In response to increasing environmental concern and regulation, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) hired Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. (MB&G) to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based sensitive resource inventory along nearly 6,000 miles of state highway. The inventory was named the Salmon Resources and Sensitive Area Mapping (SRSAM) project. The primary purpose of the SRSAM project was to provide accurate resource protection maps to roadway maintenance crews so that their activities (e.g., mowing, pesticide applications, etc.) do not harm these resources. Some of the high-technology features used to expedite the development of a comprehensive resource inventory for such a large geographical area included: 1) ortho-rectified, color infrared digital imagery with 2-foot pixel resolution, 2) on-screen digitizing of obvious sensitive resource features, 3) road-side capture of sensitive resources using laser rangefinders linked to vehicle-mounted real-time Global Positioning System (GPS) units, and 4) sophisticated GIS modeling. We were able to accurately determine the locations and attributes of twelve sensitive resource categories or “fields” with an error rate of less than one percent. Resource data gathered through this project were tied to ODOT’s Linear Referencing System (LRS) and converted to easy-to-read straight-line maps showing resource features for use in ODOT’s maintenance and planning activities. A second series of straightline maps was produced identifying Restricted Activity Zones. These maps are used to facilitate better management of sensitive resources located within Oregon’s transportation corridors.

The Salmon Resource and Sensitive Area Mapping (SRSAM) project was a unique effort undertaken by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) of sensitive natural resource sites integrated with high-resolution digital color infrared imagery for the entire Oregon state highway system (approximately 9,000 miles). SRSAM data allow ODOT to plan maintenance and roadway/bridge project activities with up-to-date environmental resource data by providing maintenance workers, biologists, and transportation planners with access to a current, updateable database of sensitive environmental features.

Taking full advantage of the SRSAM GIS for ODOT’s transportation planning uses required development of an effective system for delivering information to individual users in the field. To this end, ODOT contracted with Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. (MB&G) to develop two handheld computer applications that integrate spatially referenced data, including SRSAM’s sensitive resource data, with field data collection forms, thereby allowing users to view, manipulate, and enter data in the field. Use of these applications requires no specialized knowledge of GIS software, empowers users by providing access to an extensive database of environmental information, and through the use of standardized ArcPad forms for routine tasks improves the efficiency of field data collection and management.

The first application addresses ODOT’s requirements for Mitigation Site Assessment, and enables biologists to spatially identify areas where maintenance or remediation is necessary. This allows a more rapid and efficient response when regulatory performance standards are not being met. The second application focuses on Environmental Scoping, the process by which ODOT identifies environmental issues likely to be associated with proposed projects. This coarse-level assessment requires numerous sources of environmental information. ODOT’s Environmental Scoping Application allows users to view over 20 reference data layers, including project-site imagery, while in the field. Other data layers within the Environmental Scoping application are dynamic, allowing users to update and correct spatially referenced environmental information based on their observations. The computer-based forms for both applications obviate the need to transcribe field data collected on paper, thus eliminating a time-consuming and error-prone procedure.

Overall, SRSAM has provided a mechanism for ODOT to deliver sensitive natural resource data to maintenance crews, biologists, and transportation planners making field decisions that could impact sensitive resources. ODOT’s commitment to completing the SRSAM project state-wide was a key reason that ODOT’s routine road maintenance activities received a programmatic exemption under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The cost to ODOT of not obtaining the programmatic permit for maintenance activities has not been calculated, but surely would have been substantial (millions of dollars). Furthermore, the handheld computer applications, as well as the SRSAM GIS, offer a solution to a difficult ODOT challenge by standardizing data collection and storage techniques throughout the state, thereby streamlining ODOT’s efforts to protect sensitive resources. In sum, the SRSAM project represents an innovative,

multifaceted solution to ODOT’s challenge of environmental compliance and stewardship.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) undertook an innovative project in 1999 to develop a GIS-based inventory of fish-bearing streams, wetlands, threatened and endangered plant and animal habitat, and other sensitive resource sites within the transportation corridor of state-maintained highways. The objective of this effort was to create an environmental management tool for ODOT’s maintenance and operations activities and to facilitate an exemption under Section 4(d) of the ESA. As a contractor to ODOT, Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. (MB&G) has completed this process for four of the five ODOT regions, totaling more than 7,000 miles of state roadway. The project involves the unique integration of high-technology data capture methods, including: (1) high-resolution color infrared digital orthophotography, (2) imagery interpretation and on-screen digitizing of sensitive resource features, (3) road-side verification and capture of sensitive resources using laser rangefinders linked to vehicle-mounted real-time GPS units, and (4) sophisticated GIS modeling. With these tools we are able to accurately determine the locations and attributes of sensitive resources with an error rate of less than five percent. Key project deliverables include: (1) GIS coverages, or data layers, for twelve categories of sensitive resources present along all state roadways, (2) straight-line maps showing locations of sensitive resources for use by ODOT maintenance crews to facilitate resource protection, (3) high-resolution digital imagery of the state-wide transportation corridor (extending 500 feet each side of centerline), and (4) a desktop computer application that allows non-GIS users the ability to access and view these data. The comprehensive spatial database – comprised of the GIS and the digital imagery –allows biological resources to be considered early in the design process for roadway improvement projects, thus facilitating resource protection and environmental permitting. The desktop computer application, GeoBook™ allows environmental scientists, transportation planners, and engineers to query various segments of the state transportation corridor by highway name, number, or milepoint. Functionality includes the ability to pan and zoom in and out so that the user can move through the landscape and view the transportation corridor at any desired scale. The application also allows users to toggle on or off the GIS coverages of the twelve categories of sensitive resources so that they can perform “virtual” environmental project scoping and preliminary alternatives analyses for transportation improvement projects.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) concluded a study in 2001 of the condition of Oregon bridges nearing the end of their design life—those built in the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s. Funded under the first two phases of the Oregon Transportation Investment Act (OTIA I and II), this study found varying degrees of shear (diagonal cracking) in a large number of the state’s bridges. In July 2003, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed legislation authorizing OTIA III, a $2.5 billion transportation package, including $1.3 billion to repair or replace over 400 bridges under the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program (Bridge Program) over the next 10 years. Timely completion of environmental regulatory permitting was critical to meet the Bridge Program’s aggressive construction schedule. To facilitate this, ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began working with a number of federal and state regulatory and resource agencies in late 2002 to develop permitting strategies that would meet the dual goals of timely review of individual permitting and protection and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat. In addition to coverage under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), the preferred regulatory compliance approach needed to ensure compliance with other state and federal statutes designed to protect fish, wildlife, and plant species and their habitat, including the Oregon ESA, Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. As a contractor to ODOT, Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc. (MB&G) worked closely with ODOT and other state and federal agencies from 2003 through 2004 to prepare a programmatic Biological Assessment (BA) for the Bridge Program. Critical to the BA was the development of a set of environmental performance standards designed to minimize and avoid impacts to ESA listed species. In addition, a fluvial performance standard was developed to ensure that bridges replaced under the OTIA III Program would enhance, not simply maintain, geomorphological features at the bridge site. The BA was submitted to the regulatory agencies in March 2004. In June 2004, ODOT received a joint Biological Opinion from NMFS and the USFWS addressing 73 threatened, endangered, proposed, and selected sensitive species and their designated or proposed critical habitat. In addition to listed fish, wildlife, and plants, the BA also satisfied the requirements of the MMPA, MBTA, FWCA, and MSA. ODOT expects that 85 to 90 percent of the bridges under the OTIA III Bridge Program will be permitted using the programmatic approach, resulting in significant time and cost savings. ODOT anticipates that the programmatic approach to environmental compliance will, program-wide, result in time and cost savings of two years and $54 million over the 10-year program, exclusive of time saved on the part of state and federal resource agencies. Bridge design using the environmental performance standards developed for the program is now underway.