By Mary O’KEEFE

Wallis Annenberg passed away this week at the age of 86. She was a well-known Los Angeles philanthropist who supported so many institutions including the Annenberg Community Beach House, the Wallis Annenberg GenSpace – a senior center – and the Wallis Annenberg Building at the California Science Center. She was so generous and supportive of Los Angeles, including shepherding the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills. 

This wildlife crossing is an important part of protecting wildlife in an ever-changing climate with highways and roadways having more traffic and the expansion of urban life. 

This is not just a California thing – this is an issue that occurs throughout the nation. According to the article “Wildlife Crossings” (available online at education.nationalgeographic.org), in the U.S. more than a million vehicle accidents per year involve wildlife resulting in an estimated $8 billion annually in medical costs and vehicle repairs. In addition, these accidents kill more than a million animals every day making them the leading cause of death for many vertebrate species. 

But beyond that, the way roadways were planned and constructed, along with urban expansion, cause the subdivision of many animal populations. The loss of their natural expansive habitat makes it difficult for them to forage for food, find mates and carry on their legacies. 

“Wildlife bridges, often called ‘green bridges,’ in the United Kingdom are usually covered in native vegetation of various kinds … The concept was first developed in France in the 1950s. It took off in the Netherlands, where more than 600 crossings have been constructed to protect badgers, elk and other mammals. The Dutch built the world’s longest animal crossing, the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailoo, an overpass that spans more than 0.5 miles. Wildlife crossings can also be found in Australia, Canada and other parts of the world. The idea took a little longer to catch on in the United States, but wildlife bridges and tunnels began appearing [in the U.S.] in the 21st Century,” according to the National Geographic. 

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, also known as the P-22 Crossing, will be over the 101 Freeway connecting a wildlife corridor in the Santa Monica Mountains. 

P-22 was a mountain lion that lived in Griffith Park and was the inspiration for the wildlife crossing over the 101. Before his passing in 2022, his story was shared throughout LA and beyond. 

Below is a statement released by Miguel Ordeñana of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles:

“P-22 was first spotted in 2012 by Ordeñana as part of the Griffith Park Connectivity Study, a joint effort of Friends of Griffith Park, Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc. and the U.S. Geological Survey. For the study, Ordeñana had set camera traps [motion-activated cameras] to document wide-ranging wildlife in the park and on potential corridors as a way to document connectivity between Griffith Park and neighboring open spaces. Ordeñana was thrilled to discover an image of a mountain lion, whose presence in the area had previously not been officially verified. Discovering a mountain lion in Griffith Park confirmed for scientists the park’s role as a haven for wildlife that is more connected to nearby open spaces than previously thought. 

“After his discovery, P-22 was captured by Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area biologists to examine and fit him with a tracking collar. P stands for puma, and he is the 22nd in the federal study of local pumas. Genetic testing confirmed that he was born in the western Santa Monica Mountains, and his father was P-01, the first puma to be studied. P-22 later journeyed to Griffith Park by crossing both the 405 and 101 freeways on foot.” 

Mountain lions, like P-22, are being threatened in many ways by humans including through urban development, ingesting rat poisoning placed by homeowners to control rodents, unfolding climate change and being struck by vehicles. 

Mountain lions are normally solitary animals; however, P-22 really took solitary to another level. He lived in this small area of Griffith Park that limited encounters with other mountain lions. The freeways, and urban growth, contributed to his isolation. His story, which has been well documented, became a symbol of the challenges faced by wildlife in urban areas. 

Locally we are somewhat used to seeing bears, bobcats and sometimes mountain lions. It seems like the common saying is “Well, they were here first.” That is true and a respectful way to view wildlife; however, as developers continue to build housing complexes along the sides of mountains and residents are ignored who live in the shadow of wildlife and fire areas, the future for wildlife survival does not look positive. That is why building bridges, like the P-22 crossing, is so important and why the philanthropy of people like Wallis Annenberg is so needed. 

These efforts will continue to reconnect critical wildlife corridors and restore the ecological vibrancy of the country’s most densely populated urban area – a conservation legacy of the century.

Over the next few days temperatures will be in the upper 80s to mid-90s, which is a little above normal but not that much for this time of year. 

The big news of course is the tsunami. The effects were not as dramatic in Southern California as they could have been; however, the effects of the 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Russia will still be felt for the next couple of days. 

Tsunamis are not always like you see in the movies; it is more like an ocean flood effect with “elevated hazardous conditions” in the ocean for the next couple of days. There will be surges that are unpredictable, according to NOAA.

The tsunami advisory for Southern California south of Santa Barbara was lifted on Wednesday morning.