An Ecological Approach to Integrating Conservation and Highway Planning, Volume 1 (2013)

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4C h a p t e r 1 Shrp 2 Capacity program To address the challenges of moving people and goods effi- ciently and safely on the nation’s highways, Congress created the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), operated by the Transportation Research Board (TRB). SHRP 2 is a targeted, short-term applied research program that addresses four strategic focus areas: the role of human behavior in high- way safety (Safety); rapid highway renewal (Renewal); conges- tion reduction through improved travel time reliability (Reliability); and transportation planning that better integrates community, economic, and environmental considerations into new highway capacity (Capacity). The goal of the Capacity focus area is to develop approaches for systematically integrating environmental, economic, and community requirements into the analysis, planning, and design of new highway capacity projects. The scope of the SHRP 2 Capacity focus area extends from the early stages of the transportation planning process, when many potential alterna- tives are being considered, through project development and permitting. an ecological approach to Integrating Conservation and highway planning Environmental issues in transportation decision making are usually considered in relative isolation, and overlapping regula- tory processes of different agencies are frequently addressed independently. Multiple permits are generally negotiated one at a time, and the terms and conditions are not determined within the context of broader ecosystem considerations or priorities. It is common practice to consider only the regulated elements within a given project’s area of potential impact. Due to limited legal jurisdiction, agencies may not have the ability to require avoidance or protection of nonregulated resources or areas. In addition, the initial phases of transportation planning may not address environmental considerations until long-range plan- ning is complete. Even then, environmental considerations may not reflect broader ecosystem issues or priorities, but focus instead on finding a compromise between “competing” mis- sions. Resource and transportation agencies recognize that this approach can result in less desirable outcomes for the natural environment, while causing delays and increased expenses. SHRP 2 Project C06, Integration of Conservation, Highway Planning, and Environmental Permitting Using an Outcome- Based Ecosystem Approach, is intended to support the integra- tion of transportation and ecological planning. This project addresses the questions of how to (1) achieve interagency agreement on ecological solutions, (2) identify and leverage existing ways to increase advance mitigation credit predictabil- ity and assurances, (3) identify methods to ensure mitigation commitments are kept, and (4) make decisions hold over time and across jurisdictions. This project is built on the ground- work laid in the development of Eco-Logical: An Ecosystem Approach to Developing Infrastructure Projects (Eco-Logical), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) strategic habitat conservation approach, and other relevant ecosystem-based approaches (Brown 2006). The research approach and major findings are summarized in this volume, which is volume 1 of a three-volume series. This project was conducted in close cooperation with another SHRP 2 C06 effort, Integration of Conservation, Highway Plan- ning, and Environmental Permitting Through Development of an Outcome-Based Ecosystem-Scale Approach and Corre- sponding Credit System, which is summarized in An Eco- logical Approach to Integrating Conservation and Highway Planning, Volume 2. Together the two volumes address both the policy and technical aspects of implementing the Eco- Logical approach. The primary product of these complementary efforts is the Integrated Ecological Framework (IEF). The IEF is a step-by- step process guiding the integration of transportation and eco- logical planning. Each step of the IEF is supported by a database Background

5of case studies, data, methods, and tools. The IEF is available through Transportation for Communities—Advancing Proj- ects through Partnerships (TCAPP) at www.transportation forcommunities.com and is supported by the Practitioner’s Guide to the Integrated Ecological Framework. It is not necessary to read Volume 1 completely to find use- ful information. Each chapter is briefly summarized below to guide readers. • Chapter 2: Research Approach—An explanation of how the research was conducted and the major products that resulted. • Chapter 3: Incentives, Barriers, and Assurance Needs—A description of the incentives for implementing an ecosys- tem approach to transportation decision making, the needs of transportation and resource agencies, and barriers. The incentives, needs, and barriers are summarized from input gathered through interviews and surveys of transportation agencies, resource agencies, and nongovernmental organi- zations (NGOs). • Chapter 4: Solutions—This chapter includes two major sections. The first part is solutions identified through sur- veys and interviews that respond to the incentives, needs, and barriers reported in Chapter 3. The second part describes the IEF and the essential features of any ecosystem approach to transportation decision making. • Chapter 5: Inventory of Assurance Methods—This chapter is an inventory and technical description of the methods available to provide assurances that collective, off-site, or advance mitigations are credited to transportation agencies. The inventory is organized by (1) assurance methods that satisfy the mitigation requirements of both the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA), (2) assurance mechanisms used to address the CWA, and (3) mechanisms that address the ESA. A table with basic information for each method is provided at the beginning of the chapter, followed by more detailed explanations and examples. • Chapter 6: Using Assurance and Commitment Tracking Methods at an Ecosystem Scale—Many of the assurance and commitment tracking methods described in Chapter 5 may be used at the ecosystem scale. Chapter 6 describes limits of and approaches for applying these methods at the ecosystem scale. The limits and approaches are discussed broadly, rather than focusing on the individual methods inventoried in Chapter 5. • Chapter 7: Gaps and Opportunities—This chapter sum- marizes gaps identified between the ecological approach, real-world opportunities, and the available implementa- tion methods. The gaps are related to policy, technical, and institutional factors. Transportation, resource agencies, and NGOs continue to make strides to close these gaps. Some of the ongoing work supported by TRB and the Fed- eral Highway Administration (FHWA) to close these gaps, along with other opportunities, are summarized in the second half of the chapter. • Chapter 8: Conclusions—Key points and take-away messages from the research are summarized in this closing chapter.