CWU Wildlife Research Already Producing Results on I-90

By Scott Sandsberry
Yakima Herald-Republic

ELLENSBURG — The monitoring and research to ensure unimpeded passage for fish and wildlife impacted by the massive Interstate 90 construction project at Snoqualmie Pass is the largest-scale study of its kind ever conducted in the United States.

Because it isn’t about only the largest animals.

Yes, the study is monitoring the elk, deer and bears the state Department of Transportation wants to see crossing below — or, eventually, well above — I-90 instead of actually on the roadway.

Read the rest of the story in the Yakima Herald-Republic.

PHOTO: CWU biology professor Kris Ernest, kneeling right, tells her small mammal team how to handle the shrews, mice, and other animals they live trapped in the forest adjacent to I-90 in the Price Creek area in August 2013. The team is documenting what species occur there, what habitats they use, and possibly whether I-90 has created a barrier between populations north and south of the interstate. (Rich Villacres/CWU)