Road Ecology Center

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.