Road Ecology Center

Traditionally, state transportation agencies have designed and built environmental enhancements in response to regulatory requirements to mitigate project impacts. More recently, state transportation agencies have embraced an environmental ethic that goes beyond compliance and encourages agencies routinely to incorporate environmental enhancements into projects and activities. Generally, in-house staff or resource/regulatory agencies identify opportunities to address concerns regarding high-profile species (e.g., large mammals, endangered species). Taking stewardship one step further, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has demonstrated innovative responses to problems brought forth by concerned citizens regarding a lesser-studied group of wildlife– amphibians and reptiles (collectively termed “herptiles”). These responses have resulted in valuable partnerships with private citizens, colleges, and resource agencies, thus increasing the agency’s credibility in its commitment to an environmental ethic and its reputation for getting things done. This paper will establish how NYSDOT demonstrated its environmental stewardship on a working level with a quick response to expressed public concerns by highlighting two projects. In each instance, a private citizen alerted NYSDOT about their concern for high mortality rates of salamanders, frogs, and turtles in “hot spots” along the state highways. Common factors in these projects include: NYSDOT paid credence and a speedy response to a private citizen’s concern; maintenance forces applied their practical skills to develop an in-the-field solution to the problem; NYSDOT formed fruitful partnerships with colleges, private citizens, and resource agency experts; and costs were minimized by using surplus material, on-hand equipment, and simple designs. By highlighting two specific examples, we will demonstrate that some problems can be solved quickly by bringing the right group of people together with a variety of skills and knowledge and a determination to get the job done. Methodology, results, and lessons learned will be presented and discussed. The Canandaigua Lake Herptile Crossing was built in 2002 in response to expressed citizen concerns regarding the high rate of turtle mortality. This project included constructing suitable nesting habitat for turtles on private property and constructing a physical barrier to funnel turtles to existing culverts. NYSDOT formed partnerships with Finger Lakes Community College, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and a private landowner. The Labrador Hollow Herptile Crossing was installed in 2003 in response to a 2002 posting on an internet listerv soliciting help in the “simply phenomenal” herp movement. A 12-inch culvert was installed to serve as a “critter crossing” and surplus w-beam guide rail was imbedded into the ground to guide salamanders and frogs to the culvert. NYSDOT formed partnerships with the State University of New York’s College of Environment Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and private citizens. These projects demonstrate how collaboration, flexibility, and responsiveness result in simple, creative designs with tangible benefits, fostering good will and a sense of stewardship. This paper will also discuss research initiated by NYSDOT to identify and address the impacts of transportation on herptiles populations to guide future decision to address herptile-mortality concerns.