Wildlife crossings prove their value

Wildlife crossing structures are helping endangered native animals move safely across a major highway in Australia, with thousands of recorded crossings showing the measures are supporting habitat connectivity.

“This was a great experiment to find out if these sorts of structures across much wider roads were going to be used by wildlife and I really look forward to delving into the data,” said Manda Page, Chief Executive of South West NRM.

Monitoring began in April 2025 using 50 motion-sensor cameras along the Wilman Wadandi Highway. A review of 12 nights during spring 2025 and summer 2026 recorded almost 1,000 images of possums and brush-tailed phascogales using the crossings, averaging more than 75 recorded uses each night. The highway includes 19 rope bridges, 24 underpasses, two land bridges and more than 62 kilometres of continuous fauna fencing. While conservation groups are awaiting more detailed findings, the early results suggest the crossings are helping native wildlife adapt to the new transport corridor, with a technical paper on the monitoring programme now in preparation.