Why designate the area north of Highway 26 RURAL RESERVES under RR(3)(c) Wildlife Habitat?
This area functions as a historical, diverse, wildlife habitat and wildlife corridor for big-game: elk, deer, as well as bobcats and cougars. Replacing rural properties with urban homes and industrial use factories will eliminate portions of this wildlife corridor. Urbanizing any part of it will negatively affect the species in the entire corridor. It will alter the patterns of wildlife movement in ways that may not be desirable. Homes and industrial development in this area would eliminate important elk habitat. When land is converted to human land uses, habitat is lost and the remaining habitat is altered due to fragmentation and degradation. Increased traffic and human activity will be deadly – to the elk and to residents. The elk cross many roads in their roaming and collisions with vehicles will increase as traffic increases and roads to accommodate the proposed housing densities. Additional traffic on Cornelius Pass Road could effectively block the critical wildlife corridor betw
