Details of the December ribbon-cutting celebration for the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in Agoura Hills were announced Thursday, along with a new partnership aimed at supporting research and habitat restoration at the landmark bridge.
The Dec. 2 events will include a public celebration at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the crossing that will be streamed live, according to the National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign and the Wildlife Crossing Fund. Details on how to watch the live stream will be announced at a later date.
The event will also mark the launch of a partnership between the National Wildlife Federation and the Wildlife Crossing Fund to support long-term research and native habitat restoration at the crossing and advance wildlife connectivity projects elsewhere.
“What a momentous time for all of us who have watched this crossing go from an impossible dream to an actual structure rising over the freeway that will ensure the future of mountain lions and all wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains,” Beth Pratt, president and CEO of the Wildlife Crossing Fund, said in a statement.
Pratt said the ribbon-cutting represents “a beginning, not an ending,” with research and habitat restoration expected to continue after construction is completed.
The crossing spans the Ventura (101) Freeway and will be the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world, according to organizers.
The project is intended to reconnect wildlife habitat fragmented by the freeway, allowing mountain lions and other animals to move between areas of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The crossing is the result of decades of wildlife research, planning and engineering and a collaboration involving the National Wildlife Federation, Caltrans, the National Park Service and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, organizers said.
“When we cut this ribbon, we will not just celebrate a single bridge — we will be celebrating a global movement to restore wildlife connectivity,” Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement.
The project was funded in part through charitable donations. Philanthropic supporters include the late Wallis Annenberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Frank and Joann Randall and more than 6,000 donors from around the world, according to organizers.
Following the opening, work at the crossing is expected to include stewardship of native plant habitat on the bridge and surrounding open space, operation of a native plant nursery, education and outreach programs and long-term research on mountain lions and other wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The Wildlife Crossing Fund, created in 2023 with assistance from Annenberg, aims to raise $500 million in private donations and leverage public funding to accelerate wildlife crossing projects. The organization is working with partners on projects in the Mammoth Lakes area, Lake Tahoe, Colorado, New England and Virginia.
Organizers said additional details about the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will be released as construction enters its final stages, with members of the media expected to be invited to the site for a project update in the fall.