Permeability of existing structures for terrestrial wildlife : a passage assessment system.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Permeability of Existing Structures for Wildlife : A Passage Assessment System
• Creators:
  Kintsch, Julia ; Cramer, Patricia
• Corporate Contributors:
  Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Office of Research and Library Services ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Wildlife crossings
  • Bridges and culverts
  • Wildlife, Wildlife crossing, Permeability, Connectivity, Retrofit, Bridge, Culvert
• Publication/ Report Number:
  WA-RD 777.1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Washington
• Corporate Publisher:
  Washington (State). Dept. of Transportation. Office of Research and Library Services
• Abstract:
  "A Passage Assessment System (PAS) was developed to help the Washington Department of ; Transportation (WSDOT) evaluate existing transportation infrastructure for its ability to facilitate ; terrestrial wildlife movement from one side of a roadway to the other. The outcomes of this ; research provide mechanisms to allow transportation agencies to identify both opportunities and ; barriers to wildlife passage along roads. The PAS presented in this report provides an assessment ; process that differentiates – for different types of wildlife – between structures that are currently ; functional, those that could be enhanced to become more functional, and those that are not based on how the wildlife respond to roads and crossing structures. Structural Functional Classes ; were also defined to classify road infrastructure, such as bridges, culverts and pipes, to create a ; common understanding of terminology related to wildlife crossings. The field research was ; conducted for six months in six locations in central and western Washington with the objective of ; ascertaining which species of wildlife approached and used different types of structures. The PAS ; was then developed on the basis of these field data, research on wildlife use of crossings across ; North America, and the organization provided by the Species Movement Guilds and Structural ; Functional Classes. The PAS guides practitioners through a series of targeted questions designed ; to characterize a bridge or culvert relative to its potential to function as a wildlife passage for the ; full range of wildlife known to occur at a given site. The PAS is intended as an evaluation tool to ; ensure that biologists ask the right questions in the field and fully document the conditions that ; may affect passage functionality for the diversity of target species. By answering questions about ; the structure characteristics, vegetation, land use, roadway, barriers and fencing, the biologist will ; have a complete passage assessment including preliminary ideas for improving the structure, ; which can be further refined during the project planning and design processes. The PAS provides ; an effective mechanism for determining which structures are suitable for enhancements to ; improve their functionality as wildlife passages or, if no such enhancements are appropriate, ; identify structure replacement needs for improved highway permeability for wildlife. A Passage ; Enhancement toolbox is provided to complement the PAS and presents a number of infrastructure ; adjustments and maintenance actions that may be implemented to help wildlife better move ; through structures. This toolbox may be used to help guide users in developing site-specific ; recommendations. ; The Passage Assessment System supports timely inclusion of wildlife passage needs from the ; onset of highway corridor planning, project planning and design. It offers potential cost-savings ; and minimized project delays by identifying passage modifications that may be significantly less ; costly than new infrastructure. Where existing culverts and bridges can be shown to pass wildlife, ; it would help to reduce future construction costs for wildlife crossings in those areas and
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• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/23039/dot_23039_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.70 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1a707d5ea99c45dc9ccd1f4248955e4250c8b3c402ad5792c41329c0ea8f4b708ece611884332f066b9c588a287c435e14ce606fb7f5d4dc0b4e187fabb3c6ad