This article appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of Landmarks, the newsletter of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.

What happens when a threatened mountain lion on the brink of genetic collapse meets a freeway carrying 60,000 vehicles a day? In most cases, the mountain lion is not the victor in such an encounter, but that is about to change at Laurel Curve on Highway 17!

The story of this transformation is a story of science, risk, and partnership. We know quite a bit about the population of mountain lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains, thanks to our partners at the UC Santa Cruz Puma Project and Pathways for Wildlife. We know they are becoming inbred because they can’t connect to other populations in the Gabilan Range. And we know that Laurel Curve is a very significant site of mountain lion mortality. When the scientists brought this to the Land Trust’s attention, we knew a wildlife crossing was needed. We hypothesized that owning the land on both sides of the highway would eliminate landowner objections to a crossing. That was a risk though: it was not a sure thing that this land protection would result in a big infrastructure project like a wildlife crossing.

We thought it was a good bet, though, so we protected over 700 acres from development on either side of route 17. You, our members and donors, were our most important collaborators in getting that land protected. The next step—turning land protection into an undercrossing project—required process and policy innovation, and strong partnerships with elected leaders, the Regional Transportation Commission, and Caltrans. The model was so successful that it became the basis for a state law catalyzing wildlife crossing projects like this throughout California. The Laurel Curve wildlife tunnel will be completed before the end of the year, rewriting the narrative of what happens when wildlife encounter the highway—soon that story will have a happy ending.

But the Land Trust’s wildlife crossing story doesn’t end here. We are slated to close on a piece of property called Rocks Ranch, which will enable a second wildlife crossing over HWY101 near Aromas. This will literally be the gateway to the Gabilan Range for the pumas, greatly reducing their risk of inbreeding and the problems associated with it. Thanks to our pioneering work at Laurel Curve, the policy and process tools are already in place. All of this would have been impossible without your support and partnership!

Sarah Newkirk
Executive Director