Unless the grants are somehow undone by President Donald Trump, part of the money will help state agencies and nonprofit groups rebuild a 2.5-mile section of the highway with fencing and a series of culverts, or small underpasses, to allow red wolves – as well as black bears, white-tailed deer and other animals – to pass safely underneath traffic.
For decades, conservationists have pushed for changes to U.S. 64, a busy two-lane highway to the popular Outer Banks that runs straight through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge – one of just two places in the world where red wolves run free.
“When you build wildlife bridges or underpasses, you reduce human-wildlife conflict,” said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who studies wildlife migrations but is not directly involved in the project.
There are thought to be fewer than 20 red wolves left in the wild; besides Alligator River, the other remaining habitat is in the nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Gray wolves and coyotes – and, presumably, red wolves – will also use underpasses, or culverts, of 6 or 8 feet in diameter.
