, including Washington’s first wildlife overpass!

Then, in this hard economy, the state legislature revisited the Transportation Budget to address a shortfall in funding for existing projects. Early proposals threatened to delay funding to the I-90 project until 2020. Our members, partner organizations, and people like you quickly sent a message that this delay was unacceptable, because delay would result in a tremendous loss of momentum and financial inefficiencies.

Many voices calling for a more wildlife-friendly I-90 made a difference! On behalf of this project, legislative leadership displayed by Senators Rolfes, King, and Frockt, as well as Representatives Clibborn and Armstrong, restored timely funding of the I-90 project. They allocated savings from Phase 1 to be spent beginning this biennium.

The final bill as signed by the Governor directs funding to complete design of the next phase now, followed by construction funding dedicated from 2013-2017. Under this direction, the wildlife overpass at Rock Knob would break ground in 2015.

The timing couldn’t be better to keep this project moving. This June, a field tour during the Western Governors Association’s annual meeting will visit the project area including a look at the soon to be completed Gold Creek underpass.

Even while we celebrate this success, we continue to work with our partners to identify funding sources that can bring this project to completion. Just this month, we worked with Kittitas County to submit a TIGER IV application for federal stimulus dollars to leverage off of this state funding.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed for good luck on this application, as we look forward to a busy construction season ahead at Snoqualmie Pass, procuring safe passage for wildlife!

“Continuation of the critical work on I-90, particularly in this corridor, is of paramount importance to the economic and environmental well-being of not only Kittitas County but for the entire United States,” said Kirk Holmes of Kittitas County Public Works who filed the application.  “Kittitas County transports through its borders and through this project, billions of dollars annually in goods and services destined for ports of call throughout the region and the world.  This project strikes a welcome balance between protection of natural resources and the economic needs of the nation”

Phase 2A is a one-mile project that begins where Phase 1 of the I-90 project ends including a chain-up lane to improve freight mobility through this corridor, adding capacity by widening the interstate from four to six lanes, replacing deteriorating concrete pavement, improving visibility by realigning the roadway to reduce sharp curves, and improving the ecological permeability of the highway for aquatic systems, fish, and wildlife through the installation of two new box culverts at Townsend Creek and Unnamed Creek.

“Maybe the 4th time is a charm,” said Jen Watkins of I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition.  “We have worked with Kittitas County on the previous three applications for TIGER funding that were unsuccessful, but the stars are aligning to make the most of these funds this year.  Also the Western Governors Association will be visiting the I-90 project area this June during their annual meeting, and it would be great timing to announce plans for moving this important project forward.”

In response to feedback from review of past applications, Kittitas County did provide a scenario for funding at a lower level that would still be matched by the state.  In that scenario, a $6 million TIGER grant would allow for construction of a nearly 1-mile chain up lane included within Phase 2A that offers stand alone utility and benefits to freight and traffic.

Download a PDF of the TIGER IV application.

Download letters of support for the TIGER IV application.

View the news posting for the TIGER III grant submission.

Watch the video clip.

(Seattle, WA)—I-90 Wildlife Watch, a motorist-based wildlife monitoring program for the Interstate 90 Snoqualmie Pass area, has released a report summarizing its first year of data. The collaborative program, launched in November 2010 by the Western Transportation Institute, the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition, and other partners, invites motorists to report wildlife and roadkill sightings along I-90 between North Bend and Easton. Data from Year 1 indicate that many motorists see wildlife as they’re traveling the highway, and that they are eager to share their observations.

To report wildlife sightings, motorists visit a user-friendly website (www.i90wildlifewatch.org) designed by WTI. The website received nearly 7,000 visits in its first year, resulting in 240 reports of live and dead animals. “Live animal data are an especially important complement to other wildlife monitoring efforts in the Snoqualmie Pass region, as they help boost our understanding of how and where wildlife try to cross the highway” said Robert Long, a research ecologist with WTI in Ellensburg, WA.“ The majority of live animals sighted were deer and elk, with black bears, coyotes, and numerous other species also reported.

I-90 is a vital transportation corridor in Washington, and bisects a critical north-south wildlife corridor for animals moving through the Cascade Mountains.  Land on either side of the interstate in the project area is mainly owned by the US Forest Service, and managed to maintain or improve habitat connectivity.  “This is a great example of citizen science,” said Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Supervisor Becki Heath. “Motorists are providing critical information to help refine I-90 wildlife crossings that will foster healthy wildlife populations in one of the largest contiguous ecosystems in the continental U.S.”

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s  (WSDOT) I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project will help enhance driver safety and reconnect north-south wildlife corridors by constructing 24 wildlife crossing structures along a 15-mile stretch of highway between Hyak and Easton. The structures, several of which are already under construction, will range in size from enlarged culverts to 150-foot-wide wildlife bridges. “The information we get from I-90 Wildlife Watch and formal wildlife monitoring allows us to place and design more effective crossing structures, which will give fish and wildlife better access to their habitat. It will also make the roadway safe for travelers,” said Jason Smith, WSDOT environmental manager.

The I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition has been working to ensure the safe passage of wildlife at Snoqualmie Pass for more than a decade by protecting forested habitat in the area and involving citizens in wildlife monitoring. “Public participation has been essential to the success of I-90 Wildlife Watch thus far,” said Jen Watkins of the Coalition. “With an astounding 28,000 vehicles traveling over the Pass each day, we hope to involve even more people during Year 2.”

Participation in I-90 Wildlife Watch is voluntary and observers can remain anonymous. The first annual report can be viewed online at www.i90wildlifewatch.org.

For more information
I-90 Wildlife Watch webpage:  www.i90wildlifewatch.org

Downloadable PDF of report:  http://i90wildlifewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/I-90_Wildlife_Watch_Year1_Report.pdf

I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project webpage:  http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/snoqualmiepasseast/

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Ten submissions are selected into our Top 10 that will travel the state in displays during the summer of 2012, while one student from each side of the state will be selected as our winners.  These winners recieve a special prize package, have their artwork displayed on a billboard along I-90 to educate motorists, and win their classroom $200 to spend on school supplies to keep the creativity going!

“Taking part in this contest was a great experience. Kids love to feel like they’re making a difference and helping the world, and the i90 Wildlife Bridge contest was a perfect opportunity to get them involved. The kids really got the idea and spirit of this; when presented with the Wildlife Bridge concept, the usual response was, “well, of course! Isn’t that just fair?” said past contest participant Dan Gemeinhart, Librarian at Mission View Elementary

Submissions are due into our office by Friday April 20th, 2012.  Lesson plan, more details, and links to helpful information and past year’s winners are available on our contest webpage.  We look forward to seeing the entries!

I-90 Wildlife Watch billboard in Seattle, WA. January 2011.

Thanks to a grant from the Washington Department of Wildilfe’s ALEA program, we are promoting the I-90 Wildlife Watch program this month with a billboard in Seattle.  The  billboard is running until February 2nd on Dearborn and 13th just out of downtown Seattle near Goodwill, and on a city street route to the I-90 on ramp off of Rainier Ave.

The billboard is up for a few more weeks – go take a look.  And, make sure to keep reporting any live or dead wildlife you see when driving I-90 between North Bend and Easton at www.i90wildlifewatch.org .

Her Connecting Washington plan proposed to fund the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project with $106 million to continue widening from the end of the snowshed project near Keechelus Dam to Bonnie Creek, including the construction of the wildlife overcrossing.

See Seattle Times coverage of her speech, and view the Connecting Washington transportation package proposal.

The Governor signed a transportation bill last session that included language directing that $8 million in savings from existing project savings be utilized for planning and design of the next phase of the I-90 project, while all additional savings from the first phase’s construction to be realized after the session were to remain on the corridor.

The Mount Amabilis property was purchased to provide critical wildlife habitat and serves as an important piece of the long-range strategy to conserve habitat lands near the planned Interstate 90 wildlife bridges that will allow wildlife to cross I-90 safely.

Learn more in a Daily Record article on the conservation purchase.