Wildlife - Protections and Highway Crossings

SB 635 establishes the Maryland Connectivity Coalition to coordinate wildlife protection efforts, directly affecting state agencies, local governments, and wildlife (particularly threatened and endangered species). The bill creates the Wildlife Connectivity Fund to support projects like wildlife crossings on highways, requires the State Highway Administration to include wildlife habitat data in transportation planning, and mandates the Department of Natural Resources to maintain a website for public donations to fund these initiatives. Key provisions include coalition-led criteria for prioritizing projects - such as locations with frequent wildlife-vehicle collisions or highways fragmenting habitats - and requirements for counties to consider wildlife connectivity when updating local land-use plans. The law aims to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and protect habitat access without altering existing endangered species definitions.