Wild Animal Scat Being Tracked In Preparation For 2 Planned Wildlife Overcrossings Near Joshua Tree

MORONGO VALLEY, CA — Conservationists and rescue dogs are teaming up in the desert to track wildlife movement along state Route 62, laying the groundwork for two planned wildlife overcrossings aimed at protecting both motorists and native animals.

The research initiative, launched this fall by the Wildlands Network and the Mojave Desert Land Trust, will document how species like mountain lions, desert bighorn sheep and bobcats navigate the busy highway before and after the crossings are constructed.

An estimated 3 million people drive through the region annually to visit Joshua Tree National Park, navigating a stretch of SR 62 where traffic volumes average 25,000 vehicles per day. The highway bisects the Sand to Snow National Monument, creating a deadly barrier for wildlife moving between Mount San Gorgonio and the hills bordering Joshua Tree.

The SR 62 wildlife crossings are planned at the Morongo Grade and Yucca Grade.

"Big conservation investments like this need to be studied in great detail at the right moments," said Christina Aiello, a wildlife biologist at Wildlands Network. "We can gain insights about when these actions produce the results we want and when they don't ... we owe it to the community and the stakeholders involved to do this right."

To gather critical pre-construction data without disturbing the animals, researchers have enlisted Rogue Detection Teams. The organization pairs rescue dogs trained to detect specific wildlife scat with experienced field biologists.

The collected scat samples will undergo DNA analysis in laboratories to identify individual animals, track cross-highway breeding patterns, and evaluate current population health. Similar surveys will be conducted after the overpasses are built to measure the project's long-term success.

Mountain lions face particular vulnerability in the area, where high roadkill rates and habitat fragmentation have isolated regional populations and raised extinction risks.

Planning for the overpasses is being led by the Mojave Desert Land Trust, with 65% design completion expected over the next three years thanks to funding from California’s Wildlife Conservation Board, the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy and Caltrans. State and federal agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, are supporting the research.

Preliminary survey results are expected to be published in 2027. More information about the project is available at mdlt.org/wildlife-crossings.