Tribes, state to provide elk safe passage over Highway 20.
Updated Feb. 24, 2026
The valley beneath their hooves has changed much since State Route 20 brought heavy traffic to the area, but their drive for forage and cover remains the same. They are the elk of Skagit Valley, which wander the foothills and river bottoms between Sedro-Woolley and Concrete.
Now, the Stillaguamish Tribe, Upper Skagit Tribe, Tulalip Tribe and Washington State Department of Transportation have teamed up to build a wildlife overpass in one of the most dangerous places for elk in the state.
State Route 20, completed in 1972, is the main route across the North Cascades. It runs between the Skagit River and the forested uplands to the north, making it a hazard for elk trying to access their habitat south of the roadway, according to Jennifer Sevigny, wildlife program manager and wildlife biologist for the Stillaguamish Tribe.
The large animals cross the highway frequently, making this stretch of road one of the top four elk-vehicle collision locations statewide, according to Glen Kalisz, habitat connectivity biologist for WSDOT.
Wildlife overpasses function like pedestrian overpasses over roads and highways. However, wildlife overpasses have vegetation that mimics the surrounding landscape, encouraging animals like elk to cross in those areas instead of places where they may be hit by vehicles.
This wildlife crossing is one of the first projects of its kind led by tribes, according to Kalisz.
“Elk are an important treaty resource for the tribe,” Sevigny wrote in an email. “Conserving and promoting the growth and expansion of the North Cascades elk herd is essential for ensuring this food source will be available to tribal members for future generations.”
The Point Elliot Treaty Tribes and state co-manage North Cascades elk herds for hunting and conflict resolution to help ensure that elk, people and land uses can coexist throughout the elk’s habitat.
On Highway 20, at least 74 elk-vehicle collisions took place between 2012 and 2023. More collisions may have happened without being reported because the elk died somewhere off the highway. Each of the reported collisions cost around $45,000 in injuries and vehicle repair costs.
This information helped the tribal and state partners obtain an $8.4 million grant under the Biden-era Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act to plan and build this wildlife overpass. Construction may require additional fundraising.
Sevigny said construction may take eight months to complete, with final completion slotted for 2028. The project is at 30% design phase, meaning that it is still undergoing permitting, environmental documentation and preliminary design.
Before construction, the overpass project will undergo a public comment period under the State and National Environmental Protection Acts.
Other elk interactions
A certain portion of herds stay in lowland habitats like Skagit Valley all or part of the year. While there, they may forage on row crops and on pasture grasses intended for cattle or hay production, according to Robert Waddell, a wildlife biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Skagit County Assessor estimates this damage to be $1.4 million annually to local farmers.
The Stillaguamish and other Treaty Tribes have been working with farmers on the issue of grazing damage from elk for over a decade. Since 2014, they have provided elk exclusion fences to 33 landowners and given farmers other aid, such as extra fertilizer to help offset lost crops.
The project is also not expected to increase the population of elk staying in the valley, Sevigny said. The goal is to provide the local elk with a safe way to cross the highway so they can access all their habitat including the river and wetlands.
Successful crossings
Washington is a national leader for highway animal passage. The first wildlife passage infrastructure was installed in the mid-1970s on Interstate 90 at North Bend. The state now has 55 wildlife passage projects, with its most visible examples being a series of overpasses from North Bend to east of Snoqualmie Pass along the same highway, according to Kalisz.
The wildlife overpass and 10 wildlife underpasses built as part of the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East project, a 15-mile stretch of I-90 between the 3,000-foot pass and Easton, have allowed medium and large animals to safely cross the freeway 36,000 times since 2014. Twelve-thousand of those crossings were elk, Kalisz said.
The state plans to build one more wildlife overpass and 15 more underpasses in the Snoqualmie Pass East corridor by the 2030s for a total of 26 wildlife crossings reconnecting the Cascade Mountains across I-90.
Bellingham project
In 2021, the state spent $32 million rebuilding a section of Interstate 5 to replace a tunnel with a bridge over Padden Creek and to replace a State Route 11 culvert with a fish passage structure. This project was successful in bringing salmon back to that section of the creek. It also provided enough room on either side of the creek to allow other animals through, according to Kim Rydholm, Fish Passage Delivery Manager for WSDOT.
WSDOT cameras have captured deer, bobcats, racoons, coyotes and great blue herons crossing under the freeway at that spot, Kalisz said.
The department designed the fish passage project to also benefit other wildlife because that I-5 stretch used to be a hotspot for deer collisions. A year after project completion, collisions with deer along this mile of freeway were cut in half, saving an average of $14,000 per prevented instance, Kalisz said.
“In addition to collision reductions, animals being able to access habitat on both sides of the highway is a major accomplishment,” Kalisz wrote in an email. “Due to I-5’s extremely high traffic volume, it is a complete barrier to animal movements without safe crossing opportunities like wildlife crossings.”
— By Jacob O’Donnell
Also read in Salish Current:
• “December floods test salmon habitats, restoration efforts,” Feb. 4, 2026
• “Surge of mountain lion sightings not unusual,” Sept. 5, 2025
• “The salmon come home after home is restored,” Dec. 18, 2024
• “Returning grizzly bears to the North Cascades,” Nov. 3, 2023
• “Second phase of fish passage work underway on Padden Creek,” May 7, 2021