SCOE, White, Defenders of Wildlife, Transp and Wildlife'ppt

1
Transportation and Wildlife Policy and Practice
People, Economics and Forest Carnivore
Management Trisha White, Defenders of Wildlife
2
is dedicated to the protection of all native
wild animals and plants in their natural
communities. New approaches that keep species
from becoming endangered Protect entire
ecosystems and interconnected habitats
3

1. Proactive 2. State-based 3. Incentive-driven
4
WHY TRANSPORTATION?
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
1. Reduce the impact of roads and highways on
wildlife and habitat.
11
2. Incorporate wildlife conservation into
transportation planning.
12
www.defenders.org/habitat/highways
13

• Integrated Planning
• Conservation Banking
• Interagency Coordination
• Wildlife Crossings
• Public Lands
• Native Vegetation

14

• Transportation and metropolitan planners should
  utilize existing landscape-level conservation
  plans in their own planning efforts.
• Training
• Monitoring
• Outreach

Integrated Planning
15
State Wildlife Grants Program

• Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies by
  Oct. 1, 2005
• State Fish Wildlife Agencies
• Block grant with non federal match requirements
• Fluctuating funding 65 - 85 million per year

16
State Wildlife Grants Program

• Wildlife Status
• Habitat Status
• Threats Analysis Research
• Prioritized Actions
• Monitoring Status and Actions
• Plan Review Update
• Coordination with Agencies
• Public Participation

17
Oregon Conservation Opportunity Areas
Source Oregons Living Landscape, Defenders of
Wildlife, 1998
18
Oregons Conservation Opportunity Areas
19
Oregons Roads and Cities
20
Conservation Opportunity Areas with roads and
cities
21
Oregons State Transportation Improvement Plan
22
STIP Project 03551
23
(No Transcript)
24

• Use conservation banking to mitigate those
  impacts that cannot be avoided, and when
  consolidating mitigation is ecologically
  preferable to onsite mitigation.
• Revolving fund
• Use existing plans
• Strategic sites

Conservation Banking
25
(No Transcript)
26
Interagency Coordination

• Coordinate with resource agencies early,
  substantively and continuously throughout
  transportation planning and project development.
• Consult
• Trust
• Support

27
TRANSPORTATION SPENDING
28
77
FWS transportation-related workload increase
between 1998 and 2000
29
1
FWS budget increase
30

• Build wildlife crossings where necessary to
  repair ecological damage and restore habitat
  connectivity.
• Research
• Retrofit
• Monitoring

Wildlife Crossings
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34

• Maintain roads on public lands in a manner
  consistent with the management of surrounding
  natural resources, including wildlife, both
  terrestrial and aquatic.
• No new roads
• Alternatives
• Signage/speed limits
• Keep scenic roads scenic

Public Lands
35
Native VEGETATION

• Use only native species in roadside vegetation
  management.
• Inventories
• Training
• Rewards

36
Native Vegetation
37
(No Transcript)
38
History of Transportation Policy in the U.S.
39
By the Numbers

• INTERSTATE
• 1957-1969
• 12 years
• 25 billion

• ISTEA
• 1991 - 1998
• 7 years
• 150 billion

• TEA-21
• 1998-2003
• 6 years
• 218 billion

TEA3 247 375 billion
40
What?

• Six year authorization
• Finance
• Safety
• Environment
• Planning
• Research
• Highway Programs
• Public Transportation

41

• Calls for consultation with resource agencies
  and coordination with land use and conservation
  plans
• Encourages conservation banking
• Makes wildlife crossings eligible for safety
  funding
• Funds alternative transportation on public
  lands.
• Provides for removal of invasives and
  restoration of native vegetation on roadsides.

What about Wildlife?
42
What now?

• TEA-21 expired September 30, 2003.
• Extensions
• Funding level
• Elections

43
Questions?
Trisha White Habitat Highways
Campaign 202.772.0236 twhite_at_defenders.org