California Can Reduce Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions on Its Highways
Pew comments support legislation that would improve planning to save lives, hundreds of millions of dollars
On June 22, 2026, The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted written testimony to the chairs of the California State Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee and Transportation Committee in support of California S.B. 1250, authored by state Senator David Cortese (D), which seeks to make the state’s roads safer for drivers and wildlife. The bill would make wildlife connectivity a core performance objective of the California Department of Transportation’s state highway asset management system and require the California Transportation Commission to incorporate targets and performance measures for reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions into the state’s federally required Transportation Asset Management Plan.
Pew’s testimony focused on the safety and financial benefits of incorporating habitat connectivity and wildlife crossing considerations at the earliest stages of transportation planning.
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