Give Wildlife the Right of Way at Milepost 27

Just outside North Bend, a modest undercrossing beneath I-90 has been helping wildlife move safely across the landscape for 50 years.

Built in 1976, the Milepost 27 wildlife crossing (our state’s first and oldest wildlife underpass) provides an important connection for deer, elk, black bears and other animals while helping reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions along a busy stretch of interstate.

But today, wildlife increasingly share the crossing with people, especially bicyclists traveling to the popular Raging River trail system.

If you bike at Raging River, please help keep this crossing open for wildlife: avoid using the Milepost 27 undercrossing and drive to the south side of I-90 to access the trails. And if you know others who use the crossing, please help us spread the word.

Wildlife cameras maintained at the crossing show just how dramatically its use has changed. From 2011 to 2013, most detections were black-tailed deer, followed by people, black bears and other wildlife including coyotes, bobcats and raccoons.

From 2021 to 2023, more than 90% of detections were people, followed by domestic dogs, deer, elk and black bears. Most of the people captured by the cameras were bicyclists using the undercrossing to travel beneath I-90.

That matters because the primary purpose of Milepost 27 is to give wildlife a safe route across the interstate. Human activity can make wildlife more reluctant to use crossing structures, potentially pushing animals toward less-safe places to cross. This stretch of I-90 already has a history of collisions with elk and deer.

On the south side of the crossing lies Raging River State Forest, home to more than 50 mountain biking trails and connections to Tiger Mountain, Taylor Mountain and North Bend. Neighborhoods lie north of I-90, but there is currently no designated bicycle route connecting them to the trail system without crossing the interstate.

Conservation Northwest and local partners are exploring alternatives that could provide bicyclists with another safe route to the south side of I-90. Until then, we’re asking riders to give wildlife the right of way at Milepost 27.

Please drive to the Raging River trail system rather than using the wildlife undercrossing, and share this message with fellow riders.