Highway 93 Wildlife Crossings Corridor

US 93 between Evaro Hill (south of Arlee) and Polson runs through one of North America’s most extensive wildlife-crossing engineering projects. The Montana Department of Transportation, in long collaboration with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has built roughly forty crossing structures along the corridor, one vegetated overpass and about three dozen underpasses and fish-passable culverts, paired with fencing that funnels wildlife to them.

The system is designed to reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions and to keep the valley’s bear, elk, deer, and bighorn populations connected to the larger landscape. Driving the corridor in daylight, you can pick out the fencing on either side of the road and the long pulled-back wing fences leading to underpasses. The largest structure, the vegetated wildlife overpass on Evaro Hill at the south end of the corridor, is easy to spot as the road climbs the hill.

This is a drive-and-look adventure, not a stop. Pullouts are limited and the corridor is high-traffic; don’t try to photograph crossings from the shoulder. The MDT and CSKT publish materials describing the system. The corridor is one of the more important pieces of conservation infrastructure in the state.