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Man-Made Animal Bridges and Crossings


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I recently read a post on the internet regarding man-made animal bridges to allow different types of wildlife (Elk, Bear, Deer, antelope, crabs, birds and many more) to cross busy highways or roads safely to the other side (most, if not all bridges are in migration paths). In addition to bridges, man-made structures of corrugated pipe or small, concrete waterways are also built under highways and roads to allow various wildlife to pass safely to the other side. I quickly perused through the list of categories and could not find anything that these animal crossings would fit into an existing category (Fish Ladders and Turtle Crossings are existing categories and would be excluded from this potential category.

 

Below are a few pictures I found on Google that highlight what I'm referring to. The simply-built corrugated metal pipes under roads are probably not worthy of category inclusion unless there was a nearby interpretive display that highlighted its purpose. My goal would be to find the more-substantial animal crossings like the earth bridges across highways and roads and other similar crossings. But I would be receptive to crossings of a smaller scale if they catered to a particular species (like a crab, a penguin or a duck) and had some additional information (such as a placard, sign, newspaper article, etc.) that accompanied them.

 

Any thoughts or opinions on these man-made structures that may or may not be a good candidate for a new category? I know they exist worldwide and I find them interesting and very eco-friendly. They are not that prevalent (I've come across only one in my neck of the woods in Oregon), so they wouldn't be so commonplace as to make them too mundane to waymark -- but could possibly be too limited to allow enough interest in them. I guess replies here will dictate which direction to go.

bear tunnel.jpg

crab crossing.jpg

earth bridge2.jpg

penguin crossing.jpg

wildlife bridge.jpg

wildlife trough.jpg

wildlife trough2.jpg

earth bridge.jpg

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I know two large structures. Both are easy to see and identify from the highway or train. But I guess it could be really difficult to access the closer area from outside to take pictures.

 

Then I know some frog tunnels under rural roads. They are no beauties, but why not?

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Funny. A few days ago I read about a bridge that is being built to help wild animals cross a future railroad track. I thought "Would that be a good idea for a waymark category?", but the next thought was "probably not prevelant enough". Anyway, I think it's a good idea and with some research it should be possible to find such locations.

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While in Montana we noticed several of these tunnel crossings for cattle in open range.  Who knew we should take pictures for a new category idea. :-) 

 

Leave it to theBeav69 to come up with this, nice to see you are back on the forums and more active with Waymarking...

 

 

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Just yesterday I watched "Wild Ways: Corridors of Life" on our PBS station. 

The Y2Y: Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative

 Area: 1.3 million square kilometers / 502,000 square miles
    Length: 3,200 kilometers / 1,988 miles
    Width: Varies between 500 to 800 kilometers / 310 to 496 miles
    The region spans five American states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming), two Canadian provinces (British Columbia and Alberta) and two Canadian territories (Yukon and Northwest Territories)

Wildlife corridors are worldwide and as awareness increases so will these safe passages. 

I like the idea and what it represents. 

Check your local PBS station for the current schedule. 

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On 8/7/2018 at 10:33 AM, NW_history_buff said:

BK-Hunters has been promoted to officer in the category and will be working on editing/fine-tuning details before sending to a general vote for another category addition to the Waymarking community in the coming days... Stay tuned. 

 

The category is ready for your review and any suggestions: Man-made Animal Bridges and Crossings

Edited by BK-Hunters
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16 hours ago, fi67 said:

 

The coordinate variable type should never be used, as it is absolutely useless outside the N/W hemisphere.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I had known that but, being a person with a faulty memory AND in the NW quadrant, I had forgotten about it. Thanks!

Keith

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On 8/12/2018 at 1:26 AM, PISA-caching said:

Only one question: If there is a pedestrian bridge that can also be used by cows or horses, how will you deal with that?

Let the cows and horses go first, followed by the people? :lol:

 

I expect such a crossing would be acceptable. Might have to add that specifically.

I, however, am NOT the leader of the category, so I'm only offering my opinion here.

Keith

Edited by BK-Hunters
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On 8/12/2018 at 3:15 AM, fi67 said:

"if not include parking coordinates as a variable."

 

It is a small text box.

On 8/12/2018 at 3:15 AM, fi67 said:

The coordinate variable type should never be used, as it is absolutely useless outside the N/W hemisphere.

 

The parking coordinates variable is a small text box.

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4 hours ago, Benchmark Blasterz said:

Will Historic animal crossings be allowed? There are several bridges in Texas that were built in the 1870s for cattle drives to cross rivers. Many charged a nickel per cow, and humans were free

 

Given that we are fans of things historic, I would have to say a definite YES, when submitted with proof of their origin.

I, however, am NOT the leader of the category, so I'm only offering my opinion here.

Keith

Edited by BK-Hunters
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16 hours ago, BK-Hunters said:

Let the cows and horses go first, followed by the people? :lol:

 

I expect such a crossing would be acceptable. Might have to add that specifically.

Keith

Only if the cows and horses are ordered by twos, and again, only if the humans have a working knowledge of what is a cubit and carrying a VERY large supply of gopherwood!  :D  :D  :D  

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54 minutes ago, iconions said:

Only if the cows and horses are ordered by twos, and again, only if the humans have a working knowledge of what is a cubit and carrying a VERY large supply of gopherwood!  :D  :D  :D  

 

Ya got a ROTFLMAO there!!!

Keith

Edited by BK-Hunters
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8 hours ago, Benchmark Blasterz said:

Will Historic animal crossings be allowed? There are several bridges in Texas that were built in the 1870s for cattle drives to cross rivers. Many charged a nickel per cow, and humans were free

 

A good question but as much as I also appreciate all things historical, the intent of this potential category is to strictly focus on active man-made animal bridges and crossings with no human involvement (or very little human involvement).  Former/historical animal bridges and crossings would not qualify. 

 

In addition, any man-made animal bridge or crossing needs to be created specifically for animals and cannot be a mixed-use structure that may include pedestrian or automobile traffic.

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19 hours ago, NW_history_buff said:

 

A good question but as much as I also appreciate all things historical, the intent of this potential category is to strictly focus on active man-made animal bridges and crossings with no human involvement (or very little human involvement).  Former/historical animal bridges and crossings would not qualify. 

 

In addition, any man-made animal bridge or crossing needs to be created specifically for animals and cannot be a mixed-use structure that may include pedestrian or automobile traffic.

 

That said, the requirements have been updated to (hopefully) match the initial intent of the category.

Keith

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3 hours ago, elyob said:

Slightly different than the historical crossing, if urban encroachment has made the crossing non-functional (only one side of the crossing remains), would these be excluded?

 

As the requirements state: Man-made Animal Bridges and Crossings must be a permanent man-made structure that is completely functional, currently active ...

I think you can figure out the answer for yourself.

Keith

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10 hours ago, Benchmark Blasterz said:

We have a lot of cattle underpasses around elevated-grade RR tracks in Texas. These are not marked as cattle crossings, and they look like large box culverts under RRs, just without a creek. Will these be accepted? 

Sit and wait until a herd comes along to cross, take their picture and submit it. I expect that under these circumstances they would most certainly be accepted. :)

We've seen many of these in Montana.

 

Actually, I think a good proof of its use would be the fences. How the fences are laid out will be a definite indicator of an underpass being put there to allow cattle, etc. to pass under, say, a railway.

Keith

Edited by BK-Hunters
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21 hours ago, BK-Hunters said:

Sit and wait until a herd comes along to cross, take their picture and submit it. I expect that under these circumstances they would most certainly be accepted. :)

We've seen many of these in Montana.

 

Actually, I think a good proof of its use would be the fences. How the fences are laid out will be a definite indicator of an underpass being put there to allow cattle, etc. to pass under, say, a railway.

Keith

In New South Wales there is a scheme, the Cattle Underpass Scheme, which helps farmers defray the cost of road underpasses. So you'd see a long line of cattle but probably not much else unless there was somewhere to pull over. The photo on the site shows fences but was taken on the farm as opposed to the embankment.  

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The Man-made Animal Bridges and Crossings category is now open for Peer Review.  This potential category has had good discussion here in the forum with answers to questions and concerns by others.  We officers feel we've addressed any issues as well as we can and have edited the category description to reflect this. 

 

Kudos to BK-Hunters for getting the ball rolling on this category and for their hard work and efforts in putting together a well-written and graphic-friendly category description!

 

Hope it becomes the newest category addition to the Waymarking community.

 

NW_history_buff

 

*NOTE* After just reading the above questions regarding cattle underpasses, I don't see why they wouldn't be accepted into the category, although depending on their numbers, they may be one of those "Dozens of cattle underpasses exist in my neck of the woods and I think I'll waymark every one of them!" structures. I often use the term, "Just because it exists doesn't necessarily mean we need to waymark it."  If you find pleasure in quantity of waymarks submitted (like a few in the community practice every day) over quality of waymarks, then knock yourself out. The category can always be tweaked to limit these later. B)

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I had a random thought from my many travels... The National Zoo in Washington DC has what they call the "O" line.  It actually is a rope bridge that is 30 feet in the air for the orangutans to cross overhead to get to one part of the zoo to another.  The Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha has an enclosed bridge for the gorillas to cross from one enclosure to another.  The question - only bridges in the wild?  I prolly should have remembered this earlier, but I've got a bit on my plate at the moment... 

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6 hours ago, iconions said:

The question - only bridges in the wild?  I prolly should have remembered this earlier, but I've got a bit on my plate at the moment... 

 

Then you need to eat faster...:lol:

But don't choke - I ain't drivin' all the way to KC MO just to administer a heimlich...

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4 hours ago, BK-Hunters said:

 

Then you need to eat faster...:lol:

But don't choke - I ain't drivin' all the way to KC MO just to administer a heimlich...

If you come to KC MO, you'll miss me unless you're coming to my work.  Try beautiful Olathe, Kansas!  Whoohoo!  (Which, Olathe is supposed to be the Shawnee word for Beautiful, but I ain't buying it for a moment!)  

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20 hours ago, iconions said:

I had a random thought from my many travels... The National Zoo in Washington DC has what they call the "O" line.  It actually is a rope bridge that is 30 feet in the air for the orangutans to cross overhead to get to one part of the zoo to another.  The Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha has an enclosed bridge for the gorillas to cross from one enclosure to another.  The question - only bridges in the wild? 

 

In my humble opinion, the answer would be yes. The bridge you describe is not to protect the apes from traffic (which was the initial idea of the category), right?

 

On ‎17‎.‎08‎.‎2018 at 8:03 PM, elyob said:

I have photographed three separate herpetofauna crossings within 150 metres.  According to stats, different species prefer different crossings.  Would this be one waymark or three?

 

I've found a similar spot: 4 tunnels for toads and other small animals within 300 meters. Shall I create one waymark with photos of all four tunnels or just pick one of them?

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10 hours ago, BK-Hunters said:

Yeah, I know, but as usually happens with me (just ask the Mrs.), I missed the exit and had to go all the way to MO to turn around.:wacko:

Nice!  I just figured you got caught in one of those Kansas twisters and got sent to the wrong side of the state line!  LOL

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9 hours ago, iconions said:

Nice!  I just figured you got caught in one of those Kansas twisters and got sent to the wrong side of the state line!  LOL

 

So THAT'S what that was. I just figgered I was having another dizzy spell.

Now, where the heck did that map get to, Toto? Toto? Now where the heck did HE get to?

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On August 23, 2018 at 6:09 PM, PISA-caching said:

 

I've found a similar spot: 4 tunnels for toads and other small animals within 300 meters. Shall I create one waymark with photos of all four tunnels or just pick one of them?

 

We are still awaiting comments concerning proximity.  In my case, I was physically unable to get high quality photographs of the nearby crossings.

 

It looks like this potential category did well in the voting.  I wonder if there was ever a vote where the category recieved only Yes votes.

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Peer Review Comment: "Cause Waymarking is an international "game" I am wandering, why in the name there should be given a state but not a country??? The idea of the category sounds interesting."

 

When posting a new waymark one of the requirements is you select a country. 
 

Edited by BK-Hunters
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Peer Review Comment: "I think it should exclude any crossing within a zoo property or in similar locations, and should be limited to those structures intended to wild animals. I can think of some passage ways designed to allow cattle to pass under a highway. Otherwise looks good to me"
 

Category Revision: Excluded are animal crossings that are in any place of business. Examples: zoos, petting zoos, wildlife or aquatic parks, aquariums and others. These include admittance that require a paid admission or are free.

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Peer Review Comment: "Yea: with a couple of 'provisos' in definition. Is it for Wildlife specifically, or does it include ranchers underpasses - many in Australia? Could it PLEASE specifically include the Arboreal routes, of Suspension rope bridges over highways?"

 

Category Description: Man-made Animal Bridges and Crossings will accept only currently active man-made structures that provide a safe and unimpeded crossing for any type of animal species, amphibians or reptiles. These structures could include: bridges, suspension rope bridges, tunnels, channels, climbing walls or other similar man-made structures

 

On 8/22/2018 at 10:44 AM, NW_history_buff said:

*NOTE* After just reading the above questions regarding cattle underpasses, I don't see why they wouldn't be accepted into the category, although depending on their numbers, they may be one of those "Dozens of cattle underpasses exist in my neck of the woods and I think I'll waymark every one of them!" structures. I often use the term, "Just because it exists doesn't necessarily mean we need to waymark it."  If you find pleasure in quantity of waymarks submitted (like a few in the community practice every day) over quality of waymarks, then knock yourself out. The category can always be tweaked to limit these later. B)

 

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I found a couple (ladder & tunnel) on Tuesday & submitted them as one. Hopefully it was night time over there when I noticed the category was current.  There is another further along the highway where the suspended ladder goes 'down under' a bridge rather than over, as is appropriate. 

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Forum Posting "I have photographed three separate herpetofauna crossings within 150 metres. According to stats, different species prefer different crossings. Would this be one waymark or three?"

 

Forum Posting: "I've found a similar spot: 4 tunnels for toads and other small animals within 300 meters. Shall I create one waymark with photos of all four tunnels or just pick one of them?"

 

This issue is being discussed and a decision will be reached and posted on the forum.

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