Coyote crosses Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Bridge ahead of Dec. 2 opening

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - A newly installed remote wildlife camera captured a coyote traversing the deck of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing high above the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills early Wednesday morning. 

The encounter marks the first documented presence of a larger mammal atop the unfinished structure, which is designed to reconnect fractured ecosystems across one of the nation's busiest commuter corridors.

What we know:

Biologists with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area installed surveillance cameras across the landscaped bridge on Tuesday afternoon to track wildlife behavior ahead of the structure's formal debut. 

At roughly 1:37 a.m. the following morning, camera traps recorded the coyote moving northward along the bridge deck directly above ten lanes of traffic carrying more than 300,000 vehicles each day.

The bridge deck crossing follows an earlier photograph captured on Oct. 28 that showed a coyote ascending the southern slope of the incomplete overpass. 

Field teams conducting pre-construction and active construction monitoring have routinely observed bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, mule deer, and mountain lions traveling along a dirt trail immediately adjacent to the bridge site near Liberty Canyon. 

Spanning both the freeway and Agoura Road, the crossing is set to become the largest vegetated wildlife overpass in the world, establishing a direct habitat bridge between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills.

What we don't know:

Scientists do not yet know how rapidly keystone species such as mountain lions will begin crossing the finished span, nor how long it will take to observe measurable increases in regional genetic diversity. 

Long-term impacts of freeway vehicle noise, headlight glare, and local vegetation establishment on animal transit rates across the structure also remain under ongoing study.

What they're saying:

"This is more than just about whether animals use the crossing," said Seth Riley, the wildlife branch lead at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "We want to understand how effective it is in reconnecting an ecosystem that has been divided by the freeway for decades. That is a much bigger scientific question and answering it will take years."

What's next:

The multi-agency partnership behind the project—including the National Wildlife Federation, Caltrans, the National Park Service, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy—will host the ribbon-cutting on Dec. 2 to formally open the structure to wildlife. 

Biologists will continue operating a 14-objective research framework monitoring camera feeds, changes in plant communities, sound levels, lighting conditions, and vertebrate genetics. 

To safeguard animal safety and site security, wildlife camera footage will be curated and released to the public on a delayed schedule rather than through live broadcasts.

What you can do:

Members of the public can learn more about regional wildlife tracking, park biodiversity initiatives, and ongoing research findings by visiting the official Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area portal at nps.gov/samo.