Daley, Ortitay welcome wildlife corridors study by PennEnvironment
Rep. Mary Jo Daley March 19, 2025 | 11:59 AM
HARRISBURG, March 19 – State Reps. Mary Jo Daley and Jason Ortitay today helped release a new wildlife corridor and conservation report authored by PennEnvironment.
The PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center released a new report highlighting the innovative wildlife corridor projects around the state that protect Pennsylvania’s native wildlife and aid conservation efforts.
The report titled “Wildlife Corridors: How reconnecting habitats is protecting Pennsylvania’s native species” provides an in-depth analysis of the work that safe corridors and crossings do across the state and makes recommendations for creating more.
Last year, Daley and Ortitay announced another corridor report from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee that outlined steps needed to report wildlife collisions and safeguard ecosystems in Pennsylvania.
“It has been almost a year since the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee released its report as a result of a resolution we sponsored to study the current status of conservation connectivity in the commonwealth,” said Ortitay, R-Washington/Allegheny. “This report by PennEnvironment reinforces some of the LBFC recommendations. Now is the time to act.”
“Together, these reports paint an extremely in-depth look at the realities Pennsylvania faces conserving critical habitat for its wilderness,” said Daley, D-Montgomery. “We have the most roads out of any state in the Northeast. We also have crisscrossed pipelines, mines, canals and developments running all over the state. Balancing our footprint with the animals that have called this part of the Earth home for centuries is a step toward better environmental health, harmony and safety.”
The PennEnvironment report echoed recommendations requiring commonwealth agencies, independent commissions, contractors, and auto insurance carriers to report data related to wildlife-vehicle collisions. The lawmakers said it would help better identify wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots across the commonwealth. As it is now, reporting systems used by PennDOT and state agencies could be underreporting such collisions in Pennsylvania, limiting the state’s ability to identify where crossings are most needed.
To help the commonwealth buy land for conservation, the General Assembly is also recommended to raise the Game Commission’s per-acre dollar amount for acquisition. The group said that the current limit of $400 per acre hinders the commission’s ability to preserve wildlife corridors in parts of the state where development has increased land values. These lands are often the same areas that are the most crucial to protect, because they face the greatest threat of development.
As the state heads into budget negotiations, the group identified three public programs to watch. Pennsylvania’s Growing Greener Program invests in projects preserving open space and farmland. The Environmental Stewardship Fund protects natural areas, planting riparian buffers, and remediating and restoring abandoned mine lands. The Keystone Fund provides critical funds for the management of state parks and forests.