WE'RE HERE AT NEW MEXICO 333, AND FURTHER BEHIND ME  IS I-40, AND IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO ROADWAYS IS  TIJERAS CREEK.

THE WILDLIFE, PRIMARILY MULE  DEER, THEY COME FROM THE SURROUNDING HILLSIDES DOWN  ACROSS THE ROADWAY INTO TIJERAS CREEK TO GET WATER.

NEW MEXICO 333 IS PART OF THE OLD ROUTE 66, BUILT IN  THE 1930s.

CARS HAVE ADVANCED.

BACK IN THE '30s, VEHICLES WERE 10, 20-HORSEPOWER.

NOW WE'RE DEALING WITH 100 HORSEPOWER.

SO CARS GO MUCH, MUCH FASTER TODAY THAN IN THE PAST, AND  SO THAT CREATES PROBLEMS.

THAT INCLUDES DANGEROUS  ACCIDENTS WHEN A DRIVER HITS A LARGE ANIMAL LIKE A DEER  OR AN ELK.

JUST LIKE US, THEY NEED  WATER, FOOD AND COVER.

SO SOMETIMES FOR THEM TO  ACQUIRE THOSE RESOURCES, THEY HAVE TO CROSS OUR  ROADWAYS.

SOMETIMES THEY CROSS AT  SPECIFIC AREAS THAT CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR THE TRAVELING  PUBLIC, AND WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISIONS, IT'S A COST TO  THE DRIVERS, IT'S PROPERTY DAMAGE TO VEHICLES, AND IN  SOME CASES THEY INJURE DRIVERS AND ACTUAL  FATALITIES TO DRIVERS.

ON 333, THE TIJERAS  CANYON SAFE PASSAGE PROJECT USES FENCES AND ELECTRIFIED  BARRIERS TO FUNNEL WILDLIFE TO CROSS IN ONE PARTICULAR  SPOT.

WHEN ANIMALS LIKE BEARS,  DEER OR ELK CROSS HERE, THEY ACTIVATE FLASHING LIGHTS  THAT WARN DRIVERS TO SLOW DOWN.

THESE ELECTRIFIED BARRIERS PREVENT THE ANIMALS  FROM GOING UP THE ROADWAY AND KEEPS THEM TO CROSS THE  ROADWAY PERPENDICULARLY.

IT WON'T IMPACT NORMAL  PEDESTRIANS OR BICYCLISTS, BUT THE ELECTRIFIED  BARRIERS, IF SOMEBODY IS WALKING THEIR DOG, THE DOG  WILL RECEIVE A SHOCK.

SO WE HAVE PEDESTRIAN  PUSH-BUTTONS THAT TURN OFF THESE ELECTRIFIED BARRIERS  TEMPORARILY.

THE REASON WE DON'T JUST  BUILD GAME FENCE UP AND DOWN THE ROADWAY IS THAT WE ALSO  WANT TO PROVIDE CROSSINGS, HABITAT CONNECTIVITY FOR  WILDLIFE, SO THAT WILDLIFE CAN STILL HAVE ACCESS TO  WATER, FOOD AND COVER.

JUST LIKE HUMANS, WE USE  ROADWAYS TO GO TO THE SUPERMARKET, WE NEED TO  ALLOW SOME GAPS IN THESE GAME FENCES SO THAT WILDLIFE  CAN MEET THEIR NEEDS.

THERE ARE OTHER  STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE USED, LIKE WILDLIFE UNDERPASSES.

RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN WHAT WE CALL THE EAST UNDERPASS,  BELOW THE EASTERNMOST BRIDGE.

THAT'S PART OF THE TIJERAS CANYON SAFE PASSAGE PROJECT.

AND WE WERE JUST AT THE CROSSWALK BEFORE THIS, WHICH  IS ABOUT A HALF MILE DUE EAST FROM HERE.

SO WHEN WILDLIFE CROSS AT THE CROSSWALK TO GET WATER  IN THEIR DAILY MOVEMENTS, OR LONGER DISPERSAL MOVEMENTS  TO TRY TO GET TO THE MANZANOS, THEY CAN GET WATER  IN TIJERAS ARROYO WHEN THEY CROSS THE CROSSWALK AND COME  DOWN THE ARROYO AND GET UNDER I-40 HERE.

SO THE CROSSWALK ESSENTIALLY GETS WILDLIFE, MULE DEER,  BEAR, COUGARS, ACROSS OLD ROUTE 66, OR NEW MEXICO  HIGHWAY 333.

THEY CAN COME DOWN TIJERAS  ARROYO AND MOVE UNDER THE FREEWAY AT THIS LOCATION, AT  THIS BRIDGE.

AND YOU CAN HEAR THE HEAVY  TRAFFIC OF I-40 ABOVE US.

SO THEY CAN MOVE SAFELY  BELOW THE FREEWAY AND NOT GET HIT.

WILDLIFE AND COMMUNITY GROUPS RECOGNIZE TIJERAS  CANYON AS AN IMPORTANT PLACE WHERE ANIMALS ARE MOVING  BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE SANDIA AND MANZANO  MOUNTAINS.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, A STUDENT  GROUP, WILD FRIENDS, LOBBIED THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO  CONVENE A WORKSHOP TO LOOK AT WILDLIFE-DRIVER  ACCIDENTS.

A LOT OF FOLKS THAT  ATTENDED THE ORIGINAL WORKSHOP LIVED ON THE EAST  SIDE OF THE SANDIAS AND HAD HIT DEER OR SEEN DEER HIT,  SEEN CARCASSES IN THE ROAD, AND BASICALLY FELT LIKE IT  WAS A DANGER AND IT WAS UNNECESSARY FOR THESE  WILDLIFE TO BE HIT CONSTANTLY ON THEIR  HIGHWAYS.

SO WE FORMED THIS TIJERAS  CANYON SAFE PASSAGE COALITION THAT BECAME THE  FIRST AND ONLY ADVOCACY GROUP IN NEW MEXICO TO  REALLY ADVOCATE WITH D.O.T.

AND NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF  GAME AND FISH TO IMPLEMENT A WILDLIFE-VEHICLE COLLISION  MITIGATION PROJECT.

AGENCIES CAN TELL THE  PROJECT IS WORKING WHEN THEY CHECK THE WILDLIFE CAMERAS  AND SEE DEER, ELK, BOBCATS, MOUNTAIN LIONS, ALL SORTS OF  ANIMALS USING THE PASSAGE.

BUT PEOPLE ALSO NEED TO  CHANGE THEIR OWN BEHAVIOR TO ENSURE PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE  ARE SAFE.

YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF  THAT WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING AND SLOW DOWN.

THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY STOPS THOSE ACCIDENTS FROM  OCCURRING IS WHEN MOTORISTS SLOW DOWN, OR ARE PREPARED  TO REACT.

LIKE IF THEY'RE AT A  WILDLIFE CROSSWALK, LIKE THE ONE WE HAVE IN TIJERAS  CANYON, AND THE ANIMAL DETECTION SYSTEM DETECTS  ANIMALS CROSSING AND THE LIGHT STARTS BLINKING, YOU  NEED TO SLOW DOWN.

FOR NEW MEXICO InFOCUS  AND 'OUR LAND,' I'M LAURA PASKUS.