WYDOT receives $100,000 for the Dry Piney wildlife crossing project

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition donated $100,000 to the Wyoming Department of Transportation for a wildlife crossing project north of La Barge in southwest Wyoming.

The money the Greater Yellowstone Coalition donated will be used for the Dry Piney wildlife crossing project. The project calls for installing underpasses, fencing and related improvements along a 28-mile stretch of US 189 between La Barge and Big Piney. 

“We want to thank the Greater Yellowstone Coalition for their generous donation,” said WYDOT Director K. Luke Reiner. “Dry Piney is one of our top priority projects. This project and others like it will help us with our vital mission of reducing crashes and improving highway safety for all.”

Greater Yellowstone Coalition officials said they’re pleased they can provide additional funding for the project. The Coalition, which has offices in Jackson, Cody and Lander, Wyoming along with Montana and Idaho, works to protect the lands, waters and wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem through highway crossing projects like Dry Piney that allow animals to move across our roadways safely.

“Not only will this project save thousands of deer over its lifetime in the struggling Wyoming Range herd, it’s also going to keep families safe on this stretch of road by reducing collisions,” said Chris Colligan, Greater Yellowstone Coalition wildlife program coordinator. “The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is pleased to support this project by helping  secure local match dollars that leverage state and federal funds.”

The Dry Piney project will help the Wyoming Range mule deer herd as well as pronghorn, elk and moose movement. Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) estimates that this section of highway would be used by about 3,000 mule deer, 300 to 500 pronghorn, 100 to 150 elk and 50 to 100 moose, annually. Dry Piney is one area that WYDOT, WGFD and other stakeholders have identified as needing mitigation work to reduce crashes. 

“Projects like Dry Piney help us reduce wildlife-vehicle crashes in Wyoming,” said WYDOT Chief Engineer Shelby Carlson. “We’ve seen major improvements with the work done so far with other wildlife-vehicle collision mitigation projects. The Dry Piney project will provide safe passage for wildlife to cross under US 189 while traversing their historic migratory routes.”

Besides Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a Casper-area family recently donated $25,000 to the fund.

Additionally, WYDOT received a $14.5 million Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant for the Dry Piney wildlife crossing project. The Wyoming Transportation Commission and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission also both contributed $1.25 million for a total of $2.5 million for Dry Piney.

People interested in making a donation for wildlife-vehicle crash mitigation can send their donation to WYDOT at the following address:

WYDOT Financial Services
ATTN: Wildlife Crossing Donation
5300 Bishop Blvd.
Cheyenne, WY 82009

For additional information about WYDOT, contact Aimee Inama, senior Public Affairs specialist, at (307) 777-4013.

For additional information about the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, contact Mac Dukart, communications and engagement associate, at (307) 734-6004.