As the administration of President Donald Trump continues to comb through federal budgets, grants for highway projects aren’t readily available, so some major Wyoming wildlife crossing projects are on hold.
Building three wildlife underpasses and an overpass along a 25-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 26 near Dubois remains the top priority among pending projects in Wyoming.
Another high-priority undertaking is the proposed Halleck Ridge project, an overpass along Interstate 80 in the Elk Mountain area.
Those projects and others rely on federal grants to meet their budgets.
“When you have these $20-30 million projects, without federal funding, those are hard to complete,” Chris McBarnes, president of the WYldlife Fund, told Cowboy State Daily.
On Hold, But Hopeful
McBarnes and others have been focusing their efforts on the Highway 26 wildlife crossing project.
Hundreds of mule deer are killed along a 25-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 26, roughly centered around Dubois, so a coalition of state agencies and tribal and private groups pegged it for Wyoming’s next major wildlife crossing project.
The WYldlife Fund and others raised $2.7 million in private donations for the project.
That should help snag a federal grant to cover the remaining balance of the estimated $28 million. It was hoped that construction could begin in 2027.
An initial application for a federal grant was rejected in December 2024. And with the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to trim federal budgets, it’s not certain when another application can be filed.
However, McBarnes said that means it’s now become a waiting game – not that hope has been lost.
As he sees it, the Trump administration “is just being thoughtful and diligent,” he said. “And to the administration’s credit, they’ve found a ton of waste.”
And despite bitter partisan battles in Washington D.C., McBarnes said he’s confident that grants for wildlife crossings will survive the cuts and start flowing again. There should be $80 to 100 million left in funds for crossing grants.
“Wildlife crossings tend to be a bipartisan issue” that everybody agrees on, he said.
He encouraged donors and other backers of wildlife crossings to hang in there.
“Don’t give up. Don’t give up, the state still wants to apply (for federal grants),” he said.
I-80 Project On Indefinite Hold
The Halleck Ridge project on I-80 has been talked about for years but doesn’t yet have a set timeline.
Given the priority of the project near Dubois, and the uncertain status of federal grants, it remains in limbo, Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) spokeswoman Jordan Young stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
“WYDOT remains committed to submitting the Halleck Ridge wildlife crossing project for competitive grant funds, provided the wildlife crossing program reopens. The Federal government has not provided a timeline for when that opportunity might occur,” Young stated.
“Additionally, securing funding for the Dubois wildlife crossing project is currently the agency's highest priority, with Halleck Ridge being the next focus once the Dubois project is funded,” she added.
“Even with robust public support and generous private donations toward wildlife crossing initiatives in Wyoming, the Halleck Ridge project will require substantial federal dollars. Until further grant opportunities are available, the project is on hold,” Young stated.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
