Until recently, the population of pronghorn — a small antelope-
like mammal endemic to North America — outnumbered people in its
native Wyoming. The Cowboy State may be the nation’s least
populous, but the two groups still manage to come into conflict.
Pronghorns numbering in the tens of thousands cross Highway 191
each year during their annual migration, and collisions between
animals and cars are costly for all involved. Now
conservationists are celebrating the apparent success of an
experiment involving a series of new wildlife overpasses that
allow the pronghorns to cross to safety while freeing up the
roads. “This really is a win-win situation for people and for
wildlife,” said Jon Beckmann, the pronghorn project coordinator
at the Wildlife Conservation Society. “The overpasses enhance
connectivity for wildlife species and at the same time increase
safety for the traveling public who don’t want to hit large
wildlife going 65 to 75 miles per hour.” In the days of Lewis
and Clark, millions of pronghorn popu