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Wildlife crossings are essential in Virginia to protect both animals and motorists by reducing vehicle collisions with wildlife, particularly deer, black bears, and other species that frequently cross roadways. The state's diverse landscapes, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to coastal wetlands, create natural migration corridors that intersect with highways, leading to dangerous encounters. Strategically placed wildlife crossings help maintain habitat connectivity, allowing animals to move safely between feeding and breeding areas without the risk of road fatalities. These structures not only enhance biodiversity and support ecosystem health but also save millions in damages and healthcare costs associated with vehicle-wildlife collisions. Investing in wildlife crossings is a proactive step toward sustainable infrastructure that benefits both people and the environment in Virginia.

Thank you for this opportunity. I am a long-time native and resident of Virginia who professionally has variously been an award-winning NASA engineer turned entrepreneur and award-winning economic development leader. However at this time as a private citizen and on behalf of all citizens of our State, I urge you to Vote YES for all elements of HB2025 in support of wildlife corridor and crossing projects in Virginia. Wildlife Corridors, or Crossings, are simple enough in concept: they are passages placed in locations selected through careful study that allow large (and small) animals to get from one side of a road to another without ever being in the road itself. The need is high, as Virginia now ranks as the 9th WORST STATE in the country for animal-vehicle collisions and fatalities. This is a dramatic worsening from even two years ago when we were an unacceptable 15th-worst. This means the trend is going in the WRONG DIRECTION, and we must do something now. Indeed, “Hot Spot” areas of these casualties have been identified in ALL regions of the State, so the problem affects all Virginians. Having myself been witness to numerous instances of these tragic collisions, they are nothing but horrific. The loss of life -- both human and animal -- and the costs associated with these tragedies is tremendous... though AVOIDABLE, as we now know. Not only do Wildlife Crossings prevent tremendous loss of both human and animal life as well as prevent vast financial loss due to both fatal and non-fatal crashes -- with an over 96% reduction demonstrated already in Virginia! -- they’ve also been proven to ENHANCE TOURISM as well as significantly increase the SAFETY AND ECONOMY OF ROADWAY SHIPPING of all goods – i.e., major big, perpetual business benefits that can and should also be realized here in Virginia. The cost-effectiveness of wildlife crossings is dramatic, and – once implemented -- immediate as well! Of particular importance throughout Virginia, wildlife crossings also importantly serve as flood mitigation structures. Specifically, crossings in the form of properly built underpasses not only enhance flood resilience, they maintain natural streambanks and channels, provide safe aquatic and terrestrial wildlife passage, while also reducing taxpayer burdens caused by road washouts and closures during flooding events. The time is now because available funds initially targeted for leveraging via the Wildlife Crossing Grant Fund as proposed in HB2025 are competitive and time-limited, with more and more states positioning themselves favorably to compete. Importantly -- and thanks to the past visionary strong bi-partisan support provided by our General Assembly through now two Administrations -- Virginia has established itself as an early leader in the area of Wildlife Crossings. In other words, Virginia and our Department of Transportation in partnership with all those who together developed our Wildlife Corridor Action Plan are fully ready and desiring to take this powerful and transformative next step. If we through HB2025 provide for the mechanism to launch the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund, we will be able to leverage it many, many times over for tremendous and ever-compounding monetary and life-saving benefit -- not to mention increased revenue generation -- for our neighbors, businesses, and visitors beginning the moment you say YES! Thank you.

Thank you for this opportunity. I am a long-time native and resident of Virginia who professionally has variously been an award-winning NASA engineer turned entrepreneur and award-winning economic development leader. However at this time as a private citizen and on behalf of all citizens of our State, I urge you to Vote YES for all elements of HB2025 in support of wildlife corridor and crossing projects in Virginia. Wildlife Corridors, or Crossings, are simple enough in concept: they are passages placed in locations selected through careful study that allow large (and small) animals to get from one side of a road to another without ever being in the road itself. The need is high, as Virginia now ranks as the 9th WORST STATE in the country for animal-vehicle collisions and fatalities. This is a dramatic worsening from even two years ago when we were an unacceptable 15th-worst. This means the trend is going in the WRONG DIRECTION, and we must do something now. Indeed, “Hot Spot” areas of these casualties have been identified in ALL regions of the State, so the problem affects all Virginians. Having myself been witness to numerous instances of these tragic collisions, they are nothing but horrific. The loss of life -- both human and animal -- and the costs associated with these tragedies is tremendous... though AVOIDABLE, as we now know. Not only do Wildlife Crossings prevent tremendous loss of both human and animal life as well as prevent vast financial loss due to both fatal and non-fatal crashes -- with an over 96% reduction demonstrated already in Virginia! -- they’ve also been proven to ENHANCE TOURISM as well as significantly increase the SAFETY AND ECONOMY OF ROADWAY SHIPPING of all goods – i.e., major big, perpetual business benefits that can and should also be realized here in Virginia. The cost-effectiveness of wildlife crossings is dramatic, and – once implemented -- immediate as well! Of particular importance throughout Virginia, wildlife crossings also importantly serve as flood mitigation structures. Specifically, crossings in the form of properly built underpasses not only enhance flood resilience, they maintain natural streambanks and channels, provide safe aquatic and terrestrial wildlife passage, while also reducing taxpayer burdens caused by road washouts and closures during flooding events. The time is now because available funds initially targeted for leveraging via the Wildlife Crossing Grant Fund as proposed in HB2025 are competitive and time-limited, with more and more states positioning themselves favorably to compete. Importantly -- and thanks to the past visionary strong bi-partisan support provided by our General Assembly through now two Administrations -- Virginia has established itself as an early leader in the area of Wildlife Crossings. In other words, Virginia and our Department of Transportation in partnership with all those who together developed our Wildlife Corridor Action Plan are fully ready and desiring to take this powerful and transformative next step. If we through HB2025 provide for the mechanism to launch the Wildlife Corridor Grant Fund, we will be able to leverage it many, many times over for tremendous and ever-compounding monetary and life-saving benefit -- not to mention increased revenue generation -- for our neighbors, businesses, and visitors beginning the moment you say YES! Thank you.

I urge you to support HB 2025, a critical step toward addressing Virginia’s growing wildlife-vehicle conflict and ensuring our state’s infrastructure is built for long-term resilience. Right now, Virginia ranks 9th in the nation for wildlife-vehicle collisions - we do not have the luxury in our state to wait to build better infrastructure. Over 89,000 animal collision claims were filed in Virginia in 2024, an increase from previous years. These collisions are not just dangerous—they cost the Commonwealth millions of dollars each year, with each deer collision alone averaging $41,000 in state and personal costs. You should also know that our very own Virginia Transportation Research Council has done great research on the effectiveness of underpasses and exclusionary fencing - projects have seen up to 96% reduction in wildlife-vehicle conflict, and structures can pay for themselves in under 2 years. While Virginia’s Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (WCAP) was a step forward in identifying high-priority areas for connectivity, it lacks the necessary funding and data accuracy to drive real solutions. The plan relies primarily on police-reported deer crashes, which underreport wildlife-vehicle conflict by 5 to 9 times and fail to include impacts on other species, like endangered aquatic life. Without comprehensive data and dedicated funding, meaningful action remains out of reach. Meanwhile, Virginia continues to widen roads without incorporating wildlife passage, making the problem worse, and underpasses are being redone for increased flood resilience without considering wildlife passage, wasting taxpayer dollars. More lanes mean more traffic, more barriers to wildlife movement, and more dangerous and costly collisions. The only viable solution is to integrate both terrestrial and aquatic passage into all project scoping for infrastructure improvements, not just isolated projects. A handful of crossings will not solve Virginia’s crisis—we must require state agencies to prioritize wildlife passage in every road project. HB 2025 ensures that happens. It establishes a structured program within agencies to require wildlife passage considerations in planning, mandates improved wildlife-vehicle conflict data collection, and creates long-term funding pathways for crossing projects. These measures will help mitigate tens of thousands of collisions each year, enhance flood resilience, and protect Virginia’s biodiversity—all while making smarter use of taxpayer dollars by building infrastructure that lasts. I urge you to support HB 2025 and take the necessary steps to make Virginia’s roads safer for both people and wildlife. Thank you.

I support adding wildlife crossings to highways wherever possible, and whenever new infrastructure is added. We all see so many dead animals--deer, fox, raccoons, dogs, turtles, you name it--especially during mating seasons when animals are distracted and less cautions. It is all avoidable of course if people slowed down and paid attention, but that's a harder thing to achieve... It's also a great idea to do a better job tracking how many dead animals are picked up and what species they are. I wrote a paper in graduate school on deer-vehicle collisions, and the data was incredibly spotty and incomplete. Even the insurance companies, which pay the direct costs, don't have or won't share their records. The cost to wildlife and emotional trauma and physical harm to drivers is simply not measured at all. As Virginia gets urbanized, this will only get worse.

Hello, Please require retail establishments to post clear signage designating invasive plants and educating the public on what that means. Invasive plants are a tremendous issue threatening our ecosystems. They out-compete native plants that we need in order to enjoy our land, support animals for hunting and fishing, control floods and erosion, protect infrastructure, protect our trees, and protect wildlife. I work in watershed restoration cleaning up our waterways to provide safer drinking water, protect infrastructure, protect our ability to safely hunt and fish, and protect our native songbirds, trees, flowers, and wildlife. Most of our budget is spent on invasive species removal; it costs a lot, requires the use of herbicides, requires the use of heavy equipment, and requires many years of constant maintenance in order to prevent them from coming back. They damage our ecosystems and I have seen many beautiful old trees die because of invasive English ivy, tree-of-heaven, privet, and invasive honeysuckle. Our songbirds die eating berries from invasive plants. Please pass this legislation. Additionally, please pass the legislation supporting wildlife corridors; in addition to being needed to protect wildlife, this bill would protect so many people. Deer-auto collisions cost states millions each year and injure and kill many drivers. We are also at risk of losing many of our native wildlife species as a result; animals like frogs and salamanders need to cross roadways in order to reach wetlands to breed, and cannot escape cars.

I support these