Improving wildlife’s ability to safely cross Interstate 26 near the Appalachian Trail
Along the high mountain ridge where Western North Carolina meets East Tennessee, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail passes through Sams Gap. Surrounded by Cherokee and Pisgah national forests, the Unicoi Bear Reserve, and the 10,000-acre Rocky Fork watershed, this area has been a significant travel corridor for people and wildlife for millennia.
When the AT was completed in 1937, all hikers could see from Sams Gap were high-elevation balds and vast tracts of wilderness. Here black bear, white-tailed deer, bobcat, fox, box turtles, salamanders, timber rattlesnakes and many more iconic Southern Appalachian species moved freely across the landscape to forage, breed, and raise their young.
Today Interstate 26 bisects these animals’ home range. Some attempt to continue to move across the landscape, following pathways established by their ancestors. But this risk inevitably takes them onto a highway traversed by 8,000 to 10,000 cars and trucks each day, and often ends in their deaths. For others, the road has created a barrier, weakening their genetic diversity and chances for survival as a species.
In the early 2000s, four small wildlife culverts were installed by North Carolina Department of Transportation per guidance of North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and by Tennessee Department of Transportation with promising results. Wildlife have been documented using these structures, but modifications and directional fencing are needed to make them fully functional for various species and for consistent, long-term use. Yet these structures alone are not enough to restore connectivity in this important landscape.
Safe Passage seeks to improve wildlife’s ability to safely cross a 14-mile stretch of Interstate-26 in the Sams Gap region, resulting in improved safety and restoring wildlife habitat connectivity.
In fall 2021, with the support of Safe Passage and community partners, NPCA began a two-year study to assess wildlife activity patterns, evaluate use of existing structures, and determine mortality hotspots. Based on this work, we recently submitted recommendations to NCDOT and TDOT for improvements to existing structures, including directional fencing, bench contouring, wildlife-friendly median barriers, size-appropriate culverts, and potentially a wildlife underpass or land bridge.
Black bear cubs in the highway right-of-way
A black bear emerging from a wildlife underpass along I-26
A red fox in the snow in the highway right-of-way
A White-tailed Deer buck beneath a bridge along I-26
A coyote emerging from a wildlife underpass along i-26
A bobcat family in the I-26 right-of-way
A raccoon emerging from a wildlife underpass along I-26
Please show your support for immediate and long-term solutions to reduce wildlife–vehicle collisions and improve connectivity across this nationally significant landscape. You can help to ensure healthy wildlife flow throughout the Southern Appalachians for decades to come.
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