REP LIEU SECURES $2.5 MILLION FOR WALLIS ANNENBERG WILDLIFE CROSSING

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) announced that he secured $2.5 million in federal funding for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Los Angeles in the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bill recently signed into law by President Biden. The funding will help build the largest wildlife crossing in the world, which will protect mountain lions and other wildlife from highway traffic and increase public safety. Congressman Lieu participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in April, 2022.

"Wildlife crossings help us protect wild animals that are critical to our ecosystems and help keep human drivers and pedestrians safe. Unfortunately, highways systems were built without any thought to wildlife. Now, it is time for us to correct that. I was pleased to participate in the groundbreaking event for this project back in April 2022, and I am honored to have secured this funding for the sake of our beloved wildlife."

$2,500,000 for Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing: The goal of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing project is to increase public safety and protect wildlife. Highway traffic poses a significant threat to many native animals in Southern California because their habitats have been split up by roadways. This presents an obvious threat to animals who intend to cross the freeways, but also motorists who may encounter and potentially hit an animal. To solve this, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, located within the boundaries of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, will span ten lanes of pavement across the U.S. 101 Freeway. This visionary structure will preserve biodiversity across the region by re-connecting an integral wildlife corridor, and most critically, help save a threatened local population of mountain lions from extinction. When complete, the crossing will be the largest in the world, the first of its kind in California, and will serve as a global model for urban wildlife conservation.

Background:

Last year, in Fiscal Year 2022, Rep. Lieu secured nearly $11 million in federal funding for 10 various projects in LA County. This year, in Fiscal Year 2023, Rep. Lieu secured a total of over $22.6 million for communities in LA County. The projects address homelessness, protect our environment, support our veterans, and more.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is among the 15 community projects for which Congressman Lieu secured funding in Fiscal Year 2023.