Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix A - Priority Tables and Plan of Action
Appendix A - Priority Tables and Plan of Action
Pages 118-131
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From page 118... ...
Plan of Action for Priorities Practice Gaps and Priorities Ecological Agencies responsible for creating wildlife mitigation measures along transportation corridors would profit by standardizing and institutionalizing practices that aid in the development of mitigation techniques. There is a need to standardized methods for collecting and recording data, the development and communication of state and provincial wildlife habitat conservation needs, and the development of wildlife crossing guidelines on state- and A P P E N D I X A Priority Tables and Plan of Action province-wide and regional bases.
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From page 119... ...
United States Top Priorities Rank Canada Top Priorities Understand better the dynamics of animal use of mitigation structures (such as what works and what does not) and disseminate this information 1 Same Develop and summarize alternative, costeffective wildlife crossings designs and the principles they are based on 2 Standardize spatially accurate roadkill carcass and wildlife–vehicle collision data collection Develop wildlife crossing designs and guidelines for the full suite of animals in an area to help facilitate permeability for many species 3 Develop and summarize alternative, costeffective wildlife crossings designs and the principles they are based on Develop state-based habitat connectivity analyses for every state 4 Develop guidelines to decide when wildlife mitigation is necessary (both mandated and voluntary)
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From page 120... ...
and Montana state and federal agency personnel have worked together to create the largest, most comprehensive sets of wildlife mitigation measures over one highway in the United States.205 This priority is linked with the priorities to implement statewide connectivity Rank Practice Priorities 1 Incorporate wildlife mitigation needs early in the DOT/MoT programming, planning, and design process 2 Establish effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders 3 Combine animal-friendly mitigation methods such as wildlife crossings, fences, escape ramps, and gates, rather than using one method 4 Use conservation plans and connectivity analyses to inform the transportation programming/planning/design process on where mitigation is needed and how it may be carried out 5 Incorporate into plans and schedules wildlife crossing options that can be accomplished by maintenance crews simply by retrofitting existing facilities Research Priorities 1 Understand better the dynamics of animal use of mitigation structures (such as what works and what does not) and disseminate this information 2 Develop and summarize alternative, cost-effective wildlife crossings designs and the principles they are based on 3 Develop guidelines to decide when wildlife mitigation is necessary (both mandated and voluntary)
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From page 121... ...
Examples of current guideline efforts include the set of guidelines created for the installation of amphibian and reptile tunnels in New England,130 standards created for river and stream crossings Rank Practice Priorities 1 Combine animal-friendly mitigation methods such as wildlife crossings, fences, escape ramps, and gates, rather than using one method 2 Incorporate wildlife mitigation needs early in the DOT/MoT programming, planning, and design process 3 Use conservation plans and connectivity analyses to inform the transportation programming/planning/design process on where mitigation is needed and how it may be carried out 4 Incorporate into plans and schedules wildlif e crossing options that can be accomplished by maintenance crews simply by retrofitting existing facilities 5 Establish effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders Research Priorities 1 Understand better the dynamics of animal use of mitigation structures (such as what works and what does not) and disseminate this information 2 Develop and summarize alternative, cost-e ffective wildlife crossings designs and the principles they are based on 3 Develop wildlife crossing designs and guidelines for the full suite of animals in an area to help facilitate permeability for many species 4 Develop standardized inventories of wildlif e crossings by state for better management and maintenance of these crossings, and to better assess the need for future crossings 5 Three priorities tied for fifth rank: Develop a standardized monitoring protocol to assess crossing effectiveness Develop guidelines to decide when wildlif e mitigation is necessary (both mandated and voluntary)
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From page 122... ...
Top five research and practice priorities of natural resource professionals. for fish,236 and Colorado's guidelines for the placement of crossing opportunities for wildlife.14 The United States has learned and will continue to learn from one of the agency leaders in wildlife crossings, Parks Canada, who has taken the lead for the North American continent in instituting and evaluating wildlife crossings.
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From page 123... ...
These could be developed in an adaptive management context of learning from doing; a context where practice is tied to research in an explicit fashion. This approach is currently in use in developing wildlife mitigation measures in Arizona.73 For small animals that are not deterred by exclusion fences, the research team suggests the adoption of jersey barriers with wildlife scuppers (openings in the barrier that allow for passage of small animals and water movement)
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From page 124... ...
Such a specifically defined approach would help to level the current inconsistencies among states and provinces and promote continent-wide permeability for wildlife across transportation corridors. Communication Improved communication among transportation professionals, on-the-ground transportation workers, scientists, activists, and the public is needed to help ensure that wildlife crossings measures and other actions to maintain ecosystem permeability across transportation networks are driven by the most effective and efficient methodologies.
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From page 125... ...
The research team encourages progress in all these areas in order to quickly and efficiently bring about change in the practices associated with transportation and wildlife. Research Gaps and Priorities Safety Existing wildlife–vehicle collision prediction models require further development to be effectively used for safety analyses tasks such as identifying wildlife collision-prone locations on both existing roads and new roads, evaluating the collision reduction effectiveness of mitigation measures, and conducting cost-effectiveness analyses of potential mitigation projects.
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From page 126... ...
Off-road information that would be considered in a model include variables known to affect wildlife movement across roads, such as presence of nearby fencing, culverts and bridges, presence and characteristics of wildlife underpasses, adjacent land cover, distance to cover from the edge of the road, topography, human use of the area, species present, and standard road geometrics. The research team believes that assembling information on variables such as these would provide much improved databases that could in turn be used to improve understanding of the causes of wildlife–vehicle collisions and result in models that reflect this understanding and recommendations that would reduce these collisions and wildlife roadkill in general.
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From page 127... ...
Currently it is difficult to link ecological values with safety values of wildlife mitigation measures for roads. Standardized procedures need to be developed for combining the estimated monetary costs of proposed wildlife crossings with ecological, safety, regulatory streamlining, and amortized monetary benefits.
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From page 128... ...
Continue research that addresses the reactions and adaptations of wildlife to roads and wildlife crossings. Research that examines the assemblages of species reactions to roads and crossings would be the most productive in relation to creating effective mitigation measures that allow the full range of wildlife species to move across and underneath transportation corridors.
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From page 129... ...
Other ecosystem components affected by roads could also be measured with road density, including peak flows in mountain streams98, erosion, and the spread of invasive plants and the subsequent impacts for ecosystem integrity, to name a few. Road density is a simple measure, but road impacts on ecosystems vary considerably with traffic volume, speed, and infrastructure width, surface, and design.129 For example, Foreman and et al.97 found grassland birds avoided regular breeding in patch edges near roads in direct proportion to road volume, moving breeding activities farther away (up to 1 km away)
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From page 130... ...
Although the concept of "context-sensitive planning" is gaining national attention within the transportation community, it does not appear to the research team to explicitly include the surrounding wildlife habitat. The research team believes connectivity analyses create a window of opportunity to include ecosystem-level and landscape-scale considerations in transportation programs and individual projects.
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From page 131... ...
There is a need for research to help in the selection of target species, and the determination of the number, size, and dimensional characteristics of structures needed within an area to help maintain maximum permeability for the suite of associated species.80 Design guidelines for mitigation measures associated with crossings are also needed. Considerations include determining the required lengths of fences erected to guide wildlife (both large and small)
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