Submitted by Ken Watts
Remember those recommended 17 wildlife overpasses and underpasses and miles of wildlife fencing that were suggested years ago on US 20. The person who recommended those, Dr. Patricia Cramer, has just been hired by the State of Idaho, ITD, to the tune of $100,000 of our taxpayer dollars. No doubt she will be recommending more of the same for the obscene and environmentally destructive 4 lane freeway that ITD is planning for Island Park on US 20. The following is an Idaho Department of Transportation Board Agenda Item, ITD 2210 (Rev. 10-13) Page 1 of 1, Meeting Date August 16-17, 2023. This agenda item is for a Non-Construction Professional Service Contract, issued by the ITD Business & Support Management. “Background Information: The purpose of this Board item is to comply with the reporting requirements established in Board Policy 4001 -'Each month the Chief Administrative Officer shall report to the Board all non-construction professional service agreements entered into by the Department during the previous month.' Business and Support Management section executed the following professional service agreement(s) in the previous month.” “Document Description: Identification of Wildlife Vehicle Conflict, Vendor Name: Wildlife Connectivity Institute, Line Amount: $100,000, Unit Name: HQ Environmental Programs (SPR Funds), Service From 07/31/23, Service To 07/30/24.” So it appears that ITD has issued a contract to the Wildlife Connectivity Institute, for $100,000, to identify wildlife vehicle conflict in Idaho. Who is the Wildlife Connectivity Institute???? An internet search reveals that it is “a science-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission of identifying, protecting, and restoring wildlife ...” The director of the Institute is none other than Dr. Patricia Cramer, formerly of Utah State University in Logan, Utah. You should remember her as the person who recommended 17 wildlife overpasses and underpasses and dozens of miles of barrier fencing along US Highway 20 in the Island Park area. The mailing address for this Institute is Gallatin Gateway, MT. This is not surprising as the Bozeman, MT area is home to the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, the Western Transportation Institute, ARC Solutions, and many environmental and conservation groups. Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative provides funding to some of these organizations. We (taxpayers) are paying the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to do this kind of work. Why aren’t they doing it? They have an MOU with ITD that has been in place for years. Why are the taxpayers being asked to fund this project? Identification of wildlife vehicle conflict was done years ago in Idaho. Nothing new here! Any notion that this study will result in an unbiased evaluation for the taxpayers of Idaho is extremely optimistic. Just look at the organizations based in Bozeman!!! DO NOT FORGET THAT THE VOTERS OF FREMONT COUNTY, IDAHO VOTED 4 TO 1 TO OPPOSE WILDLIFE OVERPASSES, UNDERPASSES, AND MILES OF FENCING IN THE COUNTY. ITD JUST DOES NOT GET THE MESSAGE.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Making Sense of It All
This blog will help you make sense out of all the information on the website, how it affects IP, our history, and how efforts continue to put IP into various forms of conservation status. Archives
May 2023
Categories |