{"id":3516,"date":"2019-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coloradowildlife.org\/uncategorized\/gov-polis-signs-executive-order-to-conserve-colorado-wildlife-and-habitat-while-protecting-public-safety-2\/"},"modified":"2019-08-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T00:00:00","slug":"gov-polis-signs-executive-order-to-conserve-colorado-wildlife-and-habitat-while-protecting-public-safety-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradowildlife.org\/gov-polis-signs-executive-order-to-conserve-colorado-wildlife-and-habitat-while-protecting-public-safety-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Polis Signs Executive Order to Conserve Colorado Wildlife and Habitat, While Protecting Public Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wednesday, August 21, 2019<\/p>\n

Shelby Wieman | shelby.wieman@state.co.us<\/a>| 303-957-6011<\/p>\n

Gov. Polis Signs Executive Order to Conserve Colorado Wildlife and Habitat, While Protecting Public Safety<\/strong><\/p>\n

DENVER – <\/strong>Gov. Jared Polis today signed an executive order that supports Colorado’s wildlife, their habitat and migratory routes, while protecting public safety. Habitat loss poses a significant risk to Colorado’s wildlife populations. With Colorado’s growing population and increased travel across the state, nearly 4,000 wildlife-vehicle crashes are reported each year. That’s an estimated $80 million in damages, not including the value of wildlife killed or the impact on the health of wildlife populations.
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\n“Colorado’s natural beauty and wildlife are part of why so many people love our great state,” <\/strong>said Governor Jared Polis.“This is a step toward better understanding and protecting the migratory patterns of Colorado’s wildlife populations and ensuring we can preserve our treasured animals and their habitats.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colorado has seen success with a number of wildlife passages around the state, most notably with Highway 9<\/a> south of Kremmling through the Blue River Valley. Over an 11 year stretch, there were more than 650 wildlife-vehicle collisions on this section of highway. Through collaboration, a wildlife passage project was completed in November 2016 and consists of two wildlife overpass structures, five wildlife underpasses, 10.4 miles of eight-foot-high wildlife exclusion fencing, 61 wildlife escape ramps, and 29 wildlife guards to help reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions while providing safe passages for wildlife. This executive order opens the door for more projects like this.<\/p>\n

The executive order takes a number of steps to ensure conservation of Colorado’s big game winter range and migration corridors:<\/p>\n