There are times all you can do is laugh at the sheer lunacy of government spending.

We had occasion to do just that a couple of weeks ago when the state Assembly passed legislation (A.4243B/S.4198-B) requiring the state Transportation Department and state Thruway Authority to identify sites along all highways, thruways and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and protect wildlife. State agencies will also be required to create a priority list of wildlife crossing opportunity areas so that, if federal grant money is available, the state has five projects identified to be included in a grant application.

Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, voted for the bill, but not before cracking a joke on the Assembly floor.

“I have a certain sympathy for this bill,” Goodell said. “Because driving home from an Assembly session several years ago I totaled my car when a deer failed to recognize that I had the right of way. My car, by the way, only had 342,000 miles on it but it had new tires. I was so disappointed and I was particularly disappointed because it occurred on I-86 where they’re supposed to be fencing the entire length of the expressway. Presumably they thought the grass was greener on the other side.”

State lawmakers aren’t wasting your state tax dollars – yet. Any money would come from another pot of your tax dollars. The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 established a $350 million wildlife crossing safety program to be spent over five years on bridges, tunnels, culverts, fencing, and other infrastructure that will allow wildlife safe passage either under or over roads.

Just imagine what could have been accomplished with $60 million a year? Think of the shelters, treatment centers or environmental projects – like dredging Chautauqua Lake, for example – that could have been paid for with a chunk of that $60 million a year. Instead, we’re setting that money aside to build wildlife crossings for animals. Most humans can’t use a crosswalk properly – but we’re expecting squirrels, foxes, bears and deer to do so. We’re sure they’ll also start looking both ways before they cross the road or give drivers the paw for driving near a wildlife crossing.

Again, sometimes all you can do is laugh. But, when people wonder why fiscal conservatives were so opposed to President Biden’s infrastructure program, remember this $350 million waste of money.