Letter: Reducing animal deaths on I-40

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

I have been following for some time the efforts led by the National Parks Conservation Association to provide landscape connectivity — ways for wildlife to cross major highways — in the Interstate 40 gorge of Western North Carolina and other areas. The Pigeon River Gorge Connectivity Project covered in your article [“Bear Right: Collaborative Works to Reduce I-40 Animal Deaths,” May 1, Xpress] represents an exciting beginning in bringing connectivity projects to our area as we experience more and more encounters between human motorists and the animals who live in our national and state parks as well as private lands.

We are privileged to live in an area with one of the largest areas of protected forestland in the Southeast, and it’s important that we start these efforts to both protect animal and human life now. I would encourage NCDOT to start by building in wildlife-friendly features into the upcoming replacement of bridges in the Pigeon River Gorge, and for us as citizens to advocate with our representatives for future measures to provide bears, elk, deer and other creatures safe passage over or under our ever more busy highways.

— Zoë Hoyle
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com
View all posts by Letters →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Letter: Reducing animal deaths on I-40”

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.