Sunday, June 20, 2010

$5000/Squirrel

Well, I'm glad they're taking care of critical issues with my tax dollars.

ABC News
Arizona Spends $1.25M to Save 250 Squirrels
Rope Bridges Expected to Save Five Squirrels a Year From Being Road Kill

Arizona is spending $1.25 million to build bridges for endangered squirrels over a mountain road so they don't become roadkill and then monitor their health.

The money is being spent, officials said, because cars kill about five of these squirrels each year.

...

The Federal Highway Administration grant will be used to build rope bridges over the lone road through the squirrels' habitat, according to Arizona Department of Transportation Community Relations Director Timothy Tait. The DOT plans to install 41 of the "canopy tunnel crossings" at a cost of $400,000.

Another $160,000 will be spent on cameras to monitor the bridges, and the rest of the money will fund a project to monitor the rodents.

That works out to about $5,000 per squirrel.

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