Innovative Approaches to Wildlife/Highway Interactions
TEC7189, March 27-29, 2007, Gainesville, Florida
Instructors:
> Sandra Jacobson, Wildlife Biologist, US Forest Service, Pacific SW Research Station, Arcata, CA
> Terry Brennan, Forest Highway Development Engineer, Tonto National Forest, Phoenix, AZ.
Course Leader:
> Glenn Gravatt, USFWS National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV
Objectives:
> Discuss how highways interact with terrestrial wildlife, including impacts;
> Utilize tools in innovative ways to identify and reduce wildlife impacts from highways;
> Discuss the highway project planning process, including large scale connectivity analyses; and
> Develop interdisciplinary contacts and networking opportunities.
Tuesday, March 27
INTRODUCTION
8:00-9:30 Welcome, Introductions, Ice Breaker, Order lunches for lunch trip (1 hr, 30 min)
ON THE SAME PAGE
9:30-9:45 Terminology: Terry (15 min)
IMPACTS OF HIGHWAYS
9:45-10:15 Impacts of Highways on Fish and Wildlife: Sandy (30 min)
10:15 -10:30 Break (15 min)
10:30 -11:00 Habitat Connectivity and Highways: Sandy (30 min)
11:00-11:30 Statewide Connectivity Planning Experiences, Arizona and Florida: Terry and Sandy
(30 min)
MITIGATION OF HIGHWAY IMPACTS
11:30-12:00 Effective Mitigation: Sandy (30 min)
12:00-1:15 Lunch at Paynes Prairie State Reserve. Board vans and bring lunches.
1:15-1:45 How to Use Wildlife Behavior to Design Effective Mitigation: Sandy (30 min)
1:45-2:15 Attributes of Effective Deer Crossing Structures: Sandy and Terry (30 min)
2:15-2:30 Break (15 min)
2:30-3:30 The Seven Dwarfs: Terry (1 hr)
3:30-4:00 Finding the Information You Need on Highway Plans: Terry (30 min)
4:00-4:45 Exercise: Designing Barriers for Chiricahua Leopard Frogs: Sandy and Terry (45 min)
4:45-5:00 Bridge Opportunities and Hazards: Terry (15 min)
5:00 Close
Wednesday, March 28
Field Trip All Day 8:00-5:00
DRAFT Itinerary. Includes lunch stops and refreshment stops along the way. Participants will
choose lunch arrangements the first day of class. Guest speakers will provide additional information
at each stop.
Board vans and head from Gainesville to Flagler Overcrossing on Interstate 95.
Flagler to Ormond Beach and Tomoka Wildlife Management Area for two undercrossings via I-95
and SR40.
Tomoka WMA to Wekiva River extended bridge and bear undercrossings via SR40, SR11 and I-4.
Wekiva River to two stops on the Ocala National Forest for rural intersection issues at SR40 and
SR19, and issues in planning wildlife crossings on SR40.
Ocala NF to Ocala and the equestrian overcrossing on I-75 via SR40.
I-75 north to return to Gainesville.
Thursday: March 29
CASE HISTORIES
8:00-10:00 Case Histories.
Banff: Sandy/Terry 30 min
Sebastian Inlet: Sandy 20 min
Yellowstone Speed: Sandy 20 min
Bat Habitat: Sandy 10 min
CLASS CHOICE: 50 min
10:00-10:15 Break (15 min)
PROCESS
10:15-11:00 Planning Wildlife and Fish-Friendly Highways using SAFETEA-LU: Sandy (45 min)
11:00-11:30 Exercise: Gleaning Information from your State Transportation Improvement Plan
(STIP): Terry (30 min)
11:30-12:00 Funding Mitigation Opportunities: Terry (30 min)
Lunch 12:00-1:00
1:00-1:15 Authorities Pertinent to Highway Planning and Mitigation: Sandy and Terry (15 min)
1:15-1:45 Economics of Animal/Vehicle Collisions and Cost Benefits of Mitigation: Terry and
Sandy (30 min)
1:45-2:00 Summary of Tips to Remember, Evaluation and Close (15 min)
Innovative Approaches to Wildlife/Highway Interactions
TEC7189, March 27-29, 2007, Gainesville, Florida
Course Section Objectives
“On the Same Page”: Terminology
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
•
•
Meet other class participants so that networking of disciplines and agencies can occur
within the class and beyond the close
Understand that the same word used in biological or engineering contexts can have
different meanings
Learn common definitions for terms used in the field of transportation ecology by
biologists and engineers
Recognize common problems in terminology in the literature so that research can be
more accurately interpreted
Issues in Transportation Ecology
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
•
•
•
Recognize the impacts of highways on wildlife, especially the two major impacts of
vehicle-caused mortality and loss of habitat permeability
Identify the groups of species most likely to be adversely affected
Understand the role of traffic volume and its differential impacts to wildlife
Discuss the role of large scale connectivity analysis in long-range transportation
planning
Review the range of existing state connectivity plans and the pro’s and con’s of simple
vs elaborate plans
Mitigation of Highway Impacts
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Identify the most common and effective methods of mitigating highway impacts to
wildlife known to date and recognize where research may improve effectiveness
Learn how to use wildlife behavior and life history attributes to design effective
mitigation
Identify key components for locating and sizing effective crossing structures
Understand why fencing is a key component for an effective structure
Identify attributes of effective deer/vehicle collision reduction, especially effective
crossing structures
Identify attributes of unsuccessful crossing structures
Recognize that construction impacts are more than just what occurs on the pavement
Identify common construction issues that can be dealt with before the contractor arrives
on-site
Locate key information on Construction Drawings
Understand what information is typically included in a set of Construction Drawings
Understand that final design is a series of progressive reviews and that the final product
may not be what you first thought the solution would look like
Identify the informational needs of an Engineer vs. a Biologist
Understand the construction impacts of different types of structures
Understand the different types of bridges and their limitations
Case Histories
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
•
•
Recognize how previous solutions can be adapted to your particular situation
Realize that thinking outside the box is necessary for obtaining creative solutions
Understand that there is a wealth of existing examples that have worked
Recognize that crossing structures are not the only form of mitigation for highway
impacts
Process
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Learn the most important environmental provisions of the current surface
transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU
Know where to go to identify planned construction projects in your state
Understand how to glean information from your State Transportation Improvement
Plan (STIP)
Look at the STIP list and see more than just a road
Understand the role of clear objectives in the planning process
Learn how a typical highway project is planned
Identify different funding sources available during planning, construction, and
monitoring
Learn the number one source for mitigation funding
Identify the key legal authorities for highway projects
Realize that FHWA is a strong advocate for Resource Stewardship
Know the rules and be able to use them to your advantage
Generate support for reducing animal/vehicle conflict by the use of economics and
cost savings
Use industry information to support the expenditure of dollars for structures
Resources
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
•
Summarize the class concepts in sound bites
Locate further information on the topics covered
Recognize the best available syntheses and where to find them
Networking
This section is developed so that the student will be able to:
•
•
Have contact information for fellow course participants
Feel comfortable with contacting the course leaders and fellow participants for help
with future projects
Innovative Approaches To Wildlife and Highway Interactions
Instructor Biographies
Sandra L. Jacobson is a Wildlife Biologist and the Research and Management Liaison for
the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station, Redwood Sciences
Laboratory, Arcata, CA. She has a BA in Zoology and a MS in Natural Resources/Wildlife,
both from Humboldt State University. Sandra has served as a wildlife biologist for the
USDA Forest Service since 1980, working on three national forests at the district and
forest levels in California and Idaho. She has worked for the USDI Fish and Wildlife
Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and the USDA Soil Conservation
Service. As the district wildlife biologist for the Bonners Ferry Ranger District on the Idaho
Panhandle National Forests for 13 years, she managed grizzly bears, woodland caribou
and other threatened or endangered wildlife in an interagency and international setting.
Sandra’s involvement in wildlife and highways began with the recognition of an important
grizzly bear and migratory deer linkage area in Idaho, the McArthur Lake Wildlife Corridor,
where she gathered an interagency and local team to maintain the area’s habitat potential.
She received a Regional Forester’s Award for this effort and her success at obtaining the
first mitigation for wildlife on another highway project in Idaho. She created the Wildlife
Crossings Toolkit website. She is a charter member of the National Academies of
Science’s Transportation Research Board Committee on Ecology and Transportation, and
chair of the Committee’s Reseach Subcommittee. She is a team member for NCHRP 2527’s Evaluating the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossing Structures. Recently she
was selected as a technical expert for endangered species and ecosystem management
for the AASHTO’s Center for Environmental Excellence. She is a member of the UC Davis
Road Ecology Center’s Scientific Advisory Committee and an ICOET planning team
member. For the SAFETEA-LU congressionally-mandated report on animal/vehicle
collisions, Sandra is serving on the expert panel.
Currently, Sandra provides technical expertise and training on wildlife and highway issues
for several agencies around the country, and travels widely to present and organize
sessions on highway and wildlife topics. Sandra has been married for 36 years (to the
same person), has 4 sons and 2 Siamese cats.
Sandra L. Jacobson
sjacobson@fs.fed.us
USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station
Redwood Sciences Lab
1700 Bayview Dr
Arcata CA 95521
Cell phone: 503-453-0593
Terry Brennan is Forest Engineer/Arizona Department of Transportation Program Leader
for the Tonto National Forest in Phoenix, Arizona. Terry has worked for the Forest Service
for 28 years. He is a registered Engineer and has worked in Chicago, Utah, California,
Colorado and Arizona. Currently, he is Forest Engineer and project coordinator for an
aggressive decade long, $500 million highway construction program by the Arizona
Department of Transportation (ADOT) on the Tonto National Forest. For his
interdisciplinary efforts, he was recognized as the Forest Service’s Region 3 “Engineer of
the Year.” His current efforts include being on the steering committees for “Wildlife
Linkages within the State of Arizona”, “Guidelines for construction Projects on Federal
Lands in the State of Arizona”, and the update of ADOT’s Erosion Control Manual. Terry
helped organize the successful Wildlife Crossings Workshop in 2005, held on the Tonto
National Forest where the results of his support of incorporating wildlife needs into highway
projects were showcased. He has obtained funding for many projects on National Forest
System Lands utilizing Scenic Byway, Transportation Enhancement, Recreation Trails
Program funding as well as many other sources. He is married and has three children,
enjoys his job, hiking, golfing and camping.
Terry Brennan, PE
tbrennan@fs.fed.us
602-225-5375
Forest Engineer/Arizona Department of Transportation Program Leader
USDA, Forest Service
2324 E McDowell Rd.
Tonto National Forest
Phoenix, AZ 85006