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Institute of the Environment

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Tahoe Research Group/Tahoe Environmental Research Center Publications

The John Muir Institute of the Environment supports innovative interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach activities which respond to problems in the environment and strengthen the scientific foundation for environmental decision making.

The John Muir Institute of the Environment champions research and service at the University of California, Davis which benefits the biological, physical and human environment. The institute provides campus-wide leadership, hosts centers and projects, and seeds research and educational initiatives to solve environmental problems. Their activities link traditional academic and administrative units by providing the intellectual setting for interaction between researchers, regulatory agencies, policy-makers and the public to find solutions to complex environmental problems.

Cover page of AN INNOVATIVE AND ELEGANTLY SIMPLE WAY TO DO SOMETHING FOR BLUEBIRDS (AND TAKE LITTLE TIME AWAY FROM TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE DUTIES)

AN INNOVATIVE AND ELEGANTLY SIMPLE WAY TO DO SOMETHING FOR BLUEBIRDS (AND TAKE LITTLE TIME AWAY FROM TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE DUTIES)

(2006)

Bluebird boxes were attached to the back of small road signs and are maintained by the maintenance sign crew with minimal time away from their primary duties. Because locations were chosen where bluebirds had already been seen, success has been 100% since the project started in 2001. In 2002, 120 bluebirds were fledged and approximately 120 tree swallows as well. So far in 2003 there have been 30 pair of nesting bluebirds. We have had more problems this year with English sparrows killing bluebird chicks. Last year two boxes suffered from raccoon predation but that has not been repeated since the sign poles were greased. Costs were for materials only, boxes were built by the winter night crews when they were not plowing.

Cover page of USE OF LOW FENCING WITH ALUMINUM FLASHING AS A BARRIER FOR TURTLES

USE OF LOW FENCING WITH ALUMINUM FLASHING AS A BARRIER FOR TURTLES

(2005)

I examined the effects of road mortality on a population of western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta belli) in west-central Montana; these turtles make up the majority of road mortalities in a section of highway that bisects the Ninepipes National Wildlife Refuge. The objective of my barrier fencing experiment was to determine whether turtles were able to breach fencing designed to direct turtles towards crossing structures and thereby keep them off the road. I constructed 45.7-cm-high turtle enclosures out of 2- by 5-cm fencing with and without 10- or 15-cm-high flashing attached at the top. Turtles were placed in the enclosures, and behavior was observed for one hour. Of 124 turtles, only four (3.2%) were able to climb to the flashing. No turtles climbed over the flashing within the time allowed. In enclosures without flashing, two (3.8%) were able to breach the fencing. The results of this experiment will help in the design of appropriate barriers to keep turtles off the road and direct them towards crossing structures.

Cover page of ADDRESSING “BEHIND THE SCENES” ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF AN URBAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM– A NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT PERSPECTIVE ON SUSTAINABILITY

ADDRESSING “BEHIND THE SCENES” ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF AN URBAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM– A NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT PERSPECTIVE ON SUSTAINABILITY

(2003)

In 1999, The New York City Transit’s (NYCT) Department of Capital Program Management achieved ISO14001 certification- Environmental Management Systems. Today, sustainable design is an integral part of all design, construction, procurement and operations and maintenance activities. This paper outlines NYC Transit’s adoption of sustainable business practices which exposed significant opportunities to reduce the impact to ecologies. These practices encompass high-performance building designs, renewable energy applications, conservation of energy, water and natural resources, waste reduction, recycling and reuse, environmentally responsible procurement and total life cycle analysis. A cause-and-effect benefit is then demonstrated for many of these sustainable practices encompassing both local and geographically distant ecologies. Some examples include the inadvertent procurement of Azobe (an unsustainably over-harvested tropical hardwood from Africa) used as rail ties in the design and construction of rail tracks; the demand for large quantities of energy to move rolling stocks, contributing to toxic emissions fallout from regional power plants; the contribution to poor ambient air quality as a result of non-regulated off-road diesel equipment emission from construction sites. In recognition of the need to reduce our ecological footprint, NYCT took upon itself a proactive role to establish a rigorous environmental management program and to identify, control and reduce those activities that lead up to “behind the scene” ecological impacts.

Cover page of FEDERAL LANDS HIGHWAY EXPERIENCE AND INITIATIVES WITH CONTEXT SENSITIVE SOLUTIONS

FEDERAL LANDS HIGHWAY EXPERIENCE AND INITIATIVES WITH CONTEXT SENSITIVE SOLUTIONS

(2003)

Context sensitive solutions (CSS) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to a transportation project, which involves all stakeholders, early and continually, to develop a transportation facility that equally addresses safety, mobility, and the preservation of scenic, aesthetic, historic, and environmental resources and community values. Federal Lands Highway (FLH) designs and constructs highway projects within our nation’s most environmentally and culturally sensitive areas:nationalparks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and other important Federal public lands. This long-standing mission of working in extremely sensitive areas requires the use of CSS, and, therefore, FLH is recognized as being an expert in the use of CSS. Federal Lands Highway, along with five states each representing the regions of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), functions as a “pilot state.” In its role as a “pilot state,” FLH is charged with promoting CSS principles, showcasing its projects that exemplify CSS principles, and with training its staff. Currently, Federal Lands Highway is leading an effort within FHWA to develop training in CSS, which would primarily target all FHWA staff, both in the Federal-aid and Federal Lands Highway divisions of FHWA.

Cover page of INTENSITY OF HUMAN USE, BACKCOUNTRY ROADS, AND ANALYSIS OF HUMAN ACCESSIBILITY

INTENSITY OF HUMAN USE, BACKCOUNTRY ROADS, AND ANALYSIS OF HUMAN ACCESSIBILITY

(2003)

Intensity of human use (IHU) is a conceptual geographic characteristic that describes an area’s rank on the continuum from high use (e.g., urban area or active strip mine) to low use (roadless wilderness). Customary measures of IHU, such as human population density or road density, lose their utility at the low-use end of the spectrum — and it is here that human activities may have their greatest ecological effect on some ecological resources, such as wildlife habitat. Conceptually, we suggest that IHU is determined by four factors: IHU=P*D*A/C, where A is human accessibility, P is the population of potential visitors, D is attraction to a destination, and C is the dilution effect of alternate destinations. In our vehicle-centric culture, roads are essential determinants of human accessibility. Each time a road is built or opened, some area surrounding the opened road becomes more accessible, and each time a road is closed or reclaimed some area becomes less accessible. Our modeling efforts have focused on small enough areas that factors P, D, and C are essentially constant. Our geographic information system (GIS) model of A expresses inaccessibility (roughly the reciprocal of A) as minimum travel time T(x, y) from a paved road. The model depends on three digital geographic descriptors: elevation, land cover, and transportation. Calculations derive from estimates of vehicular speed on unpaved roads and walking speeds off-road. At present, our model ignores alternate off-road transportation modes, such as horse, motorized dirt bike, or all-terrain vehicle (ATV), although these can be easily incorporated under the basic model structure.

Cover page of DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE MOWING PLANS FOR INTERSTATE, EXPRESSWAY AND PARKWAY ROADSIDES

DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVE MOWING PLANS FOR INTERSTATE, EXPRESSWAY AND PARKWAY ROADSIDES

(2003)

A primary responsibility of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is to maintain a highway right of way that is safe for the traveling public. Most often, this requires removal of trees, shrubs, and other fixed objects that may stand in the way of drivers leaving the highway. For many years, the department has fulfilled this responsibility by large scale clearing and mowing of a clear zone. Roadside management practices that maintain the right of way as parkland certainly make the road safe and visually pleasing, but provide little in the way of useful habitat for wildlife. The clear zone, occupying approximately 1 percent of the state’s land area, is a landscape that has much potential for providing nesting and foraging habitat for grassland bird species. Protection of the environment being another responsibility of the department, the NYSDOT needs to advance practices that promote wildlife use of habitats along the highway, while maintaining a safe and aesthetic roadside for the travelers.

Cover page of WILDLAND ROAD REMOVAL: RESEARCH NEEDS

WILDLAND ROAD REMOVAL: RESEARCH NEEDS

(2003)

Wildland road removal is a common practice across the U.S. and in some parts of Canada. The main types of road removal include ripping, stream crossing restoration, and full recontour. Road removal creates a short-term disturbance that may temporarily increase sediment loss. However, research and long-term monitoring have shown that road removal both reduces erosion rates and the risk of road-induced landslides. Research is needed to determine whether road removal is effective at restoring ecosystem processes and wildlife habitat. We propose several research questions and the types of studies needed to further road removal efforts. With greater understanding of the impacts of road removal, land managers can more effectively prioritize which roads to leave open and which roads to consider for future road removal projects.

Cover page of THE ADVERSE EFFECTS TO FISHES OF PILE-DRIVING - THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ESA AND EFH CONSULTATIONS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

THE ADVERSE EFFECTS TO FISHES OF PILE-DRIVING - THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ESA AND EFH CONSULTATIONS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

(2003)

Piles are integral components of many overwater and in-water structures, providing support for piers and bridges, functioning as fenders and dolphins to protect other structures, and are used to construct breakwaters and bulkheads. While treated-wood and concrete piles are commonly used for construction of these structures, there is a growing trend toward the use of hollow steel piles. In the Pacific Northwest, several recently-reported fish-kills that occurred during the installation of piles have raised concern among Federal and state agencies charged with protecting aquatic resources. Federal concern centers primarily on implementation of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Injuries to fishes inflicted by pile driving are poorly studied, but include rupture of the swim bladder and internal hemorrhaging. The mechanism of injury appears to be the intense underwater pressure wave generated during some pile-driving activities. The type and intensity of the underwater sounds produced depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the type and size of the pile, the firmness of the substrate and depth of water into which the pile is being driven, and the type and size of the pile-driving hammer. In general, driving steel piles with an impact hammer appears to generate pressure waves that are more harmful than those generated by impact-driving of concrete or wood piles, or by vibratory-hammer driving of any type of pile. Of the reported fish-kills, all have occurred during impact-driving of steel piles. However, conditions required to produce sound pressure waves that can injure or kill fishes are not presently understood. Recent reports of fishes killed during pile driving are producing changes in the way that such activities are being viewed by the Washington State Habitat Branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service during ESA and EFH consultations. These changes include requirements for hydro-acoustic monitoring of the sound pressure levels generated during pile driving, and, if maximum thresholds are exceeded, the incorporation of measures to reduce those sound pressure levels. This presentation discusses the approach taken by the Washington State Habitat Branch to address the uncertainties associated with pile driving and the adverse effects this activity may have on ESA-listed salmonids and EFH.

Cover page of ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN NYSDOT HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP IN NYSDOT HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE

(2003)

The New York State Department of Transportation operates and maintains approximately 16,500 miles of highway that occupies approximately 1 percent of the state’s land area. Due to the tendency of the highway system to follow streams, coastlines and other natural landscape features, this 1% of land is located within, over and adjacent to many very sensitive and important environmental areas. Considering that NYSDOT, like most transportation departments, is now shifting its efforts more and more towards improving, operating and maintaining the existing transportation infrastructure, as opposed to building large-scale new alignment projects, the role of incorporating environmental improvements into maintenance and operational programs is increasing in importance. The project objective was to Proactively reach out to internal and external partners to identify priorities anddevelop multi-agency strategies and projects that improve environmental conditions along NYSDOT’s rights-of-way and roadsides. The approach required thorough internal teamwork involving many regional groups and external partnering with resource agencies and environmental organizations in order identify, develop and coordinate prioritized environmental stewardship projects. These “best practices” are then implemented during highway maintenance activities. NYSDOT has 11 regional offices with each region having a Landscape Architecture/Environmental Services unit located within the Regional Design Group. Although, located within the Design Group, these Units provide environmental services to all regional groups - including maintenance. In addition, in 2001, a senior environmental specialist (a.k.a. maintenance environmental coordinator or MEC) was assigned to each regional maintenance group to supplement existing programs by dedicating full-time effort coordinating environmental issues in the maintenance group. One aspect of this effort has been a focus on incorporating environmental right-of-way and roadside “Best Practices” into regional maintenance programs. Critical elements of this strategy include fostering internal teamwork within the region and developing partnerships with external groups. By using internal knowledge and resources and external expertise and assistance, the Department’s organizational strengths can be efficiently and effectively managed to expand right-of-way roadside environmental stewardship programs. Examples of 2002 “best practices” to be discussed include: (1.) control methods for invasive plants; (2.) installation of water level control structures at chronic nuisance beaver locations; (3.) installation of water quality improvement structures near drinking water supplies; (4.) turtle mortality abatement efforts; (5.) alternative mowing strategies to enhance grassland songbird nesting habitat; (6.) establishment of living snow fences; (7.) osprey nesting enhancements; (8.) methods to reduce deer vehicle collisions; (9.) migratory bird protection on bridges; (10.) herbicide education programs; and (11.) small petroleum spill abatement measures. These strategies and Best Practices are applicable to any national, provincial, state or local transportation department with an interest in incorporating environmental improvements into daily maintenance activities.

Cover page of USING GENETICS TO STUDY ROAD IMPACTS ON BEARS IN FLORIDA

USING GENETICS TO STUDY ROAD IMPACTS ON BEARS IN FLORIDA

(2003)

Funding source: Florida Department of Transportation Total Budget: $407,000 Project Period: April 2001 – April 2004 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has documented an increase in the number of transportation-related bear deaths (roadkill) since the late 1970’s. In addition to impacts on bear populations, vehicle collisions with bears often are traumatic for the people involved and may cause significant collateral damage and personal injury. For these reasons, and because of the lack of definitive information on the subject, the FWC partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to design a project that would quantify the impacts of roadkill on bear populations in Florida. Our study design incorporates two main features: population size enumeration and range delineation for bears in six core areas across Florida. As genetic analyses have improved and laboratory costs decreased, DNA techniques have been used for a wide variety of studies on bears. Our methodology involves sampling bears via hairs left on barbed wire strands surrounding bait sites (hair snare) randomly placed in a systematic grid across each study area. We will then derive population abundance estimates by using individual identification from the DNA analysis within a mark-recapture framework. We will determine both core and peripheral bear range across Florida. Core bear range is defined as that which contains breeding females and peripheral range as that which contains bear signs but no evidence of breeding females. Using an estimate of minimum patch size needed for bears, we sectioned the entire state into 10,000-acre blocks to determine whether bears are present or absent in each block. We polled local residents and area biologists to help ascertain areas occupied by bears. We will extrapolate densities derived from the mark-recapture abundance estimates to the entire area of core bear range within each of the six areas. The final product will be a detailed range map and corresponding population estimate for each of the core populations. We will calculate the impacts of roads within each core population and across the state by determining the proportion of roadkill in relation to abundance estimates derived from the DNA analysis. The numbers generated from this analysis will be compared to literature and published data on sustainable mortality rates for black bears. We will document and examine the relationship between roadkill, road density, traffic volume, and estimated abundance for trends in these parameters. We will identify areas of significant impact and, if necessary, make recommendations on how to improve the relationship between roads and black bears in these areas. Lastly, we will examine the updated bear range maps for signs of fragmentation and isolation related to roads.