S 10404 NY

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Bill No.: Summary Actions Committee&nbspVotes Floor&nbspVotes Memo Text LFIN Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript S10404 Summary: BILL NO S10404 &nbsp SAME AS SAME AS A11477

&nbsp SPONSOR COMRIE &nbsp COSPNSR ADDABBO, ASHBY, BRISPORT, HARCKHAM, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, MAY, PALUMBO, RHOADS, ROLISON, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, TEDISCO, WEBB &nbsp MLTSPNSR &nbsp

&nbsp Enacts the "New York wildlife crossing act"; directs the department of transportation and the New York state thruway authority, in consultation with the department of environmental conservation and the department of motor vehicles, to identify sites along all highways, thruways and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and improve habitat connectivity and create a priority list of wildlife opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available to implement the top five projects identified.

Go to top S10404 Text:

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________

10404

IN SENATE

May 15, 2026 ___________

Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, ADDABBO, ASHBY, BRISPORT, HARCKHAM, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, MAY, PALUMBO, RHOADS, ROLISON, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, TEDISCO, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be commit- ted to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

AN ACT to enact the "New York wildlife crossing act"; to direct the department of transportation and the New York state thruway authority to identify sites along all highways, thruways, and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and improve habitat connectivity; and to create a list of wild- life crossing opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available to implement the top five projects identified

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:

1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "New York wildlife crossing act". 3 § 2. For the purposes of this act: 4 "Wildlife crossing" means a structure designed or retrofitted to 5 enable wildlife to successfully cross roads and other human-caused 6 barriers to wildlife movement. Such crossings may include but not be 7 limited to culverts, bridges, wildlife underpass tunnels, wildlife over- 8 pass bridges, and fencing associated with such structures. 9 § 3. The department of transportation, in conjunction with the New 10 York state thruway authority, and in consultation with the department of 11 environmental conservation and the department of motor vehicles, shall 12 identify opportunities for wildlife crossings in connection with the 13 planning, design, construction, reconstruction, or significant rehabili- 14 tation of state highways, bridges, culverts, and roadways. 15 Such identification shall be based on available data, including but 16 not limited to wildlife-vehicle collision data, habitat connectivity 17 needs, and environmental considerations to improve wildlife habitat 18 connectivity, reduce wildlife vehicle collisions, and increase public 19 safety for New York motorists. The department of transportation shall 20 develop and maintain a prioritized list of wildlife crossing opportu- 21 nities identified through such project-based evaluations, which shall be

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01450-02-6

S. 10404 2

1 updated periodically. The list of crossing sites shall be determined by 2 the following: 3 (a) (i) Identification of road segments that pose a risk to successful 4 wildlife movement and habitat connectivity, or that pose a risk to the 5 traveling public due to wildlife-vehicle collisions in connection with 6 the planning, design, construction, reconstruction, or significant reha- 7 bilitation of state highways, bridges, culverts, and roadways; 8 (ii) Any available or subsequently collected data, or recommendations 9 provided by the department of environmental conservation, the department 10 of transportation, and the department of motor vehicles on needed road- 11 way mitigation measures to improve wildlife movement and habitat connec- 12 tivity. 13 (b) Identification of bridges and culverts that block or impede, espe- 14 cially road segments that negatively affect wildlife habitat and move- 15 ment; 16 (c) Information about how increased movement of species could benefit 17 overused and highly impacted habitat areas; 18 (d) Maps that identify locations of: 19 (i) existing wildlife crossings; and 20 (ii) potential sites for additional wildlife crossings based on this 21 study; 22 (e) Economic benefits anticipated from preserving wildlife movement 23 patterns, including the potential impact of reduced wildlife-vehicle 24 collisions; 25 (f) The feasibility and constructability of wildlife crossing infras- 26 tructure; and 27 (g) Any additional information that the department of environmental 28 conservation deems necessary and appropriate to carry out the intent and 29 purposes of this act. 30 § 4. The department of transportation and the New York state thruway 31 authority shall incorporate the wildlife crossing list developed pursu- 32 ant to section three of this act into the development of the department 33 of transportation's capital program and state transportation improvement 34 program. 35 § 5. For any highway, bridge, culvert, or roadway project that is 36 included in the department of transportation's capital plan, or that 37 involves construction, reconstruction, or significant rehabilitation, 38 the department shall evaluate the feasibility of incorporating wildlife 39 crossing infrastructure at locations identified in the priority list or 40 otherwise identified through the assessment conducted pursuant to this 41 act. 42 § 6. Where such projects are located within or adjacent to a priority 43 wildlife crossing site, the department of transportation shall, to the 44 maximum extent practicable, include wildlife crossing infrastructure or 45 mitigation measures in the project scope. 46 § 7. If the department of transportation determines that inclusion of 47 wildlife crossing infrastructure is not feasible for a given project 48 located at a priority site, such department shall provide a written 49 explanation documenting the reasons, including cost, engineering 50 constraints, or environmental considerations. 51 § 8. The department of transportation shall coordinate with the 52 department of environmental conservation to ensure that wildlife move- 53 ment, habitat connectivity, and ecological benefits are considered 54 during project scoping, environmental review, and design phases. 55 § 9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the 56 construction of wildlife crossings where the department of transporta-

S. 10404 3

1 tion determines such construction would be infeasible; however, such 2 determinations shall be documented and made publicly available. 3 § 10. Two years after the effective date of this act, the department 4 of transportation, in conjunction with the New York state thruway 5 authority, shall make public its identified list of wildlife crossing 6 opportunities. The opportunity list and accompanying information listed 7 below shall be updated every five years after publication of the initial 8 list. The publicized list of the top ten wildlife crossing opportunities 9 shall be accompanied by the following information: 10 (a) Feasibility factors impacting construction for the top five of the 11 top ten wildlife crossing opportunities, which should include any avail- 12 able and helpful estimate costs, the availability and habitat quality of 13 the land on either side of the crossings, and any relevant public 14 support for the crossings; 15 (b) A description of any methodologies used beyond the requirements 16 listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section three of this act to 17 create the top ten list; and 18 (c) A list of available federal grant funds that the top five projects 19 are eligible for. 20 § 11. The department of transportation may consult with any state or 21 local office, agency, or department and request or receive information 22 from any such entity that is relevant and material to the completion of 23 this study and report. 24 § 12. The department of transportation is hereby directed to addi- 25 tionally update appropriate design guidance, including the Highway 26 Design Manual, by July 1, 2028, to incorporate design concepts for wild- 27 life passage features and related standard plans and specifications as 28 appropriate. 29 § 13. This act shall take effect immediately.

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