BILL NUMBER: S4198B
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to enact the "New York wildlife crossing act"; to direct the
department of transportation and the New York state thruway authority to
identify sites along all highways, thruways, and parkways in the state
where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and
improve habitat connectivity; and to create a priority list of wildlife
crossing opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available
to implement the top five projects identified
 
PURPOSE:
This bill intends to direct some portion of the FY23 federal funding
allocated for wildlife crossings to the state of New York for actionable
development of wildlife crossing infrastructure. Several states have
already emplaced wildlife crossings on vehicular highways, thruways, and
parkways. Absent such structures in New York State, this bill upon
passage will ensure such projects can initiate design and implementation
where necessary. Data shows design and construction of such structures
reduces wildlife collisions by greater than ninety percent.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 establishes the "New York Wildlife Crossing Act."
Section 2 defines "wildlife crossing."
Section 3 directs NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) and NYS Thruway
Authority (NYSTA) to identify road segments, which threaten interaction
between vehicles and wildlife, and finalize a top ten wildlife crossings
priority list NLT two years after the effective date of this act.
Section 4 directs DOT and NYSTA to identify feasibility factors, method-
ologies and available federal grant funds the top five eligible
projects.
Section 5 enables departments to consult all available information- this
would include that of state and national non-governmental organizations.
Section 6 directs DOT to update appropriate design guidance, including
the Highway Design Manual, by July 1, 2026 to incorporate design
concepts for wildlife passage features and related standard plans as
appropriate.
Section 7 establishes an immediate effective date.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AMENDED AND ORIGINAL:
The bill was amended on A print to include the Thruway Authority and
amended on B print to correct a typo in the A print.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Roadkill and vehicular damage from collisions with wildlife is a serious
problem in motor transportation. Crossing deer and other large mammals
can create life-threatening hazards on roadways. In the United States
alone, there are more than a million automobile accidents per year
involving wildlife, racking up more than $8 billion in medical costs and
vehicle repairs annually.
According to some estimates, automobile collisions kill more than a
million animals every day, making them the leading cause of death for
many vertebrate species. Still worse is the way major roads and other
forms of development can subdivide animal populations and fragment their
habitats. Losing access to large areas of their living space makes it
much harder for many woodland creatures to forage for food, find mates
and carry on their genetic legacies.
As people have become more aware of these dangers, one strategy to miti-
gate them has gradually gained acceptance: human made highway crossings
designed just for animals. These can come in many forms, depending on
the species involved and the geographic features of the land. The most
common forms of wildlife crossing are bridges and overpasses, tunnels,
viaducts and culverts. Features of this kind are increasingly included
in highway planning and road improvement schemes. When successfully
implemented, they can greatly reduce the likelihood of collisions,
provide a safe corridor for animal transit and help reduce the ecologi-
cal impact of highways by reconnecting animal habitats.
The concept was first developed in France in the 1950s. It took off in
the Netherlands, where more than 600 crossings have been constructed to
protect badgers, elk and other mammals. The Dutch built the world's
longest animal crossing, the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailoo, an overpass
that spans more than 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles), Wildlife crossings can
also be found in Australia, and other parts of the world. Banff, Alber-
ta, Canada witnessed the first successful wildlife crossing in the west-
ern hemisphere. Since then, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and
Wyoming all have constructed wildlife crossings of their own. Such
structures have greatly reduced roadkill, traffic fatalities and vehicu-
lar damage associated with MV/EV collisions with wildlife.
In the most recent federal fiscal year (FY23), several million dollars
were allocated to implement wildlife crossing structures throughout the
United States. This bill will allow state agencies and non-governmental
organizations to work in concert towards the goal of achieving the same
success found on this issue in the western United States and other
regions of the world.
In 2024, there remains over 270 million of the 350 million allocated by
the federal government for the Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program. This
bill is directing NYS entities to apply for the funding, which they have
not done since the money was allocated.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023: S4198 COMRIE/ A4243 Carroll- PASSED SENATE/ on Assembly Calendar
2022: S8579 Comrie/ A10533 Carroll.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.