\u201cWe tried it out with a volunteer day with students,\u201d said Heather Dannahower, a Front Range Community College faculty member in the forestry, wildlife and natural resources program. \u201cThey loved it. We loved it. It seemed to be successful. And so it’s just kind of grown from there.<\/p>\n
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Courtesy Annie Hoffman<\/p>\n
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Colorado Department of Transportation<\/p>\n
A camera stationed underneath U.S. Highway 287 in Larimer County, Colo., snapped a photo of two deer passing through a wildlife friendly crossing on January 15, 2025. Animals can use these crossings to pass underneath the highway to prevent vehicle collisions. <\/p>\n
Dannahower created the project with Knight, and they asked students from both of their higher education institutions to help out. Since 2021, a few hundred CSU and FRCC students have built four wildlife-friendly crossings under 287. They have partnered with the Colorado Department of Transportation for material support and received grants from Colorado Parks to help fund the project.<\/p>\n
Each crossing starts with a conversation with the landowner to talk through the design and get the greenlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen students get out there, we divide into little teams, so that everyone has a job, and everyone kind of knows who’s in charge of their job,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The students have studied conservation concerns about the impacts roads and fences, as well as subdivisions and developments, can have on wildlife\u2019s habitat, Dannahower said. But says hands on knowledge is necessary too.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting them out on the landscape, to actually see the barriers, to actually be a part of a solution, rather than just reading about the problem. I think that’s far more impactful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Annie Hoffman agrees. She helped build the Stonewall Creek crossing in 2024 while attending FRCC. Her biggest takeaway from the project has been learning about wildlife movement, Hoffman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s been really, really fascinating to see how they learn, and how quickly they’re able to kind of decipher what’s safe for them and start using it regularly,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, teach their offspring the following year how to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is in a holding pattern right now while they look for more landowners to partner with and locations to install the crossings. In the meantime, students have torn down barbed wire fences or replaced the old wire with a more wildlife friendly fencing. They also monitor the wildlife and collect data from cameras installed at each location. It\u2019s Hoffman\u2019s job to manage the photos and videos the cameras take.<\/p>\n
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Annie Hoffman, Colorado Department of Transportation, swaps out an SD card and batteries on this wildlife friendly crossing underneath the U.S. Highway 287 in Larimer County, Colo. on September 15, 2025. Hoffman monitors the camera\u2019s images and has seen bears, mountain lions and cubs, elk, deer and other animals use this crossing.<\/p>\n
After her work on the wildlife friendly crossings, Hoffman was offered an internship at CDOT and now works there as an environmental resource and wildlife technician. So far, she\u2019s catalogued close to a million photos of wildlife from the cameras.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see how much use it’s getting, and wildlife aren’t getting hit because they’re using a safer structure,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n