New Federal Grant for US Highway 64 Crossings Could Save Endangered Red Wolves and Other Wildlife

Private conservation groups raised millions to boost North Carolina DOT application

• The Federal Highway Administration announces winners of this year’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program grant competition to help keep wildlife and motorists safe on roads
• Red wolves, one of the world’s most endangered species, to benefit from $25 million grant to NCDOT to build a set of wildlife underpasses on US 64 where the road crosses through Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina
• The same crossings will benefit black bears, bobcats, and a host of other species, with new study from Wildlands Network reporting over 2,400 animals killed by vehicles on US 64 since August

Columbia, NC—The Federal Highway Administration announced today that the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will receive $25 million to build new wildlife crossing structures on US Route 64 to help save the endangered red wolf from extinction.

Only 17 to 19 red wolves are left in the wild, making the animals one of the most critically endangered species in the world. Six red wolves have been killed on US 64 from vehicle strikes in the past five years. Most recently, in June 2024 a breeding male red wolf was killed on the highway, a loss that led to the deaths of his five young pups. The new federal grant from the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program will allow NCDOT to build a series of 11 wildlife underpasses of various sizes along parts of US 64 where the road passes through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

“These structures are expected to greatly reduce the road mortality threat to red wolves and other species, while also keeping motorists safe on the busy beach highway that heads to the famous Outer Banks,” said Dr. Ron Sutherland, chief scientist at Wildlands Network.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $350 million for a five-year Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, with grants awarded competitively to states, tribes, and federal agencies. This year, the Federal Highway Administration is awarding $125 million in a series of 16 grants to design and build new wildlife crossings around the country. NCDOT applied in September for funds to build crossings and associated fencing to guide animals to the crossings on a key stretch of US 64 that for years has been a hot spot for vehicle collisions with red wolves, bears, and other species.

“Marissa Cox and her team at NCDOT prepared an excellent proposal, with help from Joe Madison at US Fish and Wildlife Service and Travis Wilson at NC Wildlife Resources Commission. We’re also really thankful that NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins gave this effort his strong and enlightened support,” said Nikki Robinson, NC project manager at Wildlands Network.

NCDOT was required to provide 20% of the cost for the overall project, which meant contributing over $6 million in nonfederal matching funds. To assist the state, the conservation nonprofit Wildlands Network secured an initial $2 million challenge grant from an anonymous philanthropist, and also received a total of $305,000 from The Volgenau Foundation, the Felburn Foundation, and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). The Center for Biological Diversity has so far raised an additional $1.65 million in private funding from their members and foundations towards completing the $2 million challenge grant. Donations for the effort are still being accepted at www.saveredwolves.org.

“These crossings will save human lives and protect the world’s most endangered wolves,” said Will Harlan, southeast director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “I am immensely grateful to the agencies leading this project—and to the thousands of donors and supporters who have given red wolves a fighting chance.”

The crossings on US 64 are expected to benefit dozens of other species in addition to red wolves. An ongoing daily roadkill survey led by Wildlands Network, and funded by AWI and Defenders of Wildlife, has documented over 2,400 dead vertebrate animals on US 64 in Dare and Tyrrell Counties (along with a short stretch of US Route 264) since the project was launched on August 1, 2024. This total includes more than 700 turtles, 700 snakes, and 600 amphibians, along with over 100 birds, six river otters, two black bears, and two bobcats.

The region where the crossings will be built is known for extremely large (600+ pounds) black bears, which, along with deer and alligators, pose a significant safety risk to passing motorists. Statewide, North Carolina drivers experienced between 20,000 to 22,000 reported collisions with large wildlife each year from 2021 to 2023—crashes that resulted in a total of 20 human fatalities, 2,754 injuries, and over $200 million in damages. At the national level, State Farm Insurance estimates that there are over 1.8 million animal-vehicle crash insurance claims each year.

“Vehicle strikes are now the leading cause of death for wild red wolves,” said Johanna Hamburger, director and senior attorney of AWI’s Terrestrial Wildlife Program. “Wildlife underpasses are essential for recovering the species, as well as for saving thousands of other animals on US 64 each year, from eastern screech owls to rainbow snakes to leopard frogs.”

“We know the benefits wildlife corridors can provide to species traversing our state’s roadways, and perhaps none are in more need of safe passage than red wolves,” said Ben Prater, southeast program director for Defenders of Wildlife. “In the face of environmental changes that are increasingly transforming and fragmenting the landscape, this funding comes at a critical time, when we have the opportunity to make our roadways safer for motorists and wildlife alike.”