National Park Service to Begin Scientific Monitoring at Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing

News Release Date: November 4, 2026
Contact:Ana Beatriz Cholo

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.
- In early November, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area biologists will install remote wildlife cameras at the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing to document how animals use the landmark structure, which is intended to reconnect wildlife populations separated for decades by the 101 Freeway.

The cameras will allow the biologists to document which species approach and use the crossing, when they use it and how wildlife responds to the new connection between the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills. Camera monitoring will be one of several methods scientists will use to evaluate the crossing's effectiveness over time. Images of the wildlife using the crossing will be publicly available, although not in real time for security purposes.

On October 28, scientists captured the first photo of an animal, a coyote, climbing the southern slope of the unfinished crossing. During recent construction monitoring, park scientists observed bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, mule deer, and mountain lions regularly using a trail immediately adjacent to the future crossing.

The crossing is a large, vegetated overpass spanning the freeway and adjacent Agoura Road near Liberty Canyon in Agoura Hills. It will reconnect wildlife habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains with the Simi Hills to the north, providing animals a route across a freeway that carries more than 300,000 vehicles a day.

Conceived more than a decade ago, the project is led by a group of state, federal, and non-profit partners including the National Wildlife Federation, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, Caltrans, and the National Park Service.

The camera installation is part of a broader scientific monitoring program developed by National Park Service biologists, project partners, and other researchers. The framework includes 14 objectives, ranging from documenting use by mountain lions, mule deer, and other wildlife to evaluating changes in genetic diversity, vegetation communities, light and sound, and other measures of ecological function.

"This is more than just about whether animals use the crossing," said Seth Riley, the wildlife branch lead at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "We want to understand how effective it is in reconnecting an ecosystem that has been divided by the freeway for decades. That is a much bigger scientific question and answering it will take years."

Park biologists have studied wildlife and habitat fragmentation in the Santa Monica Mountains region since 1996. Their research has documented how freeways and urban development restrict wildlife movement and gene flow. This work provided the scientific foundation for the crossing.

Pre-construction monitoring around the crossing has established an important baseline that scientists can use to evaluate changes after the crossing opens to wildlife. That work has included GPS tracking of larger mammals, monitoring other potential crossing locations nearby, and genetic studies of smaller vertebrates.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is scheduled to officially open to wildlife on Dec. 2, 2026.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park System, it comprises a seamless network of local, state, and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo .

About the National Park Service. Established in 1916, the National Park Service preserves America's most treasured natural and cultural places for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of current and future generations. Learn more at nps.gov .

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