A recent HCN story describes a major delay in
planning or building a bullet train to link California’s
major cities. As someone who has been working to restore and
conserve wildlife corridors in Southern California for a decade, I
am relieved. The bullet train needs a few more years of planning.
Although you’d never know it from the slick 3-D
animations, the rail line would likely become the biggest, baddest,
and by far the longest barrier to wildlife movement in the state of
California. Yup, worse than a 10-lane freeway, and worse than the
steep-sided California aqueduct. A 220-mph train needs rock-solid
road beds, protection from crosswinds, no risk of collisions with
large mammals, and no access for terrorist saboteurs. That means
that except where the track is elevated, in a tunnel, or fitted
with a wildlife underpass or overpass, it would be 100 percent
impermeable to every reptile, amphibian and mammal (except bats) in
the state. Recent research suggests linear barriers should have at
least one structure per mile suitable for large mammals, and 5
structures per mile permeable to smaller animals. This can be done,
but I’ve yet to hear proponents embrace the need to make the
bullet line permeable to wildlife on every non-urban mile or track.
Making the bullet train green will raise the price tag well beyond
the $33 billion currently estimated.
Yes, the bullet
train can help manage urban sprawl, can be part of the solution to
global warming caused by the fuel burned by too many cars and
airplanes, and can make life more livable for millions of
inter-city travelers. I’d like to use it someday. But I
don’t want to spend any more tax dollars on it until I see a
commitment to build it right for all species in the state of
California.
Paul Beier
Flagstaff,
Arizona
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Hold the bullet.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
