Eco-Logical: An Ecosystem Approach to
Developing Infrastructure Projects
Appendix C - Resource Guide
Alaska DOT&PF Report: "A Scoping Analysis to Assess the Effects of Roads in Alaska on Habitat Quality and Connectivity"
The purpose of this project was to build a "toolbox" of information that may be used by the Alaska DOT&PF to assess the effects of existing and proposed roads on habitat quality and connectivity. As a subtext, the project focused on the ability of GIS to assist transportation planners with project development.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.383.5375&rank=1&q=A%20Scoping%20Analysis%20to%20Assess%20the%20Effects%20of%20Roads%20in%20Alaska%20on%20Habitat%20Quality%20and%20Connectivity&osm=&ossid=. Content is no longer available.
Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS)
CAPS is a computer software program designed to assess the biodiversity value of every location based on natural community-specific models, and prioritize lands for conservation action based on their assessed biodiversity value in combination with other data relevant to their prioritization.
www.umasscaps.org/
Enlibra Principles
The Enlibra Principles outline a philosophy for solving environmental problems across the country.
http://leavitt.li.suu.edu/leavitt/?p=618
Federal Conservation Incentive Programs with the USFWS
Programs described include the Landowner Incentive Program, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants Program (www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/NAWCA/act.htm), Partners for Fish and Wildlife (www.fws.gov/partners/index.htm), and the Private Stewardship Program (www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/private_stewardship). Other agencies’ incentive programs are described at https://www.fws.gov/wsfrprograms/Subpages/GrantPrograms/LIP/LIP.htm. Content is no longer available.
Federal Guidance on the Use of In-Lieu-Fee Arrangements for Compensatory Mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act
Memorandum clarifying the manner in which in-lieu-fee mitigation may serve as an effective and useful approach to satisfy compensatory mitigation requirements.
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/policy-and-guidance-documents-under-cwa-section-404
Federal Guidance on the Use of the TEA-21 Preference for Mitigation Banking to fulfill Mitigation Requirements under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, July 11, 2003
Document providing interagency guidance on applying the preference for wetlands banking mandated in TEA-21 to compensatory mitigation requirements under Section 404 of the CWA.
https://www.epa.gov/wetlands
FHWA Final Guidance on Transportation Enhancements Activities
This guidance provides information and assistance in the delivery of nontraditional transportation related activities that make a tremendous contribution to FHWA’s and the Department of Transportation’s commitment to community preservation and enhancement.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/transportation_enhancements/guidance/index.cfm
FHWA Innovative Financing
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/finance/default.aspx
FHWA Memorandum: Federal-aid Eligibility of Wetland and Natural Habitat Mitigation, March 10, 2005
The purpose of this memorandum is to reiterate and clarify previous FHWA guidance on wetland and natural habitat mitigation. Specifically, it emphasizes that wetland and natural habitat mitigation measures, such as wetland and habitat banks or statewide and regional conservation measures, are eligible for Federal-aid participation when they are undertaken to create mitigation resources for future transportation projects.
www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/Legislation/other_legislation/natural/laws_wethabmitmem.aspx
FHWA Regulation on Mitigation Banking (23 CFR 777)
Regulation providing policy and procedures for the evaluation and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts to wetlands and natural habitat resulting from Federal-aid projects funded pursuant to provisions of title 23, U.S. Code.
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-23/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-777
Florida’s Wildlife Species Ranking Process
The Florida Department of Transportation has recently started a program to integrate road projects with statewide conservation objectives by installation of underpasses or culverts on a statewide level designed to restore landscape connectivity and processes. Through identification of priority ecological interface zones highway officials can program mitigative measures needed on state highways to counter negative impacts on wildlife and wildlife habitat and for restoration of important landscape-level processes.https://trid.trb.org/view/1391698.
Guidelines for Federal-aid Participation in the Establishment and Support of Wetland Mitigation Banks, October 24, 1994
Guidelines for Federal-aid participation in establishment and support of wetland mitigation banks that provides State transportation agencies with the flexibility to meet the need to manage mitigation of wetland impacts now and in the future.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/policy/memo55.htm
Interagency Guidance for Establishment, Use and Operation of Mitigation Banks
The purpose of this guidance is to clarify the manner in which mitigation banks may be used to satisfy mitigation requirements of the CWA Section 404 permit program and the wetland conservation provisions of the Food Security Act.
Maine’s Beginning with Habitat
Beginning with Habitat is a habitat-based landscape approach to assessing wildlife and plant conservation needs and opportunities. The goal of the program is to maintain sufficient habitat to support all native plant and animal species currently breeding in Maine by providing each Maine town with a collection of maps and accompanying information depicting and describing various habitats of statewide and national significance found in the town.
https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/beginning-with-habitat/index.html
National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan
In response to independent critiques of the effectiveness of wetland compensatory mitigation for authorized losses of wetlands and other waters under Section 404 of the CWA, the EPA, the USACE, and the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, and Transportation released the National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan on December 26, 2002.
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/background-about-compensatory-mitigation-requirements-under-cwa-section-404
National Research Council (NRC) Report: "Valuing Ecosystem Services: Toward Better Environmental Decision-Making"
This report discusses several challenges to valuing ecosystem services.
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/11139/chapter/1
Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Planning Manual
This document establishes the Natural Resources Conservation Service policy for providing conservation planning assistance to clients.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/getting-assistance/conservation-technical-assistance/conservation-planning
North Carolina’s Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP)
The EEP combines an existing wetlands-restoration initiative by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources with ongoing efforts by the NCDOT to offset unavoidable environmental impacts from transportation-infrastructure improvements. The USACE joined as a sponsor in the historic agreement. In 2015, EEP changed its name to the Division of Mitigation Services (DMS). NCDOT and other developers continue to voluntarily use DMS to protect the State’s streams, wetlands, and riparian buffers.
https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/mitigation-services
Oklahoma’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Starting with outside sources that identified animal species in special need of conservation, Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife consulted with hundreds of fish and wildlife experts to develop a list of 246 species in greatest need of conservation in Oklahoma.
https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/Delete/2017-4-1/Archived_OK_Spp_ofGreatestConsNeed_170329.pdf
Sonoran Desert Regional Framework for Ecosystem Monitoring
The Sonoran Institute, an organization that works with communities to conserve and restore important natural landscapes in Western North America, is partnering to create a bi-national, ecosystem monitoring framework for the Sonoran Desert.
Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP)
SARP was initiated in 2001 to address the myriad issues related to the management of aquatic resources in the southeastern United States. The intent of the SARP is to develop State and Federal partnerships that will extend beyond the traditional boundaries of fishery resource management agencies and will establish a commitment to truly work together for the benefit of the resource.
https://southeastaquatics.net/
USFWS Memorandum to USFWS Directors "Guidance for the Establishment, Use, and Operation of Conservation Banks" May 2, 2003
The memorandum transmits guidance that helps the USFWS evaluate proposals to establish conservation banks. It provides a collaborative incentive-based approach to endangered species conservation, which if used in coordination with other tools available to the USFWS, can aid in the recovery of the species.
https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/permits/hcp/hcp_readings.html. Content is no longer available.
USFWS Mitigation Guidance on Conservation Banking
Guidance providing a collaborative incentive-based approach to endangered species conservation, which if used in coordination with other tools available to the USFWS, can aid in the recovery of the species.
https://fws.gov/library/collections/mitigation-and-conservation-banking-toolbox
Valuing Ecosystem Services: Toward Better Environmental Decision-Making
This report offers recommendations on valuing ecosystem services. Challenges to successfully integrating ecology and economics are also discussed.
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/11139/chapter/1
Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP)
The MSHCP is a comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) focusing on Conservation of species and their associated Habitats in Western Riverside County. It is one of several large, multi-jurisdictional habitat-planning efforts in Southern California with the overall goal of maintaining biological and ecological diversity within a rapidly urbanizing region.
https://www.wrc-rca.org/habitat-conservation/
Wetlands Protection: Assessments Needed to Determine Effectiveness of In-Lieu-Fee Mitigation
This May 2001 GAO Report raises concerns regarding the administration and ecological effectiveness of in-lieu-fee arrangements and provides recommendations for addressing these concerns.
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-01-325.pdf
Wildlife Action Plan
In order to receive Federal funds through the State Wildlife Grants program, Congress charged each state and territory with developing a State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, or Wildlife Action Plan. The plans will provide a foundation for the future of wildlife conservation. See https://www.fishwildlife.org/afwa-informs/state-wildlife-action-plans. For the State Wildlife Grants Program see https://www.fishwildlife.org/afwa-informs/resources/state-tribal-wildlife-grants-program.
W.K. Kellogg Logic Model Development Guide
This guide describes the underlying principles of "logic modeling" as a tool to help demonstrate the effectiveness of program activities.
https://wkkf.issuelab.org/resource/guiding-program-direction-with-logic-models.html
Other Helpful References
Guidance for Selecting Compensatory Wetlands Mitigation Options, NCHRP Report 482
This report presents guidance on selecting the most appropriate compensatory strategies to mitigate the effects of transportation projects on wetland habitats. Based on a comprehensive review of mitigation practices in the United States, the report discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches and presents guidelines that an agency can use to select mitigation options that will have the greatest chance of success. Case studies are used to illustrate the process used by a number of State departments of transportation (DOTs) to mitigate unavoidable wetland losses.
https://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/152077.aspx
Second Nature
Second Nature: Improving Transportation Without Putting Nature Second profiles innovative programs that seek to improve transportation infrastructure while protecting biodiversity.
http://transact.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Second_Nature.pdf
Training Opportunities
Green Infrastructure: A Strategic Approach to Natural Resource Planning and Conservation
Through lecture, case studies, and class exercises, this course will introduce participants to the concepts and values of green infrastructure; to innovative tools and techniques for planning, designing, and implementing green infrastructure networks; and to successful approaches for integrating green infrastructure into local, regional, state and national land use plans, policies, practices, land protection strategies, watershed planning, and community decisions.
FHWA GIS for Environmental Streamlining - GIS Use for Improved Decisionmaking
GIS and other geospatial data tools are playing bigger roles in both transportation and environmental programs. They have become a key element in the efforts of many States to streamline their environmental review process and develop cooperative efforts with environmental resource agencies. This Workshop is intended to share information on how GIS is being used within existing environmental programs and to support streamlining initiatives with some examples from the 2003 TRB Peer Review on environmental spatial data as well as the state of the art around the country. Sessions are flexible enough to support State discussions of cooperative efforts with Resource Agencies. The Workshop is held by itself or with other environmental or GIS workshops.
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