US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg paid a visit to New Mexico on Tuesday to talk about a new program aimed at reducing wildlife crossing accidents in the state and across the country.
Meeting with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Senators Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich and Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury at the Santa Ana Pueblo, Buttigieg and the lawmakers heard about the Pueblos work to document traffic and animal movement patterns near I-25 and US-550 in the Sandia-Jemez Mountains Wildlife Corridor.
Wildlife were captured and tagged to track their movements.
Mule deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear and cougar move through the corridor.
The tracking will make it easier to position wildlife crossing locations.
Buttigieg announced the start of a nationwide program to cut down on large animal-vehicle crashes he says will save lives in New Mexico across the country.
“Wildlife are involved in an average of 900 crashes in New Mexico every year. Some of which are fatal for drivers and passengers and vehicles and even when they’re not fatal they cost the state millions annually in medical expenses, lost work time and property damage,” he said. “It’s why this work is so significant and it’s why I am so delighted to announce today (Tuesday) that DOT is officially launching a first of its kind federal program to prevent these kinds of crashes with $350 million in funding for warning signs, mapping tools and crossings to prevent deadly crashes.”
The funding is part of the trillion dollar bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed and signed by President Biden in November of 2021.
According to the White House the bill has so far brought $2.6 billion to New Mexico for over 217 specific projects.