New Hampshire Passes Wildlife Corridors/Crossings Bill

In the U.S., up to 1.5 million wildlife/vehicle accidents occur every year, resulting in over 200 human deaths, 29,000 human injuries, and $4.8 billion in insurance industry losses. This session, the New Hampshire State Legislature passed a bill to study to identify and report on existing and needed wildlife corridors and wildlife crossings across highways in the state. The bill highlighted one particular problem area where vehicle/wildlife collisions occur on a regular basis when moose and other animals attempt to cross the highway. The bill was sponsored by Senators David Watters and Jeff Woodburn, and Rep. Robert Backus. SB 376 passed on May 23, 2016.

• The New Hampshire bill is found here: SB 376, an act relative to wildlife corridors –http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?id=1001&txtFormat=html
• An NCEL fact sheet with a list of state wildlife crossings bills, and other resources can be downloaded here: https://ncel.net//wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Wildlife-Crossings-Bills-Examples-and-Articles-fnl-info-sheet.pdf