Wildlife Crossing Groundbreaking Ceremony

The Wildlife Crossing is finally happening!
Published April 13, 2022, at 4:30 p.m.

The National Wildlife Federation and partners invite you to the groundbreaking ceremony and celebration for the landmark Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing on Earth Day, Friday – April 22, 2022!

The celebration will occur in two parts: 

The first part, from 10:00 am to 11:00 a.m. will be at the actual crossing site in Agoura Hills. The attendee numbers for this first part are limited. You can submit a request to attend, and once approved, you'll need to RSVP. Learn more about how to do so here.

The second part of the day of celebration will be from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm PT at King Gillette Ranch, 26800 Mulholland Hwy, Calabasas, CA 91302.

There will be food and fun for everyone with a carnival theme, and the chance to win some cool cougar prizes. Artist Obi Kaufmann, who created the special artwork for the groundbreaking, will be there to sign his prints and books that will be for sale at the #SaveLACougars store. Open to the public and no registration is required!

For those who would like to attend from the comfort of their own homes, the groundbreaking will be live-streamed on www.savelacougars.org. Those at King Gillette Ranch will also be able to view the groundbreaking on a big screen.  

Here's why the long-awaited crossing is so important: 

Two decades of study by the National Park Service in the Los Angeles area has shown roads and development are not only proving deadly for animals trying to cross, but have also created islands of habitat that can genetically isolate all wildlife—from bobcats to birds to lizards. The species most immediately at risk, the mountain lion, could vanish from the area in less than 50 years. Of all the area roads, multiple research and planning efforts have identified the 101 Freeway as the most significant barrier to the ecological health of the region, and a possible extinction vortex.

The preservation of this key wildlife linkage—the last 1,600 feet of adjacent protected space north and south of the freeway—also spans over thirty years of protecting vital habitat by groups like the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been dedicated to acquiring and preserving open space in the Santa Monica Mountains over almost half a century and the wildlife crossing provides a critical last step in this historic effort.

“The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and MRCA is excited to enter this last critical phase in making a safe passage for wildlife across the 101 and delivering on our 30 plus years of work to preserve habitat linkages,” Rorie Skei, Chief Deputy Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.