U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) called on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to require the Brightline West high-speed rail project to protect endangered species in the Mojave Desert.
In their Monday letter, the senators asked the governor to require the project to include wildlife corridor overpasses in its design as a way to protect endangered species.
“It has come to our attention that Brightline High Speed Rail’s proposed Brightline West project route from Las Vegas, Nevada to Victorville, California does not account for essential wildlife corridors for some of the desert’s state and federally-protected species, including big horn sheep and mountain lions,” the senators wrote. “To resolve these unnecessary impacts to our desert, we ask you to direct Caltrans to use its existing authorities and oversight of the project’s right-of-way, to require Brightline to include no less than three wildlife corridor overpasses in its design and to construct these structures as part of its upcoming rail construction.”
Currently, the design of the project includes high-speed trains that run 170 miles along the existing I-15 highway, flanked by six-foot concrete walls topped by chain-link fences.
A study by Oregon State University found that the design would prevent several endangered or threatened species, including the bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, mountain lions, and the Mojave ground squirrel, from crossing the highway into their habitat range.
“These protected animals, as well as bobcats, mule deer, and other terrestrial animals, depend on movement across the I-15 corridor to maintain their population viability,” the senators wrote. “Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife documented these threats in their June 2021 recommendations to Brightline and urged the design and construction of three Designated Wildlife Overpasses to allow wildlife to travel safely across the highway. Despite these recommendations and repeated stakeholder engagement, Brightline has not committed to build wildlife crossings even though it will be seeking tax-exempt private activity bonds for this $8 billion project, with expected revenue of nearly $1 billion.”
The senators asked the governor to ensure that the rail company heed the advice given by scientists, advocates, and the state’s Department of Transportation.