To improve the linkage between conservation and transportation planning, emphasize the use of information, tools and methods that can be shared between the transportation, resource and regulatory agencies.

Since 2001, the Department of Interior has been supporting state-based wildlife conservation via the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program (SWG). Funds are appropriated annually for state fish and wildlife agencies to address the broad range of their state’s wildlife and associated habitats in a comprehensive fashion. As part of the SWG, state fish and wildlife agencies are developing statewide comprehensive wildlife conservation strategies in partnership with a broad array of partners including other government agencies, conservation organizations, landowners, and the public. Each strategy will establish a vision and plan of action for limited state wildlife conservation funding. The finished product will be a strategic vision for conserving the state’s wildlife–not just a plan for the fish and wildlife agency. The strategies are due for completion in October 2005 and will be reviewed at least every 10 years to ensure conservation success over the long term. For the first time, we can look to a nationwide vision for wildlife conservation. By design, Congress directed that the strategies focus on the “species in greatest need of conservation,” yet address the full array of wildlife and wildlife-related issues. In that context, each strategy is required to include information on the distribution and abundance of species of wildlife and locations and relative condition of key habitats and community types. Most states will utilize GIS technology and many will produce maps of prioritized habitat throughout the state. For the first time, transportation agencies will have access to this information at the planning stage, rather than waiting until environmental review. Over the last decade, transportation agencies have struggled to find ways to reduce costs and unnecessary delays to accelerate project delivery. Several legislative, policy, and procedural fixes have been attempted with mixed success. The statewide comprehensive wildlife-conservation strategies have great potential in aiding state transportation departments in streamlining project delivery. By utilizing natural-resource data in early stages of planning, they can avoid, minimize, and mitigate many impacts early and steer clear of costly delays later in the life of their projects. As an added bonus, the transportation agency adopts a proactive approach to conservation and becomes a full partner in implementing the conservation strategy for the entire state.

and habitat. Often, this can lead to expensive delays, lawsuits, and unnecessary loss of habitat. Streamlining project delivery and reducing unnecessary delays is important to state transportation agencies. By utilizing natural-resource data in early stages of planning, state transportation agencies can avoid, minimize, and mitigate early and avoid costly delays later in the life of their projects. As part of the federally funded State Wildlife Grants Program, all state fish and wildlife agencies have recently completed comprehensive, wildlife conservation strategies, called State Wildlife Action Plans. These Action Plans will prioritize efforts and maximize investments to protect the state’s natural resources. While fish and wildlife agencies are leading the charge, the aim is to create a strategic vision for conserving the state’s wildlife–not just a plan for the agency. Each Action Plan includes eight required elements, including “distribution and abundance of wildlife species” and “descriptions of locations and relative condition of key habitats and community types.” Many states produced maps of prioritized habitat throughout the state. Correspondingly, the new transportation bill, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) included provisions that integrate consideration of wildlife conservation into the transportation planning process. Under the new law, each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and state department of transportation (DOT) will consult with resource agencies in developing long range transportation plans and compare the transportation plan with conservation maps or natural resource inventories–such as the new State Wildlife Action Plans. The State Wildlife Action Plans are an opportunity for states to adopt a proactive approach to habitat conservation and an effective tool for transportation planning. For the first time, transportation agencies will have access to comprehensive natural-resource data at the planning stage, rather than waiting until environmental review.

Congress is in the process of reauthorizing TEA-21, the six-year, $300 billion transportation bill, providing an excellent opportunity to integrate many of the ideals brought forth in ICOET into transportation policy. With appropriate federal guidance, such best practices in the areas of wildlife, fisheries, wetlands, water quality, and overall ecosystems management could become the standard. Likewise, without support within the new bill, many states and practitioners will find it more difficult to continue making positive strides in stewardship and resource protection. Reauthorization issues that promise to be of interest to ICOET participants include: 1. Environmental streamlining 2. Transportation enhancements 3. Impact mitigation 4. Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) 5. Continuation of University Transportation Centers (UTC) 6. Cooperative Environmental Research Program (CERP) 7. Habitat connectivity across transportation corridors (aquatic and terrestrial) 8. Transportation on Federal lands 9. Landscape level transportation planning

The U.S. is outgrowing the American dream. Between 1950 and 1990, urban land area increased more than twice as fast as population. Development sprawls into rural and natural areas, consuming over two million acres of farmland, open space and wildlife habitat per year. While largely influenced by demographic and socio-economic factors, public policies on transportation and land use have played an important role in shaping development patterns. If the rate of development continues at its current pace and follows today’s sprawling model, the amount of land developed in the next 25 years will equal the total amount developed since the country’s founding.

Cinemeducation refers to the use of movies or movie clips to educate learners about the psychosocial aspects of health care. This paper describes the use of a clip from the movie, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? to teach medical students about chronic illness. The clip is used to set up a case study based on the lead character, Gilbert Grape. For the sake of the seminar, Gilbert is given a diagnosis of low back pain. After watching the clip, learners are asked to construct a genogram and family circle of the home context and then hypothesize about the possible causes of Gilbert's back pain. The educators then use the “case” as a basis for an exemplary patient-based chronic illness presentation. This presentation is designed to serve as a model for the students, who are asked to interview a patient and family and make their own patient-based chronic illness presentation at the end of their clerkship month. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cinemeducation is an effective and entertaining way of presenting didactic material, including teaching assessment and case management skills, to health care professionals. Suggestions are made for possible future research in this innovative teaching technique.

We reviewed all 51 State Wildlife Action Plans to glean a set of cross-cutting recommendations for future collaboration between wildlife and transportation agencies.

As of October 1, 2005, every state wildlife agency, in conjunction with numerous partners, completed a comprehensive state wildlife action plan. Each plan is unique, but all plans were required to identify 1) declining species, 2) key habitats, 3) threats to those species and habitats and 4) actions to prevent further species decline. We reviewed the plans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the extent to which the plans identify and address transportation planning and development impacts. To do this we searched every plan for references to roads, transportation, transportation agencies, vehicles, and highways. From these searches we created a compilation of threat and action references and categorized each reference to identify common issues and strategies among the plans.

We found that all 51 plans identified transportation infrastructure as a conservation issue. Specifically, the plans related the following general impacts to transportation planning and construction:

• Habitat loss and fragmentation

• Spread of invasive species

• Road kill mortality

• Altered hydrologic regimes

• Modified population migrations and dynamics

We searched for actions tied directly to transportation issues and found that the states included a wide range of actions relating to transportation. Forty states recognized the need to work with transportation agencies by including one or more of the following actions:

• Improve coordination between wildlife and transportation agencies

• Enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with transportation agencies

• Provide data and technical assistance to transportation planners

• Get more involved in transportation planning and permitting

In addition to promoting coordination, the wildlife plans can provide transportation agencies with information about priority species and habitats and, in many cases, maps of priority conservation areas. The final section of our report presents a set of recommendations, based on information gleaned from the plans, for improving coordination and reducing transportation impacts on wildlife.

The State Wildlife Action Plans are an opportunity for wildlife agencies and transportation planners to begin a dialogue about this issue and foster improved collaboration in the future. Future research should put these plans into action by overlaying GIS layers of transportation plans with maps of conservation opportunity areas, priority habitats, and locations and ranges for species of concern. Further analysis of the plans by transportation planners to identify useful features and information gaps in the plans could help wildlife agencies improve their plans in the future.