This week I am showing you pictures of Lake Jackson, which is a 4000-acre lake located just 7 miles north of Tallahassee. The lake is designated as an Aquatic Preserve by the State of Florida and is home to an abundant population of wildlife including turtles, snakes, alligators, beavers, river otters, frogs, birds and many more. The northwest portion of the lake is known as Little Lake Jackson because it was separated from the main part of the lake when a four lane highway, US Highway 27, was built across a 3/4 mile portion, isolating that part of the lake. Approximately 23,500 vehicles travel along this busy highway each day. Animals attempting to migrate to Little Lake Jackson must travel directly across the highway. The road mortality and attempted crossings, especially of turtles, is higher than has been documented anywhere else in the world. Also of great concern is the fact that wildlife on the highway can be a major threat to motorist safety. Some adult turtles can weigh up to 10 pounds and when hit by a vehicle can act as dangerous projectiles causing injuries and damage to vehicles. Alligators crossing the highway, especially at night, can also pose a serious risk. People have been known to stop and attempt to rescue turtles seen in the middle of the road and this too poses a risk to both the rescuer and other drivers. The Lake Jackson Ecopassage is currently under construction along both sides of the highway and the two pictures above show you what it looks like now. A guide wall is being constructed between the lake and the highway to steer turtles and other wildlife toward a safe passageway running under the highway giving them safe access to both parts of the lake. The ecopassage should be completed by this summer. You can see more pictures and read all about it on this website.
Members of the City Daily Photo community participate in Theme Days on the first day of each month. This month's Theme Day is Passageway. Please Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.
27 comments:
So interesting place!So nice to know people there is really engaged to protect the little animals and the environment.It's great!
Here we have some ecopassage also, it's about a kind of bridge to help animals to cross for the other side.
Well done Lois, your post is wonderful!
Léia :)
I was just about to ask why they didn't just build an elevated highway. I've never heard of an ecopassage before, but it sounds like it might work. I hope the passage will be deep enough for bigger animals too.
Let's hope the animals prosper as a result.
And it's supposed to be large enough for deer and bears to use....We have mixed feelings about this project...I've seen more dead turtles on the road since this project begin ..we also wonder how many homes have been disturbed and animals killed by the heavy equipment....
what a great place to hike around. Interesting background.
I guess it is better late than never, but it is too bad they did not think of this when they built the roadway in the first place.
I was going to ask why they didn't do this originally! Glad that it's finally being constructed. When they built the new Alligator Alley (I-75) from Naples to Ft. Lauderdale, they did make a number of crossings under the highway for wildlife; I think mainly for panthers.
My thoughts are much the same as Hilda's.
Thanks for supplying this text to accompany photo. It explains a lot.
a good choice for this theme et a good choice for a walk
A new kind of passage. Interesting!
Why not doing it before? In some countries, ie Germany, the road builders are obliged by law of providing safe passages, tunnels, for animals, when building the roads
what a huge lake.. it must be a great numbers of wildlife populations. and this is very important passageways ever.. interesting pictures..
Good choice for the meme.
The snakes and gators will keep «Louis» from visiting - except by your photos!
4,000 acres?! Does that qualify as a 'small' lake in Florida?
;-)
Very cool and I really like the top picture.
Ah what wonderful pictures--my talented friend.
Thank you for your words this morning--they are like hugs. Here's one back (((hugs)))
I miss our little kitty so much. She truly was a part of our family. I can't seem to stop crying.
This could be a fine source of pictures in the future. A nice choice for this Theme Day.
This is a great passageway to show.
Sydney - City and Suburbs
They built something like this here in Washington. It's sad. A new highway goes in and it really can disrupt countless lives. I'm glad they are building this. It should help both animals and drivers.
What an interesting entry, Lois! Very clever.
How wonderful that, even as an after-thought, this eco-passage is being built. They probably didn't realize this would happen when they first built the road. But because of this, roads built today have to take into account the natural areas around them and create passage for the wildlife. I'm glad we learned from our mistakes!
oops, I just enlarged it. Lovely steel wall.
Lois, these are terrific photos with lots of strong lines leading into the distance. The eco-passage's wooden fence is really pretty. Wonderful explanation of this very worthy project. Fabulous TD post.
A great idea and I hope all the animals use it. MB
Great idea it is.
I'm getting caught up on the theme day since I was out of town. This is a really nice passageway. Something not every town has, at least not in Jackson anyway!
That's a huge project!
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