Wyoming Game and Fish approves $1.25M for wildlife underpass

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has approved spending $1.25 million to help pay for two wildlife underpasses along U.S. Highway 189 in western Wyoming to reduce the number of collisions between vehicles and mule deer.

Wyoming Public Media reports the Department of Transportation and other organizations are also funding the project along a five-mile stretch of highway north of La Barge.

Game and Fish spokeswoman Sara DiRienzo says the two underpasses and associated fencing are the first phase of a project that aims to reduce wildlife collisions along 28-mile stretch of the road. The road intersects an area where mule deer cross in the fall and spring traveling to and from their winter range.

The agency expects the underpasses will reduce collisions by up to 90 percent. The projects are expected to be completed by 2022.