Vermont City Receives Grant for Salamanders

The Conservation Commission for the town of Monkton, Vermont has been given a $150,000 grant to build tunnels under a local highway to help salamanders and other small critters cross the road. The grant was rewarded by the Vermont Agency of Transportation's Transportation Enhancements Grant Committee (TEGC) and will be completed in 2011. The main reason for the construction of the tunnel is that small animals, salamanders in particular, cross the busy highway frequently during their mating season in order to access a swamp. On a given night, around half of the salamanders will meet an untimely death from the tires of vehicles on the highway. The Commission has been observing the crossing for 9 years now, even staying over night to assist the amphibians cross the street.

These salamander tunnels are known as "ecopassages" and have also been constructed in Massachusetts. California has something similar called "cougar corridors" which help cougars and other wildlife avoid risks with heavily traveled highways in the area. The wildlife corridors enable the mountain lion's territory to be unrestricted by the extensive roadway infrastructure in Central and Northern California. This allows the animals to find food and mate more easily.

There are people for and against the building of the tunnels in Vermont. Some citizens in Vermont are outraged, claiming this is a "waste of tax dollars", while others are proud to be members of a city who cares and respects animals. PETA even gave The Vermont Agency of Transportation the "Compassionate Action Award".

While it is undeniable that this retrofit and others like it are very expensive, can a price really be put on the safety of potentially endangered and threatened animals? According to wildlife expert Jim Andrews, this salamander crossing area is one of the most important sites known in the state of Vermont. Although the salamanders of Monkton, Vermont are not currently endangered, if they are not able to cross the road in order to mate, it is only a matter of time. And besides, if humans are responsible for this problem in the first place, we should be the ones to fix it, no matter the cost.