Poster Sessions, pages 567-640 - ICOET

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Abstract A Web-Based Approach to Compliance Reporting for Caltrans Ivy Edmonds-Hess (415-243-4724, edmondshess@pbworld.com), Lead Environmental Planner/ Professional Associate, PB, 303 Second Street, Suite 700 North, San Francisco, CA 94107, Fax: 415-243-9501 USA Meeting compliance reporting requirements may be relatively easy for a smaller construction project, but as the projects gets larger and longer to complete the requirements get more extensive and complicated. Following traditional techniques such as mailing hard copies of reports can become labor intensive and expensive. The following describes a web-based approach that has been successfully used for over four years by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) during construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (SFOBB) East Span Seismic Safety Project. The purpose of the East Span Project is to provide a seismically upgraded crossing for current and future users between Yerba Buena Island and Oakland. The construction period is approximately twelve years for construction of the new East Span and two years to remove the existing structure. Construction activities take place on land as well as in San Francisco Bay and include activities such as dredging, excavation, pile driving, construction of temporary and permanent structures, and removal of the existing bridge. Caltrans has incorporated numerous measures to avoid, minimize and compensate for potential environmental impacts. Caltrans is performing construction monitoring for biological resources which may be affected by construction of the bridge, including birds, fish, marine mammals, eelgrass, and water quality. Additionally, Caltrans is working with multiple resource agencies to develop on-site and off-site mitigation opportunities for creation and restoration of habitat. The off-site mitigation projects are among the largest Caltrans has ever funded and are the result of many agencies and environmental interest groups working together to improve the ecosystem of the Bay. Construction of the East Span Project began in 2002. After the biological mitigation and monitoring program had been underway for several months, Caltrans began to contemplate ways to disseminate reports and information to the permitting agencies and the public in a timelier and easier manner. While the primary objective was to meet permit compliance requirements in a cost-effective manner, it was also important to provide easy public access to the information. In order to develop such a tool, a better understanding of the users and the functional requirements of the tool was necessary. Interviews with stakeholders were conducted to evaluate the data collection process and existing reporting mechanisms as well as to determine what functions the stakeholders would like the tool to have. It was determined that the best approach would be to have a user-friendly website that provided information in general terms for members of the public who simply had an interest in the project as well as more specifics about the biological mitigation and monitoring program (e.g., monitoring protocols, workplans, and technical reports) for those who were interested. Distribution lists of interested parties were created for the various topics. When a report or plan related to that topic is posted to the website, the members of the distribution list are emailed along with a direct link to the report. A website prototype was developed and an implementation planning session was conducted in which selected Caltrans and consultant staff used the prototype and provided feedback on the various components. The website was then presented to regulatory agencies staff during an interagency coordination meeting. Feedback from the permitting agencies was very favorable. Many of the staff mentioned that the website is easy to use. They also liked the fact that all documents are readily available. When needing to check on a piece of information, they don’t have to search their office for a hard copy of a report, permit, or protocol. Members of the public were first introduced to the site as a link from the overall Caltrans Bay Bridge website and a website developed by an organization representing construction workers. Use of the website started out slowly and averaged about 170 visitors per week during the first year of operation. As the website became more known, the number of visitors increased. During 2006, the website averaged about 450 visitors a week. Visitors are located in numerous countries and downloads of the permits, protocols, and weekly bird and marine mammal memos are very popular. After four years of operation, Caltrans has determined that use of the website has been very successful. While the use of websites has been limited on other mitigation and monitoring projects, Caltrans has found this tool to be simple, user-friendly, and cost-effective. It also demonstrates Caltrans’ commitment to the environment. Proponents of other projects may want to consider using a website for compliance reporting or other environmental documents, particularly as the issue of sustainability and going “paperless” becomes more prevalent. Biographical Sketch: Ivy Edmonds-Hess is a Lead Environmental Planner and Professional Associate with PB. She has over 18 years of experience in environmental consulting and project management for a wide variety of projects. In her current position, she has been assisting the California Department of Transportation with environmental and permitting issues with the East Span Project for over nine years. Posters 594 ICOET 2007 Proceedings
Effects of a Purpose-Built Underpass on Wildlife Activity and Traffic-Related Mortality in Southern California: The Harbor Boulevard Wildlife Underpass Abstract David Elliott (714-992-7113, david.elliott.m@gmail.com) and Paul Stapp (714-278-2849, pstapp@fullerton.edu), Department of Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92834-6850 USA Conservationists have advocated the construction of wildlife crossing structures for the purpose of reducing traffic mortality of wildlife and maintaining habitat connectivity in increasingly fragmented landscapes. In May 2006, construction was completed on a wildlife underpass beneath Harbor Boulevard, a four-lane road that bisects the Puente Hills, one of the few remaining large tracts of coastal sage scrub habitat in southern Los Angeles County. We monitored the frequency of road-killed wildlife and the activity of medium and large mammals at track-stations in the vicinity of the underpass before, during and after underpass construction. We also used digital remote cameras and track stations to determine wildlife use of the new underpass. Remote cameras were installed in the underpass on 26 May 2006, soon after construction was complete. Our aim was to determine whether such underpasses reduce traffic-related mortality of wildlife and improve functional connectivity of remnant coastal sage scrub and other natural habitats for wildlife populations. Cameras indicated that wildlife began using the underpass almost immediately after construction. Mule deer and coyotes were photographed using the tunnel 3 and 4 weeks, respectively, after cameras were installed. Coyotes have used the underpass fairly regularly, with a sharp increase observed in October 2006, 23 weeks after cameras were installed. Use of the underpass by deer has been less consistent, perhaps due to seasonal changes in habitat use. As of April 2007, coyotes were photographed at the underpass an average of 26.6 times per month, and deer, an average of 2.0 times per month. Additionally, one bobcat was photographed in February 2007. Track-station surveys indicated that coyotes and striped skunks are very common across the study area, but that other rare or more secretive carnivores such as long-tailed weasels, gray foxes and bobcats are also present. Track-station activity, and the diversity of species represented, was especially high in the center of the Puente Hills study area, suggesting that wildlife activity increases as one moves east and away from more intensely urbanized areas of the county. Across the study area, rodents were the most common road-killed animals followed by, in order of abundance, striped skunks, opossums, coyotes, brush rabbits, raccoons, mule deer, and bobcats. One American badger, a species that is considered uncommon in developed parts of Los Angeles County, was also found. Incidence of road-kills increased with higher speed limits. On Harbor Boulevard, coyotes accounted for 39% of the 31 road-kills detected since surveys began in July 2004, followed by opossums (19%) and striped skunks (16%). Two bobcats (6%) were also killed by vehicles on Harbor Boulevard over this period. Incidence of road-kills was very high on Harbor Boulevard relative to the rest of the study area prior to construction; however, to date (10 months post-construction), there has been no reduction in the frequency of road-kills on Harbor Boulevard. There also has been no apparent change in the frequency of road-kills across the study area between comparable pre- and post-construction surveys. Although wildlife use of the underpass has been relatively high, the lack of any decrease in the number of road-killed animals, notably coyotes, suggests that some animals have not found or are not using the underpass, and that other measures such as fencing might be considered in the vicinity to funnel more crossings off of Harbor Boulevard and into the underpass. The underpass was constructed at Harbor Boulevard because it represents an area of significant narrowing of the Puente Hills Wildlife Corridor by urban development, where traffic-related mortality of wildlife was suspected to be high. As such, the new underpass has the potential to facilitate movement between protected areas of the Puente Hills and other undeveloped private and public lands to the east. We hope that our project, which will monitor wildlife activity and traffic-related mortality in the vicinity of the underpass through May 2007, will add to the current body of knowledge on mitigating the negative effects of roads on wildlife. Additionally, our project may also provide information that will help to eventually create and maintain a functional wildlife corridor from the San Gabriel River to the Cleveland National Forest, of which the habitat in Puente Hills will be a critical link. Biographical Sketches: David Elliott is currently a Master’s student at California State University, Fullerton. His project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a purpose-built wildlife underpass in Los Angeles County, California and measure wildlife activity in the area surrounding the underpass. Dr. Paul Stapp is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Science at Cal State Fullerton. Bridging the Gaps, Naturally 595 Posters
Page 1 and 2: Poster Sessions Introduction Ecolog
Page 3 and 4: metamorphs. Road mortality is likel
Page 5 and 6: eproductive abilities and survivors
Page 7 and 8: that the strongest stimuli for immo
Page 9 and 10: hectic and substantial task of crea
Page 11 and 12: Forman, R. T. T. 2000. Estimate of
Page 13 and 14: Lehtinen, R. M. S. M. Galatowitsch,
Page 15 and 16: Sealy, J. B. 2002. Ecology and beha
Page 17 and 18: Abstract Assessing the Stone Marten
Page 19 and 20: Abstract Lessons and Experiences Fr
Page 21 and 22: The Salmon Resource and Sensitive A
Page 23 and 24: Environmental Scoping Application E
Page 25 and 26: Recommendations for future research
Page 27: Use of a GIS-Based Model of Habitat
Page 31 and 32: Background Major Objectives for Roa
Page 33 and 34: Iuell, B., H. (G. J.) Bekker, R. Cu
Page 35 and 36: Forest Service Back Roads: Utilizat
Page 37 and 38: Abstract Development of a Bald Eagl
Page 39 and 40: An Alternative to the Openness Rati
Page 41 and 42: Abstract Effectiveness of Black Bea
Page 43 and 44: Highway Median Impacts on Wildlife
Page 45 and 46: Taxa groups (largely based on Calif
Page 47 and 48: Long-Term Consequences of Winter Ro
Page 49 and 50: Abstract Effects of a Highway Impro
Page 51 and 52: Introduction Roadkill and Landscape
Page 53 and 54: The fact that we have never met two
Page 55 and 56: Figure 3. Valley grassland unit, an
Page 57 and 58: Abstract An Analytical Framework fo
Page 59 and 60: Abstract Measuring Gene Flow Across
Page 61 and 62: Introduction Wildlife Use of Open a
Page 63 and 64: automatically photograph animals th
Page 65 and 66: Our track plates did not find any s
Page 67 and 68: Abstract An Overview of Recent Deer
Page 69 and 70: Abstract Riparian Restoration Plan
Page 71 and 72: Relating Vehicle-Wildlife Crash Rat
Page 73: Simulation-Optimization Framework t

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