SCR 124 Passes: A Step Forward for Wildlife and Public Safety

By: Nick Fasciano, IWF Executive Director

The Idaho Wildlife Federation celebrates the passage of Senate Concurrent Resolution 124, which expresses the support of the Idaho Legislature for wildlife crossings. 

This bill is a significant milestone in working towards the conservation of big game herds and migrations across Idaho. While wildlife crossings can be an incredible tool for both public safety and facilitating wildlife movement – reducing wildlife vehicle collisions by more than 80% when cited correctly – they haven’t been without controversy in Idaho. This resolution will help to promote renewed discussions around these important structures, as well as helping to ensure that local communities are brought in as partners and that potential crossings are planned for where they’re both needed and wanted by affected communities. 

IWF and other sporting groups worked proactively on this legislation all session. Originally introduced as HCR 26, it ultimately moved forward as SCR 124 – sponsored by Senator Treg Bernt in the Senate and by Representative James Petzke in the House. IWF thanks both these legislators for their leadership.

Wildlife vehicle collisions impact thousands of Idahoans every year, causing injuries, tens of millions in property damage, and even deaths in the most tragic cases. 

At the same time, highways pose an impediment to big game herds as they move through the landscape. Conservation of migration corridors for deer, elk, and pronghorn will play a critical role in ensuring abundant wildlife populations as Idaho continues to rapidly develop. The United States Geological Survey and Idaho Department of Fish & Game have produced migration maps for over 50 unique migrations of deer, elk, and pronghorn across the state by using GPS-technology, and that number will continue to increase.

Now that SCR 124 has passed, it provides a great launchpad as we continue to develop a strong coalition of sporting organizations to collaborate on how to best move this issue forward. Working with agencies, local communities, and other partners, we will work to ensure that we have the tools to ensure Idaho can continue to grow while still maintaining big game abundance on which our hunting traditions depend.