MDT and FWP sign agreement to coordinate on wildlife and transportation issues
Mike Tooley, Director of the Montana Department of Transportation, and Martha Williams, Director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, signed a Memorandum of Agreement that fortifies coordination between the agencies on wildlife and transportation issues.
This agreement reinforces the agencies’ cooperative approach to addressing the challenges of providing a safe, efficient, and environmentally sensitive transportation system while also stewarding the state’s wildlife resources. To view the agreement, visit https://www.mdt.mt.gov/other/webdata/external/planning/mwt/FWPMDTMOA.pdf.
MDT and FWP have a long history of working together to make Montana’s highways safer for people and for wildlife. At the Wildlife and Transportation Summit in 2018, participants recommended MDT and FWP formalize their commitment to collaborate and set a foundation for broader stakeholder engagement on this topic.
Since the summit, MDT, FWP, and Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage formed the Wildlife and Transportation Steering Committee to guide wildlife and transportation collaboration in the state. The group has adopted a charter and are working on the top priorities identified in their 2020 workplan. These include organizing a Data & Information Workgroup to identify how partners can best share and use information for wildlife and transportation efforts; exploring a unified communications strategy on wildlife and transportation issues; and investigating alternative funding opportunities and constraints for wildlife and transportation projects, such as research and wildlife accommodations.
Please visit the Montana Wildlife and Transportation website for more information: https://www.mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/mwt/. The site is updated regularly and provides the most current information related to collaborative work on wildlife and transportation challenges and opportunities in Montana.
Media Contacts:
Lori Ryan, Montana Department of Transportation, 406-444-6821
Greg Lemon, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, 406-444-4038
Hannah Jaicks, Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage, 406-587-2974
