Stage two: ROAD TRIP 2024 – CALIFORNIA EDITION
An epic road trip following the perilous pathways of wildlife and showcasing the solutions that can save animal lives.
About The Journey
There are an estimated one to two million collisions between cars and large animals every year in the United States, costing society over $9 billion annually in vehicle repairs, injuries, and road cleanup. Studies show that well-designed wildlife crossings can decrease wildlife-vehicle collisions by up to 97%.
Each year, a talented team of experts embark on the Wildlife Crossings Across America Road Trip – an immersive expedition across the country and beyond to raise awareness about the need for wildlife crossings and connectivity in critical regions.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Wallis Annenberg has already pledged a $10 million-dollar matching grant to The Wildlife Crossing Fund, and we need your help to raise it!
For leadership donations to help with the Match, please contact Beth at prattb@nwf.org.
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ROAD TRIP 2024: CALIFORNIA EDITION
This year’s road trip will take a deep dive into needs and opportunities for wildlife crossings across the state of California, where decades of wildlife research has helped experts identify over a dozen crossing locations. Join us as we travel thousands of miles across the state exploring how to make the world a safer place for animals and people.
Launch of California Wildlife Reconnected
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground on Earth Day in 2022, has proven the transformative power of public-private partnerships in bringing connectivity infrastructure projects to fruition. The California Wildlife Reconnected initiative, a partnership of the California Natural Resources Agency, Caltrans, The Wildlife Crossing Fund, and the National Wildlife Federation, seeks to scale this successful collaborative model to build more wildlife crossings and improve wildlife movement across the state.
Innovative and unprecedented conservation work in California, including the State’s global pledge of 30×30, are paving the way for enormous opportunities to reconnect lands for our collective future. California Wildlife Reconnected will assist the state in advancing connectivity efforts by aligning efforts and fostering collaboration with the many organizations, agencies communities and people undertaking the work. California Wildlife Reconnected also seeks to raise through private philanthropy funds which will leverage public conservation dollars to catalyze implementation of projects.
Join us for the first gathering of California Wildlife Reconnected on MARCH 21, 2025 in Sacramento!
LEARN ABOUT Stage 1: ROAD TRIP 2023!
An epic road trip following the perilous pathways of wildlife and showcasing the solutions that can save animal lives.
After a remarkable decade of collaborative efforts to bring the visionary Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing to life, which broke ground on Earth Day in 2022, Beth Pratt found herself compelled to continue the mission. Following the loss of the globally beloved mountain lion, P-22, Pratt penned these poignant words in her eulogy to the famous mountain lion, “The mostfitting memorial to P-22 will be how we carry his story forward in the work ahead. One crossing is not enough – we owe it to P-22 to build more crossings and connect the habitats where we live now.”
There are an estimated one to two million collisions between cars and large animals every year in the United States.
The cost impact in the United States of wildlife-vehicle collisions is over $9 billion annually.
Studies show that wildlife crossings can decrease wildlife-vehicle collisions up to 97%.
To raise awareness about the need for wildlife crossings, Beth assembled a talented team. They will embark on a multi-stage roadtrip to explore crossings and connectivity across America––and beyond. Join Beth, National Geographic photographer Steve Winter, writer Sharon Guynup, and ARC Solutions’ Renee Callahan and Marta Brocki as they travel thousands of miles across the country exploring how to make the world a safer place for animals and people.
Steve Winter
Steve Winter has been a wildlife photojournalist for National Geographic Magazine for over two decades, producing stories on some of the world’s most elusive and iconic animals—and specializing in big cats. His documentary films on jaguars, leopards, tigers, and tree-climbing lions have aired on Nat Geo WILD and Disney+. He is a National Geographic Explorer and his work has been recognized with numerous international awards:he’s been named BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and received top honors from World Press Photo. With Sharon, he coauthored Tigers Forever and The Ultimate Book of Big Cats.
Beth Pratt
A lifelong advocate for wildlife, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for over 30 years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Pratt leads the#SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Cross-ing outside of Los Angeles, which broke ground in 2022. She also serves as Director of The Wildlife Crossing Fund. Her innovative conservation work has been featured by The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Washing-ton Post, CNN, CBS This Morning, The Guardian, NPR, AP News, and more. The author of When Mountain Lions Are Neighbors, and I Heart Wildlife, her newest book, Yosemite Wildlife, will be released in 2024.
Renee Callahan
Renee Callahan has over 30 years of professional experience in federal, state, and administrative law, policy, and research. As Executive Director of ARC Solutions (Animal Road Crossing), Renee leads an interdisciplinary, not-for-profit partnership working to ensure wildlife crossings are built whenever they are needed. The focus: inspiring innovative, nature-based policies and climate-smart Wildlife Infrastructure Linear Design (WILD) solutions.
Sharon Guynup
Sharon Guynup is an award-winning journalist, photographer, producer and presenter. She covers wildlife, ecosystems, conservation initiatives, climate change, zoonotic disease and other environmental issues. She’s a National Geographic Explorer, a global fellow at the Wilson Center, and with Steve, co-founder of Big Cat Voices.Her work has been featured in outlets including National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian, and Scientific American; and her research has been published in Conservation Science and Practice, ReVista-The Harvard Review and The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.
Marta Brocki
Marta Brocki has coordinated multidisciplinary solutions for wildlife connectivity and the safe movement of people and wildlife for over a decade. Prior to joining ARC Solutions, she managed the Ecological DesignLab at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she studied Urban and Regional Planning. Her work in research and practice centers on the implementation of green and adaptive infrastructure in service of resilience and biodiversity.
Download the brochure to learn more about Wildlife Crossings across America and all the stops we made on our first epic journey from LA to Florida!
The Stops