| City developers and conservationists have long worked to provide for wildlife threatened by encroaching human expansion. The creation of wildlife corridors allows God’s creatures to coexist with us, minimizing the kind of dangerous interaction that can lead to injury or worse. With the rapid growth of our homeless population, those corridors are gradually becoming home to more and more people, and threatening the coexistence of native fauna. I live in the desert, and have always felt a kinship with animals—both wild and domesticated. Over decades, I’ve seen expansion decimate areas which used to be home to countless species of nature. If you’ve ever looked back at an old hang-out—a cherished coffee shop, beloved diner, or any place where memories are stored—and seen it changed into something different, like a parking lot, an office building, or maybe a fast food restaurant, then you have some appreciation for the loss of territory forced on the animals that used to call those places home. They may not have a sentimental attachment (or maybe they do), but what they have is more than memories, it’s an instinct to return to a home that’s no longer there, it’s the fear of being displaced, and the desperation to find new food, water, and shelter after losing everything. These are things they have in common with the homeless, but they’re losing the battle, again.Encampments and “tent cities” established in areas preserved for wildlife within cities are a threat to the species that have managed to survive there. |
| Interaction between wildlife and humans is often dangerous—usually for the wildlife. Efforts are constantly being made to move homeless people away from storefronts, parks, residential neighborhoods, sidewalks, roadsides, and parking lots. It’s a constant shuffling of people from one place to another. It should come as no surprise that people eventually find their way to wildlife corridors, where they can minimize their human-to-human conflict. This isn’t to say that the solution to homelessness needs to found within the city, but a solution needs to be found that doesn’t destroy what little area is left within the city for wildlife to exist. Expansion is going to continue. That’s a fact. Doing it responsibly is a great achievement. If we ultimately surrender the systems which preserve our wildlife species within our expanded areas, that would be an incredible failure. |