2024 Conference Session Details

TRACK: Infrastructure Enhancements: Prioritization and Mitigation | ROOM: Marriott Salon A

Nova Scotia, Canada is a small province with a variety of wildlife and key habitat threatened by an extensive road system. In recent years several wildlife crossing structures have been erected in the province based on localized collision data and, in 2023, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR), Nova Scotia Department of Public Works (DPW), and a master’s student at the University of Guelph collaborated to systematically identify provincially important wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) hotspots using a 23-year dataset collected by DNRR. This project represents a concerted effort to consolidate the understanding of WVCs in the province and demonstrates the province’s commitment to collaborative efforts that result in positive changes for wildlife. This research adapted the Optimized Hotspot Analysis tool (ArcGIS Pro) to analyze 20,026 WVC records collected from 1999 to 2022. We identified provincially important WVC hotspots for the three large mammal species found in NS: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), American black bear (Ursus americanus), and moose (Alces alces). The results point to several pinch points where WVCs were highest, including a notable area in the Chignecto Isthmus where collisions were high for both black bear and the endangered NS mainland moose. These areas of high WVC mortality can have population scale implications for endangered species. The identification of WVC hotspots can assist Natural Resource and Transportation agencies to pinpoint areas of concern for future wildlife collision mitigation through the installation of wildlife crossing and fencing infrastructure. This research represents a unique approach to WVC hotspot analysis that enables the incorporation of entire complex road networks. The collaborative underpinnings and research methods demonstrated in this research will be of interest to other agencies looking to address the effects of roads on wildlife.

Wildlife vehicle collisions (WVCs) in the United States have a significant impact upon roadway safety with fatalities, property damage, and other collateral damage occurring annually. A national, annual average 148 fatalities are reported for deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) with an average 6 deaths/year in New York State alone. Property damages from WVCs throughout the U.S. are estimated to exceed $8 billion annually. With the significant negative outcomes from DVCs, it is important to identify areas of high WVC occurrence and prioritize mitigation strategies to improve motorist safety and reduce collision costs. This study analyzed 13 years of WVC data throughout New York State, with over 450,000 records scrutinized. WVC data were summarized at 3/10-mile scale and modeled to identify the most important covariates associated with elevated incidence of WVCs. Implementation thresholds for WVC reduction strategies were quantified using a decision matrix considering frequency of collisions, injuries, deaths, etc. Implementation thresholds will be included within Highway Safety Improvement Programs and Safety Investigation Procedures in NYS in conjunction with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Federal Highway Safety Improvement Programs.

As part of the construction of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail Program Main Line Improvements, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) determined the most appropriate compensatory mitigation for the inland wetland and water impacts incurred along the 62-mile Project corridor, was the preservation and enhancement of a 22-acre mitigation site within the Connecticut River watershed. The mitigation plan included stream restoration using bioengineering techniques, a small amount of wetland creation, intense and varied management of herbaceous and woody invasive species, native plantings, and installation of wildlife habitat features. The result is a mosaic of old field, wet meadow, shrub stand, forested, and riparian community cover types with a diverse representation of plant species. The site is well stabilized with dense vegetation and provides valuable wildlife and pollinator habitat. However, monitoring and management provided an interesting challenge and opportunity to evaluate numerous control techniques for the well-established, existing population of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) which covered a greater proportion of the existing site at the time of construction then during mitigation site selection. Originally targeted for approximately 2.3 acres of purple loosestrife management in 2015, full review of the site in 2019 found that 4.05 acres contained some cover of purple loosestrife in a gradient of densities. The presentation will review the measures taken to extensively document the invasive species, establish an aggressive and varied treatment plan to control the loosestrife, employ unique strategies, and provide the lessons learned and findings.

TRACK: Strategies and Approaches for Terrestrial Wildlife Passage | ROOM: Marriott Salon B

Models of regional connectivity are typically based on pre-designated core areas for conservation. However, alternative ecological priorities may not correspond with those predetermined cores. The Designing Sustainable Landscapes project at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a suite of regional connectivity metrics that are not core dependent, but that are specific for broad categories of ecosystems (forests, non-forested wetlands, floodplain forests, ridgetop communities). Our approach was based on “random low-cost paths” in a resistant landscape to estimate mid-range connectivity among points of high ecological integrity. We then used a graph-theoretic approach to estimate long-range regional connectivity among these mid-range connectors. The result was long-range regional connectivity based on fine-scale features of the landscape. ecoConnect, our model of regional connectivity, allows scientists and practitioners to define their own conservation priorities and then use regional connectivity metrics to identify the best opportunities for linking those core areas into conservation networks. Assessments of road-stream crossings for terrestrial wildlife passability improve models of landscape connectivity by identifying existing opportunities for wildlife to cross roads and highways. Regional connectivity metrics can be used to identify road and highway segments that should be prioritized for culvert replacements or retrofits, bridge expansions, or the construction of wildlife passage structures.

In anticipation of the historic influx of federal transportation dollars, several years ago, partners involved in the public-private Staying Connected Initiative, including many northeastern DOTs, identified a critical need to proactively prioritize transportation projects that result in benefits to transportation networks and the important natural systems they intersect.

Working through our contractor, Northeast Conservation Services, LLC, The Nature Conservancy is undertaking a first-ever regional prioritization of transportation infrastructure needs to identify areas of intersection with high priority ecological restoration opportunities. A primary outcome of the project is the development of user-driven tools that allows transportation and natural resource managers to screen and filter road infrastructure needs with opportunities for terrestrial wildlife passage, aquatic organism passage, flood risk reduction, and other benefits where identifiable and quantifiable. This effort to marry infrastructure and ecological priorities can enhance a project’s ability to achieve greater co-benefits for both people and nature, increase cost-effectiveness, and improve a proposal’s competitiveness for attracting federal funds. This presentation will highlight some of the tools created, while also potentially featuring insight from one or more of our DOT partners regarding their application.

The North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) began in 2015 with three principle objectives: 1) establish a network of people and organizations in the 13-state, Northeastern U.S. who are interested in landscape connectivity, 2) develop unified stream crossing assessment protocols for use throughout the region, and 3) create a programmatic infrastructure to support collection of road-stream crossing data by organizations in the 13-state region. The NAACC began with a protocol to assess aquatic passability for bridges and culverts on non-tidal streams and rivers. Between its launch in 2015 and February of 2024, nearly 75,000 aquatic crossing assessments were conducted and entered into the NAACC database. Eventually, additional assessment modules were developed to allow the assessment of aquatic passability for road-stream crossings on tidal streams and rivers, passability for various groups of terrestrial wildlife, and an assessment of culvert condition. NAACC aquatic assessment protocols have been adopted by the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) and are being used in 14 states in the Southeastern U.S. SARP has also conducted training workshops on the NAACC protocols in the Midwest and Intermountain West. In Canada, the NAACC organization and aquatic protocols are serving as a model for a national crossing assessment program. Now, nine years after it was created, it is time to find a more sustainable model for funding and coordinating the NAACC. It may even be time to consider creating a national Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative in the U.S. patterned on the NAACC and compatible with the developing Canadian program.

TRACK: Connectivity Planning with Partnerships and Implementation at Various Scales (Regional to Local) | ROOM: Marriott Salon C

In New Jersey, wildlife are up against steady urbanization, a dense network of roads, and a changing climate, all of which put the connectedness of our habitats and wildlife populations in jeopardy. The Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ) initiative is an effort to make our landscape more permeable for terrestrial wildlife by identifying key areas and actions needed to preserve and restore habitat connectivity across the state. It is designed to help 1) prioritize land protection, 2) inform habitat restoration and management, and 3) guide mitigation of barrier effects on wildlife and habitats. CHANJ offers tools and resources to guide these goals forward in a strategic way.

Version 1 of the CHANJ tools were released in 2019 and our intention was to hold an annual meeting with partners to build collaborations and partnerships, discuss successes and challenges over the previous year, and to set goals and priorities for the coming year. Due to various issues that annual meeting did not happen, until finally in the spring of 2024 we were able to pull off our first annual State of CHANJ meeting.

We broke the meeting up into a land-focused morning session and a transportation-focused afternoon session. The goals of the meeting were to share progress since the 2019 launch of the CHANJ tools, identify needs and actionable opportunities, and further build collaborations to help piece together New Jersey’s connectivity puzzle. We will discuss our key takeaways from a statewide collaborator meeting of this kind.

In Vermont we’re approaching wildlife road crossings and habitat connectivity with a multi-scaled, multi-pronged approach starting with a larger landscape context that enables better coordination among government agencies and conservation partners. In 2024, we again updated the Vermont Conservation Design, a science-based vision to sustain the state’s valued natural areas, forests, waters, wildlife, and plants for future generations. The design identifies the most important lands and waters for maintaining ecological function. This prioritization functions as framework for coordinating conservation among many partners and in interaction with our Agency of Transportation. It is also a series of component datasets that include the connected forest and riparian networks, the physical landscape, and wildlife road crossings.

In the 2024 update, we used high resolution data to better map the edges of our forest blocks and better assess where wildlife are likely to cross roads. All of this is available to interact with on our online map, BioFinder.

The design is incorporated into state laws to guide policy discussions and also used for project-specific collaboration. It is referenced in Vermont’s Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection law and in the Forest Integrity Law with land use planning requirements related to forest blocks and habitat connectors. It also is used in transportation project review and helps guide our land protection efforts.

Vermont is integrating habitat connectivity into a larger landscape vision for our future and is using new technology to better identify important connectors.

This talk will highlight key outcomes related to the intersection of transportation and ecological connectivity at multiple scales from the first-ever Northeastern North America Landscape Connectivity Summit, held in Montréal, Québec in June, 2024.

The Summit is a project of the Staying Connected Initiative (SCI), an innovative public-private partnership that has been working since 2009 to advance ecological connectivity across borders in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. The timing of the Summit has been driven in large part to capitalize on the unprecedented moment of opportunity currently available with historic levels of funding for connectivity and landscape-scale conservation projects in both the U.S. and Canada.

The gathering in Montréal is bringing together a unique collection of key leaders, decision-makers, and practitioners to build relationships and elevate knowledge, programs, and opportunities that will advance landscape connectivity conservation and restoration within and across borders throughout this continentally and globally significant region. Participants include representatives from state, provincial, and federal governments, Indigenous tribes and nations, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, public and private funders, and others from the five eastern-most Canadian provinces, seven northeastern-most U.S. states, traditional Indigenous territories in the region, and beyond.

Transportation and infrastructure is one of the Summit’s primary areas of attention, and related outcomes highlighted in this session are anticipated to include on-the-ground projects in high priority locations, governmental agreements and commitments, enhancements to regional coordination and collaboration, and other key actions.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 | 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM

To enable large scale wildlife barrier replacement efforts you need funding, capacity, and education, and to create regional wildlife corridors partnerships must coordinate to strategically connect individual projects across landscapes. In Massachusetts alone there are 25,000 culverts and small bridges crossing rivers and streams, and most are considered barriers to habitat. Currently, a patchwork approach is used that includes state agencies, conservation groups, and local government to help guide these projects forward, but increased coordination would leverage larger impacts for wildlife and improved efficiencies for the agencies and partners.

This panel presentation will discuss some approaches taken in Massachusetts that enable and empower communities to act in replacing barriers to wildlife passage, with a focus on culverts and small bridge replacements that fill in these gaps. Strategies include education (e.g., Rivers and Roads Training Program, and Training Sites), capacity building (e.g., Municipal Culvert Replacement Toolkit, design support from the state, and design support and coordination from conservation organizations) funding (e.g., Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance Grants, and the state Small Bridge Program), and regional planning (e.g., Berkshire Wildlife Linkages).

The panel will discuss some similarities seen with successful projects, and will highlight specific case studies to help illustrate some key factors in scaling up local wildlife connectivity projects in regional successes. The panel will also identify some "critical junctures" where projects can lose energy and get off track, and will discuss potential opportunities to proactively prepare for obstacles to maintain project momentum.

Our session will leave 30-40 minutes for a collaborative discussion question and answer session. We look forward to an interactive discussion where information and ideas can be shared by both the panel and the audience.

Bats play fundamental roles in the environment, but are facing global threats to their populations. In North America, nearly 50% of species have been identified as imminently vulnerable to severe declines, and populations of several species have already suffered greater than 90% declines due to the disease known as White nose syndrome. Bats are characterized by several life history features, such as long lifespans and low reproductive rates, that make recovery from disturbance a very slow and challenging process. Therefore, aiding bats in their recovery from WNS and other conservation threats will require comprehensive and adaptive strategies that reach across stakeholders. In 2023, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) released a Special Resolution, underscoring the reliance of vulnerable bat populations on bridges, culverts and other transportation structures, and setting forth recommendations for improving our understanding and management of bats using such structures. Increasingly, state transportation agencies are incorporating bat surveys into their infrastructure enhancement projects involving structures potentially used by bats. The success of these statewide efforts is wholly contingent on standardized approaches and collaborations between transportation and wildlife agencies, research institutions, private entities, and other land steward associations. We are proposing to hold a bat focused panel session at NETWC 2024 that will introduce the AFWA resolution and the variety of training materials available; discuss strategies for managing bats at transportation structures and along road networks; highlight successful collaborations between government agencies and other sectors; and, summarize the status of northeastern states' efforts and results regarding bridge and culvert surveys.

There will be 5 oral presentations and a brief Q&A.

SUB SESSION ABSTRACTS:
1) An Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Resolution for B.A.T.S. (Bats and Transportation Structures) Promoting Cooperation with State Transportation Agencies
Leanne Burns, AFWA; Katrina Morris, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Transportation infrastructure in the United States is in disrepair and much-needed transportation improvement projects are being proposed for the near future. However, unlike birds, there are currently no regulations or national guidance to survey structures for bats during project planning. Detection of protected species during project implementation can lead to costly delays and the potential for negative outcomes for bats. Without standardized guidance, appropriate training, and available funding it can be burdensome for Department of Transportation (DOT) and state resource agencies to incorporate bat surveys into their infrastructure enhancement projects. In September 2023, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) unanimously passed a resolution developed by the AFWA Bat Working Group (BWG) to address this issue. Resolution 2023-05-07: In Support of Collaboration Between State Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Departments of Transportation to Consider the Potential Impact of Transportation Structures on Bats encourages state resource agencies to work with state DOTs to adopt existing training materials like the Bats and Transportation Structures (B.A.T.S.) video. This video and associated materials will better prepare staff and contractors for bat surveys on transportation structures. The resolution also encourages survey data be entered into the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) database. As a result, state resource agencies should be able to more effectively manage and conserve bat populations while continuing to address transportation infrastructure improvement needs without delays. Following the resolution’s passage, the AFWA BWG and NABat developed a companion document that includes supplementary data templates to compliment official guidance the US Fish and Wildlife Service has provided for listed species.

2) Road Ecology and Bats: Buffers, Barriers, and Bridges to Minimize Roadkill and Maximize Conservation
D. Scott Reynolds, St. Paul’s School

Roads have both direct and indirect impacts on a wide variety of wildlife. Although bats are seldom the focus of direct mortality surveys, there is strong evidence that bats can be strongly impacted by poorly designed roadways. I will review our understanding of the road ecology of bats and the factors that lead to these negative impacts, and highlight the potential role of buffers, barriers, and pro-active bridge design that can ameliorate these impacts. When properly designed and constructed, road infrastructure can be developed and maintained without becoming a cumulative impact factor for bat communities.

3) Making Connections: Bats, Bridges, and Survey Requirements and Considerations
Jennifer LaStella and Elizabeth Chudy, Davey Resource Group, Inc.

The presentation will provide a general overview of suitable habitat requirements for roosting bats in transportation infrastructure, including bridges and culverts. Examples of transportation maintenance projects that may adversely affect bats using bridges or culverts will be reviewed. The project planning process will be summarized, including determining appropriate survey windows and evaluating the need for additional agency coordination or surveys. The presentation will describe standard survey methods and proper documentation. Multiple examples of positive survey findings will be provided, as well as a general discussion on survey challenges of conducting bridge surveys.

4) eDNA Surveys to Detect Bridge-Roosting Bats
Daniel Fisher, Student, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; MacKenzie Hall, New Jersey DEP Fish and Wildlife; Robert Kwait, Student, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Erin McHale, Student, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Morgan Mark, Student, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Kathleen Kerwin, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; Brooke Maslo, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

In human-modified landscapes across North America, bridges can provide bats with an adequate alternative to natural roosting sites. However, as critical infrastructure, bridges must be repaired or maintained regularly to ensure their integrity and ultimately the safety of pedestrians and vehicles. These operations and maintenance activities can cause significant disturbance or mortality to bridge-roosting bats. Where inter-agency consultation requests the inspection of transportation infrastructure prior to maintenance to determine if bats are present, surveys using acoustic and visual methods are typically conducted. These survey methods are time- and labor-intensive and may not yield reliable species identification. A promising approach for improving the detectability of bats roosting in bridges is through environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. However, eDNA approaches have not specifically been tested for bats. We sampled bridges in New Jersey where bats were previously confirmed to both test our ability to determine species using standard mammal primers and to quantify the detection probability of our eDNA methods. We conducted our surveys in summer, winter, and spring to investigate how seasonality affects our ability to detect bridge-roosting bats. To determine which bridge features may be most likely to retain bat DNA, we sampled common architectural structures on each bridge. Results of our eDNA metabarcoding analysis indicated our ability to detect and correctly identify bats to species-level, with an increased probability of detection in samples collected from bents, embankments, and expansion joints. We see this project as a first step in determining whether eDNA can be a more cost-effective and non-invasive way to survey bridges for the presence of roosting bats.

5) The Vermont Agency of Transportation, VHB, and Stantect Team Together for Statewide Bat Monitoring
Meghan Lout, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Bat acoustic monitoring and bridge/culvert surveys were conducted throughout the State of Vermont by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), with technical support from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) and Stantec Consulting, Inc. (Stantec) in 2023. VHB, Stantec, and VTrans (the Team) closely collaborated on approaches and timing of surveys that targeted the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis or MYSO), the northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis or MYSE), the tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus or PESU), and other rare species.

The Team deployed Pettersson D500x Ultrasonic Detectors; Wildlife Acoustics detectors, including the Song Meter Mini Bat Detector; and SM3 and SM4BAT Ultrasonic Detectors. VHB and Stantec analyzed data using Kaleidoscope Pro (Version 5.4.7), auto classifier version 5.4.0 (S/A: -1), and SonoBat 4.2.2 nE. A probable absence determination was made for MYSE and MYSO on the projects for which VHB was responsible, although PESU was confirmed present at two of the projects.

Acoustic and capture surveys were proposed for a large road improvement project in Benson, Vermont, where VHB conducted acoustic surveys and confirmed PESU presence. VHB, Stantec, VTrans, and the VFWD coordinated to complete capture, tracking, and emergence surveys targeting MYSO, MYSE, PESU, and the eastern small-footed bat (M. leibii). A small number of PESU calls were detected; therefore, mist-netting efforts were not justifiable. Coordinated efforts across agencies, including the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private sectors resulted in the successful completion of surveys on behalf of VTrans.

TRACK: Safety, Flooding, and Habitat Mitigation | ROOM: Marriott Salon C

CTDOT State Project 0044-0156 located in East Lyme, Connecticut; consists of widening 1.3 miles of I-95, the reconfiguration of Exit 74 ramp interchange and reconstruction of two arterial roadways - Route 161 (Flanders Road) and Frontage Road. To accommodate the widening, three existing bridges will be replaced or modified and 19 retaining walls will be constructed. Construction and modification of these structures results in 76,084 sq. ft. (1.747 acres) of wetlands and watercourses permanently impacted. 11,943 sq. ft. (0.274 acre) of wetlands and 13,895 sq. ft. (0.319 acre) of watercourses will be temporarily impacted. Compensatory mitigation under State permitting consists of 21,327 sq. ft. (0.490 acre) of wetland creation, 12,279 sq. ft. (0.282 acre) of wetland enhancement. Compensatory mitigation under USACE permitting will be provided via In-Lieu Fee contribution to mitigate for 42,478 sq. ft. (0.975 acre) of permanent wetland impacts. Compensatory floodplain mitigation is being provided to offset 5,137 cubic yards of fill placed in the Pattagansett River floodplain. Floodplain mitigation is being accomplished by creating two flood storage areas resulting in an overall net cut within the floodplain. Latimer brook is considered a critical fisheries resource due to the migration of alewife from the ocean to the freshwaters upstream for spawning. Improvements include notching existing ledge within the Brook to improve passage, installation of rock weirs downstream of Bridge No. 00251 conveying Latimer Brook under I-95 and installation of a new backwater weir within the Brook and replacement of an existing baffle system within the crossing.

The Walk Bridge Program, State Project 0301-0176, is a $1.5 billion program to replace the existing Metro-North railroad bridge (WALK Bridge) over Norwalk River in Norwalk. The replacement will serve to improve rail infrastructure in southwestern Connecticut and along the northeast rail corridor, the busiest rail corridor in the nation. Work associated with replacement of the WALK Bridge results in temporary impacts to intertidal zone (500 sq. ft.), areas below state Coastal Jurisdiction Line (CJL) (6,800 sq. ft.), areas below High Tide Line (HTL) (7,300 sq. ft.), and the Federal Navigational Channel (200 sq. ft.). Permanent impacts include state vegetated tidal wetlands (8,500 sq. ft.), state intertidal flats (200 sq. ft.), state intertidal zone (25,400 sq. ft.), areas below state CJL (92,100 sq. ft.), federal impacts below HTL (122,500 sq. ft.), and the Federal Navigational Channel (50,500 sq. ft.). Compensatory mitigation to offset impacts to tidal areas is being provided for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at six (6) sites along the Norwalk River proximal to the WALK Bridge. Four types of mitigation requirements were developed that included phragmites treatment, phragmites treatment with replanting, phragmites removal and salt marsh restoration, and riprap removal with salt marsh restoration. Compensatory mitigation for the Army Corps of Engineers was provided by contribution to the Connecticut In-Lieu Fee program. This presentation will highlight the planning, regulatory coordination, and development of the six (6) compensatory wetland mitigation sites as well as other project design coordination in the WALK Bridge Replacement Project and the successes and challenges encountered along the way.

Between 1967 and 1969, approximately 120 acres of Rumney Marsh were filled to create a 2.4-mile-long embankment for the Interstate 95 project, which was abandoned in 1972. This embankment restricts tidal flow to 444 acres of salt marsh, as only one opening was created for tidal flow and drainage at the relocated Pines River. Removal of the abandoned highway embankment and restoration of the marsh are specifically included as goals in the 1988 designation of the marsh as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) by the State of Massachusetts. To date, approximately 37 acres of wetlands have been restored as mitigation for five projects that impacted wetlands within and outside of Rumney Marsh.

To evaluate if the removal of the abandoned I-95 embankment would increase tidal flooding, EPA undertook bathymetric and water level studies. Our bathymetric study documented significant scour holes at each of the three major crossings of the Pines River. Our water level study documented that the area above the embankment has only slightly lower maximum daily tide levels as compared to the unrestricted Pines River. We also evaluated the heights of storm surges and discovered that the downstream Route 107 bridges and railroad embankment reduce the height of storm surges to upstream areas. We conclude that removal of the abandoned I-95 embankment from the marsh can be done in a manner that restores previous flow patterns, decreases erosive water velocities, improves drainage, restores clam flats, salt marsh, and fish and wildlife habitat, all without increasing flooding problems in the community.

Maine has a robust beaver population. This benefits a wide array of wetland-dependent wildlife, from macro-invertebrates to moose. But there is a downside for the transportation interests. In Maine, the number one beaver conflict is plugged road culverts.

Addressing this type of conflict by modifying a problem site to make it beaver-proof or resistant has been used in Maine since the 1970’s. The methods have changed significantly through trial and error and have reached a point where structures to exclude beaver from culverts can be near-permanent with minimal monitoring or maintenance. Each of the authors of this presentation has extensive experience addressing conflicts with beaver using live-trap and transfer, regulated trapping, lethal removal outside of trapping seasons, and site modification.

As true believers in the merits of site modification we have conducted five, day-long classes on the use, design, and installation of exclosure devices tailored for wildlife biologists, foresters, municipal and state highway maintenance personnel, Maine DOT Environmental staff, USDA-Wildlife Services staff, Animal Control Agents, and wildlife/forestry students at the University of Maine. Approximated 130 have attended, learning about beaver biology and conflict resolution methods in a morning classroom session. In the afternoon participants construct and install an exclosure device and water leveling system on an actual chronic beaver conflict site. Two more are planned for 2024.

Conducting hands-on training for 30 people, using actual roadside beaver conflict sites, and in shallow water, has many challenges and rewards. Structures are built and deployed by participants. Part of every training site is submergent and no two are alike. Safety and skill building are priorities. Every student ends the day with a solid understating of this technique, application, and required materials and labor cost.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 | 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Representatives from New Jersey Department Of Transportation, South Jersey Transportation Authority, and New Jersey Turnpike Authority will describe their respective and successful Pollinator programs throughout the State of NJ. All three major agencies will highlight individual examples and describe both the process and impact on the surrounding environment with a focus on the benefits to the motoring public as well as the State of New Jersey. We will share current partnering projects and the impacts they are having on the roadside environment with examples of how working together increases the sustainability of these ideals. Efforts of the “Do Not Mow” program are expanding as directed by each entity and will be highlighted. Creating new and sustainable Monarch Butterfly sites as part of an initiative to plant 100,000 milkweed plants along the roadsides of NJ will also be featured. Additionally discussion will include spotlighting some of the programs, the increase of habitat, reduction in mowing cost, enhancement of storm-water management, increase in environmental health, and carbon sequestration.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides an unprecedented opportunity to modernize our infrastructure for the benefit of people and wildlife by safeguarding biodiversity while reducing highway fatalities, stimulating the U.S. economy, and mitigating the impacts of our changing climate. There are over 15 new, expanded or existing programs that include wildlife connectivity considerations, including the inaugural $350M Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program (WCPP), which provides dedicated federal funding for projects to reduce wildlife-vehicle crashes and reconnect habitats.

The Nature Conservancy and ARC Solutions propose a panel session featuring an overview of relevant wildlife-related IIJA funding opportunities and lessons learned from initial funding rounds. ARC will provide key examples of successful proposals along with actionable guidance for transportation agencies seeking to optimize funding, align projects to appropriate funding streams, and enhance proposal competitiveness. Agency representatives from within the NETWC region will provide a deeper dive into three successful WCPP proposals. Vermont Agency of Transportation will discuss its receipt of WCPP funding to pay for preliminary engineering and design for a wildlife crossing underpass at a site of regional connectivity and conservation significance, with additional benefits for flood resiliency (they previously submitted a separate session on this topic which they noted may be combined with this session). Connecticut and Pennsylvania DOTs similarly received WCPP funding to develop statewide plans that prioritize safety and connectivity ‘hot spots’ and opportunities to integrate wildlife considerations. Representatives from both those agencies with also share their experience and insight. The session will allow ample time for discussion with the audience, providing an opportunity for attendees to ask key questions and glean valuable advice.

TRACK: Connectivity Planning with Partnerships and Implementation at Various Scales (Regional to Local) - Aquatic | ROOM: Marriott Salon C

CTDOT State Project 0148-0209 involves the lining of an existing 13-foot by 15-foot corrugated metal pipe culvert with a 2-inch Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) invert liner and installation of a channel revetment system to stabilize streambank erosion. The existing structure carries Wharton Brook which is habitat for diadromous fish species including American eel, Sea Lamprey, Alewife and Blueback Herring. The existing structure has an effective passage rate for Alewife and Blueback Herring of 87.5% during average spring flow. The project is located within a FEMA 100-yr floodplain and floodway and must meet NFIP and State Flood Management requirements. CTDOT and CTDEEP worked collaboratively to evaluate multiple project alternatives, potential fisheries enhancements and evaluate various hydraulic models in an effort to meet permitting requirements and address diadromous fish passage through the project area. The collaboration resulted in the proposed 2” UHPC invert lining which maintains water surface elevations at or below existing elevations conforming to NFIP and Permitting Requirements while maintaining the greatest effective diadromous fish passage possible, approximately 70% at average spring flow velocities. The presentation will discuss the culvert rehabilitation and fisheries enhancement alternatives evaluated as well as their impacts on hydraulics at the site, required EFH consultation process and environmental permitting. The presentation will highlight the importance of early and continued coordination between CTDOT and CTDEEP biologists on culvert rehabilitations with various site constraints, permitting challenges and diadromous passage concerns.

This presentation will discuss a new collaborative framework in Berkshire County, MA that is increasing the pace and scale of aquatic habitat restoration, and planning that work strategically to adapt both the built and natural environments to climate change.

The Berkshire Clean, Cold and Connected (BCCC) Restoration Partnership was convened in 2022, with support from the Restoration Partnerships Grant Program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Ecological Restoration. BCCC Core Partners (Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Farmington River Watershed Association, Hoosic River Watershed Association, Housatonic Valley Association, The Nature Conservancy and Trout Unlimited) work together to build relationships among the many organizations, agencies and communities working towards healthy aquatic systems and resilient transportation networks in Berkshire County. These relationships are critical for understanding where priorities align, where partners can provide mutual aid through sharing technical and financial resources, and how we can best work together to conserve aquatic biodiversity and protect the integrity of Berkshire County’s transportation network in the face of a changing climate.

Culvert right-sizing to restore stream habitat connectivity, reduce ongoing maintenance costs and build flood resilience is a primary focus of the BCCC Restoration Partnership. We will focus our presentation on how the BCCC Restoration Partnership is ramping up culvert replacements in Berkshire County and the potential for those approaches to be replicated across the Northeast.

Undersized, perched, and poorly aligned culverts and other road-stream crossing infrastructure can pose barriers to aquatic connectivity and fish passage, affecting the form and function of streams and preventing aquatic species from reaching important habitat. This infrastructure can also cause problems for human communities and transportation agencies, as undersized crossings are more likely to require more frequent maintenance and repair, cause flooding, or even blow-out during storms. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, several Federal agencies received additional funds to support communities in addressing problematic road-stream crossings. Collaboration across agencies is ensuring that funding is brought to the projects that will have the biggest improvements for aquatic connectivity and fish passage as well as benefits for infrastructure and communities. This presentation will provide an overview of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s and the Federal Highway Administration’s funding opportunities, highlight some projects supported by these programs, and provide conference participants with ideas of how they can join in the collaboration to further this work.

Maine DOT utilizes unique process agreements to continue to improve its aquatic organism passage (AOP) program. Starting in 2017, a programmatic consultation with USFWS changed MaineDOTs approach to AOP design, implementation, and monitoring. More recently, MaineDOT has established an agreement with Maine Inland Fish and Wildlife (IFW) to allow for longer in-water work windows. This agreement requires additional construction support and contract requirements. The agreement also continues support for Maine IFW review of MaineDOT water crossing projects before they reach the final work plan.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 | 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM

Road expansion has raised concerns regarding road effects on wildlife and ecosystems within the landscape. Salamanders, critical ecosystem components and bioindicators, are vulnerable to road impacts due to habitat loss, migrations, and reliance on stream health. Systemic reviews considering the effects of different road types on salamanders are lacking. We summarize 155 studies of road effects on salamanders, including paved, unpaved, and logging roads, hiking trails, railroads, and powerlines. We examine trends in road type, study area, and impacts on salamanders; summarize current knowledge; and identify knowledge gaps. We used Web of Science for literature searches, completed in January 2023. We reviewed and summarized papers and used Chi-squared tests to explore patterns in research efforts, research gaps, and impacts on salamanders. Roads had negative effects on salamanders through direct mortality, damaging habitat, and fragmenting populations. Traffic and wetland proximity increased negative impacts in some studies; abandoned logging roads showed negative effects. Positive effects were limited to habitat creation along roads. Habitat creation and under-road tunnels with drift fencing were effective mitigation strategies. Non-passenger vehicle roads were critically understudied, as were mitigation strategies such as bucket brigades and habitat creation along roads. With road networks expanding and salamander populations declining, managers must account for road effects at landscape scales. The effects of non-paved roads on salamanders are poorly understood but critically important as such roads are frequently located in natural areas. Managers should incorporate mitigation strategies and work to reduce road impacts on vulnerable wildlife.

The CTDOT Commodore Hull Bridge rehab project considered preventive measures to prevent the peregrine falcon from nesting on the bridge during their nesting period between April 1 to July 31. During the nesting period, no work is allowed within a 500-foot radius. To alleviate this concern and to get the project constructed and on schedule, the CTDOT worked into the contract and budget a protocol to use netting on the entire underside of the bridge to keep the falcon from nesting on the bridge. to allow work to continue and provide protection to the workers. The netting worked and prevented the falcon from nesting on the bridge; however it did decide to nest on the work platform attached to the outside of the netting that enabled the workers to get from one side of the bridge to the other. Unfortunately, the falcon used the platform to nest and an egg which was inadvertently broken by one of the workers who was unaware of the nesting area. The Environmental Recourse Compliance Unit quickly acted and collaboratively worked with CTDOT construction personnel and contractor to install a temporary falcon nesting box and attach it to the outside of the platform. The falcon took to the nesting and laid a new egg in the protected nest. The egg hatched and the temporary nesting box was replaced with a permanent one at the end of the project. This was a very successful project for many reasons and the Department still goes and checks on the falcon box; it has been observed that the falcon uses the box every year. We would like to share this successful story to show how we can help protect falcons while creating safe roadways for the traveling public.

Restoring aquatic connectivity removes barriers to provide more habitat for fish and other wildlife that migrate up and downstream as part of their lifecycle. This is especially critical for anadromous fish species that are already vulnerable due to climate change and fishing pressure. While aquatic connectivity has been studied in coastal New Jersey’s watersheds with respect to dams, the effectiveness of aquatic passage at road-stream crossing infrastructure is less certain. Dams and undersized culverts affect hydrology, sediment transport, and water quality, and cost money to replace and maintain. Longer stretches of connected stream habitat are also more resilient to changes in climate and land use. This assessment, led by the NY-NJ Harbor & Estuary Program, combined a model that evaluates aquatic connectivity with one that evaluates hydrologic issues that can lead to erosion and flooding. The resulting prioritization is being shared with stakeholders to advance planning and capital projects that will replace problematic crossings with climate-ready, connectivity-friendly versions.

When the Moses Wheeler Bridge was replaced in 2017, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) created tidal wetland mitigation sites adjacent to the bridge along the Housatonic River. Over time accumulation of wrack had negatively impacted the site, burying and creating bare spots within the tidal vegetation. The site has been part of a collaborative study with the Maritime Aquarium to research the effects of climate change on the growth of cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). With the cooperation of staff from CTDOT Maintenance, CTDOT Environmental Planning, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) and the Maritime Aquarium, the wrack was removed and disposed of in the Summer of 2023. Since these efforts, the wetland mitigation site has recovered and continues to be an instrumental site for ongoing and future research. Collaboration within DOTs and with outside partners allows created mitigation sites to be more efficiently and successfully managed, studied, and replicated.

Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) Office of Environmental Planning summer interns traveled throughout Connecticut to investigate wetland mitigation project sites (both inland and tidal areas) that were designed and completed by the CTDOT over the past 40 years. While visiting sites throughout the state, the interns identified the types of mitigation practices used and their current condition. Plant species were categorized according to native and non-native species and estimated percent cover. The presence of hydrology, animals, trash, barriers to the site, and other defining features were noted. An inspection report was conducted at each location and photos were taken of the entire project site. A GIS web mapping application created by CTDOT allowed the interns to input and store all the data collected into the developed program. The GIS wetland and wildlife mitigation map will enable future DOT staff to identify mitigation site boundaries in the field and be able to fully document the site. This data will be used to provide an updated current baseline condition for the mitigation sites for use in future monitoring and maintenance actions. Analysis of mitigation site data collected will as a reference database for future mitigation projects by identifying successful mitigation techniques and informing design staff about planting success and failures.

Road networks impede wildlife connectivity, reduce survival, and fragment wildlife habitat. These changes elevate wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) risk and increase danger to humans and wildlife. Identifying WVC hotspots and monitoring wildlife activity at such locations can inform planning to reduce collision risk and increase habitat connectivity. Here, we sought to: 1) identify WVC hotspots in New Hampshire using spatio-temporal analyses, and 2) analyze wildlife use of such hotspots to inform WVC mitigation and improve habitat connectivity. Using statewide collision records from 2002-2021, we identified hotspots by calculating the total number of collisions and the collision density for each road segment. We then selected 12 hotspots with existing water crossing structures (e.g., culverts, bridges) that could be modified to increase wildlife connectivity and reduce collisions. We monitored these sites in fall 2023 by deploying five to nine remotely triggered cameras at 3 sub-sites at each hotspot: within the culvert or bridge, the natural habitat adjacent to the crossing, and the roadside. Across the 12 sites, we documented the occurrence of 16 medium and large-sized mammals, including black bears, white-tailed deer, and moose. We found that both the species and number of individuals varied across sub-sites. For example, white-tailed deer were common on the roadside but rarely seen within existing crossing structures. These results imply that existing structures do not serve all species equally and that modifications could enhance safe wildlife passage and decrease collision occurrence. These results can inform WVC mitigation planning by identifying species-specific structural modifications such as larger crossings, critter shelves, and dry riprap benches to facilitate safe wildlife crossings. Combining a hotspot analysis with field monitoring will provide strong evidence of local collision risk and should support effective mitigation efforts.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is promoting and protecting pollinator habitat within the CTDOT right-of-way in designated conservation areas. Since 2018, CTDOT has implemented best management practices such as reduced mowing and late season mowing in these conservation areas; however, there are no data on the effectiveness of these practices at creating the intended pollinator habitat. Pollinator habitat conservation is critical for sustaining local pollinator species including a number of bees, wasps, flies, moths and butterflies, among others. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is facing severe population declines due to threats from climate change disruptions, overwintering habitat loss, milkweed host plant loss and pesticide exposure. Conservation measures like changing the timing of vegetation management practices or targeted vegetation management, can contribute significantly to monarch butterfly conservation by enhancing the presence of milkweed host plants for monarch caterpillars and of nectar plants for the butterflies. CTCOT partnered with UConn faculty to conduct a pollinator habitat survey in designated conservation areas. Survey results will be presented for the 2023 and 2024 fields seasons detailing the presence of monarch butterfly host plant resources and of other plants useful for pollinator conservation.

On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law. The bill provides $550 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 in new Federal investment in infrastructure, including in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.

The Wildlife Crossing Program includes a series of activities aimed at reducing wildlife vehicle collisions and improving habitat connectivity including a grant program, a study of best practices, guidance for statewide transportation and wildlife action plans, workforce development and training, standardization of wildlife collision and carcass data, national threshold guidance, amendments to wildlife crossing standards, and prioritization of crash detection monitoring including animal detection systems.

The National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Grant Program (Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) Program) is an annual $200M competitive grant program that awards grants to eligible entities for projects for the replacement, removal, and repair of culverts or weirs that meaningfully improve or restore fish passage for anadromous fish.

The Roadside Pollinator Program, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is a first-of-its-kind dedicated pool of funding to protect pollinator habitats along roadsides and highway rights-of-ways. There are 17 million acres of federally supported land along roadsides that can provide food and habitat for the nation’s critical pollinators. By implementing land management practices that promote pollinator habitat, roadsides can serve as a refuge that help prevent further pollinator population decline.

Through this poster, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will provide updates on its implementation activities and programs. FHWA looks forward to this opportunity to not only share information, but also collect input with an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback.

The New Jersey Department Of Transportation created an initiative to supplement and create new pollinator habitat with a focus on milkweed in order to promote the preservation of appropriate Butterfly habitats. The initiative was to plant 100,000 milkweed along the Right of Way of New Jersey Highways. Our poster will focus on this endeavor, how we accomplished it, what the costs were, as well as lessons learned. We will share how we promoted, funded, and implemented the Initiative, and the overall success rate of this endeavor.

Project 0053-0190 involves the construction of trail connections to the Putnam Bridge walkway and the Goodwin Trail located on either side of the Connecticut River in Wethersfield and Glastonbury, Connecticut. The purpose of this project is to provide non-motorized access across the Connecticut River that was previously restricted by Route 3. The project consists of repairs to the existing Putnam Bridge walkway and an additional 4,750 linear feet of trail. This includes paved pathways with grass shoulders and bicycle-safe railings to provide beautiful and safe community access between Glastonbury and Wethersfield. Constructing trails with natural views comes at the cost of impacts to natural resources. Project 0053-0190 resulted in a large quantity of permanent impacts to State regulated wetlands and the mapped FEMA floodplain triggering the need for mitigation. For Project 0053-0190, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection required the Department to produce four educational signs detailing the importance of wetlands, watercourses, and floodplains to be placed at the trails to inform the public on the importance of these resources within the Connecticut River and its floodplain. The signs feature definitions of wetland and floodplain components and the wildlife and fisheries that these habitats support. The poster and/or lightning talk will discuss the coordination required between CTDOT and the State regulatory, wildlife and fisheries agencies to come to this decision as well as the process of making the signs. Photos will be provided. This topic opens conversation of alternative mitigation options that engage communities and encourage their appreciation of the functions and values of wetlands and fisheries and wildlife habitats of the Connecticut River and its floodplain.

Bridge crossings over rivers and floodplain areas can cause substantial environmental impacts and result in regulatory and resource challenges. In addition to providing flood storage and attenuation functions, riverine floodplain systems often serve as niche habitats that can support rare species, and provide other valuable ecological functions. This is particularly true in suburban areas where land development pressure can increase the importance of these systems from an ecological and social perspective. Given this, projects proposed in floodplain systems can result in a lengthy permit review and approval process. To avoid lengthy permit reviews and reduce project delays, creative strategies need to be considered to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) recently replaced a bridge over the Farmington River and its associated floodplain on Old Farms Road in Avon, Connecticut. The Bridge (Wilford Wooddruff Memorial Bridge) was constructed in 2020, immediately adjacent to the former bridge. During the planning for the project, several environmental challenges were identified, including the potential for impacts on three species of state listed plants within the general project area. The species included: Davis’ sedge (Carex davisii - State-Threatened Species); Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum – State Species of Special Concern), and; Wiegand’s wild rye (Elymus wiegandii – State Species of Special Concern). Both Davis’ sedge and Virginia waterleaf were found within the proposed project footprint, necessitating completion of a State Incidental Take Report and required development of a creative mitigation strategy. In this case, that involved implementing a transplanting plan for the impacted plants, within an area densely populated by invasive plants. This poster will provide an update of information on the details of the transplanting effort, offering insight on its effectiveness.

Facilitating successful wildlife movements is fundamental to sustaining landscape resiliency. Roads impede these successful movements via barrier effects and as direct mortality sources. Quantifying these impacts is challenging but desirable for mitigation efforts and justifying associated costs. I have initiated a pre-construction research effort on a 4-lane highway that sees >49,000 vehicles/day in New York, where 65,000 deer-vehicle collisions occur annually across the State. This includes mammal distribution data (via camera traps), carnivore movement behavior (via GPS-collared bobcats), road mortality (via road-kill surveys and accident records), mammal usage of under-highway culvert monitoring (via camera traps), and genetic connectivity data (via carnivore fecal DNA). After six years of deployments, camera traps have yet to detect fisher (Pekania pennanti) nor porcupine (Erethrizon dorsatum) east of the highway. Movement behavior of bobcats (Lynx rufus) reveals a series of modified behaviors adjacent to the highway. Monitoring 6 culverts also revealed species-specific patterns in proximity to the highway and pass-through failure and success rates. A year-long biweekly road-kill survey complimented a 23-yr record of deer-vehicle collision dataset by suggesting that 2.7 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) carcasses/mile and 19 mammal carcasses/mile occur annually. Genetic connectivity work is currently underway for four carnivore species. I hope to capitalize on a robust dataset and analytical framework to contribute to a road ecology conversation beyond road mortalities and fatalities discussions. The goal is to robustly quantify and justify the need for improved connectivity across this major highway, ultimately guiding the design and implementation of rigorous mitigation plans to restore functional connectivity to this biologically rich but fragmented landscape.

The Frontenac Arch is a southern extension of the Precambrian Canadian Shield in eastern Ontario, Canada, that contains large areas of intact forest and wetland relative to adjacent areas. The region is ecologically diverse and contains several protected areas, including Thousand Islands National Park. It is also an important component of the larger Algonquin-to-Adirondacks corridor, which facilitates movement of wildlife at a larger continental scale. A significant challenge to maintaining ecological connectivity on the Arch is the presence of Highway 401, a major east-west oriented expressway that supports over 33,000 vehicles per day, nearly 20% of which is commercial trucks.

We present a vision for facilitating safe passage of wildlife across Highway 401 to aid in reducing road mortality and restoring connectivity in this critically important region. The cornerstone of the vision is the proposal of four major wildlife crossing structures (three overpasses and one underpass) along a 30 km stretch of highway, each paired with exclusion fencing to channel animals toward them. The location of these proposed structures was informed by over ten years of data collection and spatial analysis, including wildlife road mortality surveys, GIS-based habitat analysis, site surveys, and landscape connectivity modeling. Major upgrades to the highway in this portion of eastern Ontario are planned in the coming decade. Incorporating construction of these structures has the potential to transform wildlife conservation efforts in the region.

In September 2020, the first spotted lanternflies were identified in Connecticut. By May of 2021 the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CTDoAG) announced a quarantine which would take effect on July 1, 2021, restricting the movement of plants, debris and other materials out of three towns in Fairfield County because of the confirmed breeding of spotted lanternfly in the county. In the initial public outreach for the quarantine it was announced that the main vector for the spread of lanternfly was transportation corridors. This led the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) on a fast-track series of internal and external coordination meetings to determine the potential effect on Maintenance operations within the quarantine area and to educate maintenance and construction staff within the quarantine area on the identification of the lanternfly. Coordination efforts included the CTDoAG, USDA APHIS, and various CTDOT Divisions and Offices. The urgency was how CTDOT could spread the word about the lanternfly and do its part for early detection and rapid response for this devastating invasive. Within 14 days of the announcement of the quarantine, staff from the Office of Environmental Planning conducted tailgate talks at five (5) District Maintenance garages to explain the quarantine, how to identify the spotted lanternfly, how to destroy it, and reporting protocols for sightings. Talks also described the trap systems being deployed by UDSA APHIS so that staff would recognize them along the roadsides in their Districts and not remove or disturb the traps. Following the completion of the tailgate talks and initial outreach the CTDOT’s Maintenance Division took over the outreach at the remaining garages and coordinated the installation of signage at Service Plazas and rest area. Coordination with outside partners continued into the coming months and outreach expanded with additional detections of new populations.

Through science-based design and early regulatory coordination, large-scale development projects can mitigate impacts on populations of wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) and eastern box turtle (Terrapene c. carolina), both state-listed as Special Concern. Stone Bridge Crossing is a 107-acre mixed-use development project currently underway in the Interchange Zone of Interstate 691 and CT Route 10 in Cheshire, Connecticut. Proactive coordination with CTDOT, CTDEEP, and a consulting herpetologist were critical to ensure the project successfully balances the site’s habitat characteristics and the anticipated traffic volumes generated by the development. Quinn Ecological completed a two-year radio-telemetry study to identify highly utilized areas and dispersal patterns, informing site-specific conservation guidance. The design considered that both species are habitat mosaic dependent and long-lived with delayed sexual maturity and low fecundity, emphasizing the risk of habitat fragmentation and road mortality. The resulting collaborative conservation plan aims to: a) maintain critical habitats and connectivity to the greatest extent possible; b) mitigate road mortality during construction; c) exclude turtles from developed areas in the long-term; and d) create and manage early successional nesting habitats. The final design will protect 42.4 acres of contiguous habitat (37.6 acres in permanent protective easements) and 91.1% of the Northeast Wood Turtle Working Group’s 300-foot “high activity zone.” Invasive vegetation will be removed across the entire 42.4 acres. Three nesting habitats will be created and managed to maintain an early successional vegetative structure. Temporary and permanent exclusionary barriers will prevent dispersal into construction areas and developed areas, respectively. Adaptive management and long-term monitoring will facilitate and quantify the success of the conservation plan on the site’s wood turtle and eastern box turtle populations.

CTDOT State Project 0104-0175 involves the replacement of Bridge No. 02713 which consists of four 60-inch round asphalt coated corrugated metal pipe culverts with a 28-foot wide by 7-foot high precast arch structure. The project also includes roadway realignment and raising the vertical profile of the roadway to pass the 100-year storm. The project includes unavoidable impacts to both inland and tidal wetlands and requires compensatory mitigation. Collaboration with CTDEEP identified a potential mitigation site within Rocky Neck State Park. The proposed mitigation site includes restoration of approximately 10,000 sq. ft. of degraded salt marsh using Thin Layer Deposition (TLD). TLD is a new mitigation strategy in the State and this project will be the first time CTDOT will be using TLD as mitigation. This mitigation strategy required a different approach to the mitigation plan including the identification of source material characterization requirements for the TLD application, creation of new construction specifications, and creation of new construction notes on permit plans. The project also includes archaeologically sensitive areas which need protection during TLD placement and required extensive resource coordination with State wildlife and fisheries staff and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service for the proposed mitigation site. The presentation will show the proposed bridge replacement and will mainly focus on the coordination required to prepare the mitigation plan, the new specifications created for construction of the TLD mitigation site, and archaeological and resource coordination required for the mitigation site. This topic provides guidance on navigating natural and archaeological resource coordination, creation of new specifications and plan notes and the challenges associated with deploying a new mitigation strategy for the Department. The poster will set the stage for a future podium presentation on the success of the mitigation site.

The South Jersey Transportation Authority, through the READI program has engaged and continues to collaborate with an impressive list of partners including USF&W, NJF&W (CHANJ), Pinelands commission, Stockton university, Audubon, the NJDEP, the Xerces Society and the Dept. of Agriculture. Through these partnerships the READI program enjoys successful results in roadway crossings, wildflower plantings to encourage pollinator development., grassland conservation management areas, bird habitats. and internships with the Stockton University environmental studies department. A result of these partnerships culminated in the co-sponsorship of the NETWC conference in Atlantic City NJ along with co-hosts NJF&W and NJDOT where discussions of efforts and successes were shared.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM

TRACK: State & Federal Wildlife Planning and Guidance | ROOM: Marriott Salon A

On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) and herein referred to as “BIL,” was signed into law. The bill provides $550 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 in new Federal investment in infrastructure, including in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.

Section 11123 – Wildlife Crossing Safety, lays out a series of activities aimed at reducing wildlife vehicle collisions and improving habitat connectivity. The section is broken into two parts: §171 Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program which includes a grant program and annual Report to Congress, and §172 Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity Improvement which includes a study of best practices, guidance for statewide transportation and wildlife action plans, workforce development and training, standardization of wildlife collision and carcass data, national threshold guidance, amendments to wildlife crossing standards, and prioritization of crash detection monitoring including animal detection systems.

Through this presentation, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will provide updates on its guidance for statewide transportation and wildlife action plans for Section 11123.

FHWA looks forward to this opportunity to not only share information, but also collect input with an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) includes 2022-2026 funding targeted to reduce Wildlife Vehicle Collisions (WVCs) while improving habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species. The BIL encourages States to develop tools/approaches for integrating wildlife considerations into transportation planning but is not prescriptive as to how. MassDOT’s answer is the SWTAP. This plan will provide a collaborative framework for MassDOT, Mass Wildlife, Division of Marine Fisheries, and other State Agencies to identify and implement actions that benefit conservation, landscape connectivity, and driver safety by incorporating natural resource priorities into transportation planning. The SWTAP will 1) identify and formalize current policies and procedures that are successfully integrating wildlife and fisheries considerations into MassDOT project planning and design; 2) provide a framework for implementing project specific best management practices to support connectivity and WQC reduction goals; and 3) implements a transparent process using existing data to identify high priority roadway locations for environmental conservation and/or driver safety improvements across Massachusetts. Final products will include the SWTAP document and an interactive website which will provide the SWTAP, links to existing products that support it, and high priority roadway locations. Creation of the SWTAP kicked off in late 2023, and this presentation will summarize progress to date.

On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) and herein referred to as “BIL,” was signed into law. The bill provides $550 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 in new Federal investment in infrastructure, including in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.

Section 11123 – Wildlife Crossing Safety, lays out a series of activities aimed at reducing wildlife vehicle collisions and improving habitat connectivity. The section is broken into two parts: §171 Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program which includes a grant program and annual Report to Congress, and §172 Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction and Habitat Connectivity Improvement which includes a study of best practices, guidance for statewide transportation and wildlife action plans, workforce development and training, standardization of wildlife collision and carcass data, national threshold guidance, amendments to wildlife crossing standards, and prioritization of crash detection monitoring including animal detection systems.

Through this presentation, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will provide updates on its study and report on best practices for reducing wildlife vehicle collisions and improving habitat connectivity for Section 11123.

FHWA looks forward to this opportunity to not only share information, but also collect input with an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback.

We would like to present an innovative wildlife connectivity project that is currently in the design phase at VTrans. The Waterbury IM CULV(109) project was internally programmed as a wildlife connectivity project through VTrans and is the first of its kind to be sponsored by VTrans. This project will replace a small culvert (the Sharkeyville culvert), located beneath US Route 2 and both barrels of I-89, with a wildlife crossing underpass structure.

The data from an extensive wildlife connectivity study conducted by VTrans and Vermont F&W Department proves that I-89 and US2 are major fragmenting features that disconnect two of Vermont’s biggest habitat blocks and separates the Northern Green Mountains from the Southern Green Mountains. The sites’ statewide significance is identified in Vermont F&W Dept.'s Vermont Conservation Design tool. Moreover, this site is of regional significance as it overlaps with the Staying Connected Initiative’s area of conservation interest. The data collected in the study identified the Sharkeyville culvert as one of the two highest priority connection points for wildlife attempting to cross the roads. Because of the eco-regional importance of this area, the main goal of the Waterbury IM CULV(109) project is to provide wildlife passage through a newly designed and constructed underpass structure. Additionally, the existing structure is severely undersized hydraulically and when replaced will improve the flood resiliency of the structure for future intense flooding events.

This project was recently awarded a $1.62 million grant from the IIJA Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program to fund preliminary engineering design costs. We will discuss how this project came to be, the regional landscape significance of the area, the conceptual design and scope of the project, the project’s connection to IIJA WCPP, and future steps being taken by VTrans to move this project forward.

United States (US) 80 is a two-way, two-lane, rural highway and serves as the only connection between Tybee Island and the Georgia mainland. This causeway, along with bridge approaches at either end, serve as critical nesting grounds for protected diamondback terrapins. With the causeway and bridges both in need of improvement and over a decade of monitoring data on vehicle strikes of terrapins, the Georgia Department of Transportation consulted with agency and community partners to determine the most feasible solution for reducing terrapin-vehicle collisions. A permanent, reverse curb solution was identified as the preferred method to exclude terrapins from the roadway, while reducing long-term maintenance costs, and taking safety design considerations into account. Additionally, the planned offset bridge replacements provide an opportunity to repurpose the existing bridge approaches for increasing terrapin nesting habitat in an area of marshland already impacted. Though there are many creative solutions for excluding terrapins from roadways up and down the U.S. east coast range for the species, GDOT decided to fund research conducted by the University of Georgia to specifically test various curb designs to find characteristics that lead to an effective barrier. Methods include the brief capture of terrapins during the 2024 nesting season to put through runway trials over various barrier types. The research, anticipated to conclude in late 2024, will guide GDOT towards adapting a concept into an effective barrier design that will be permanent, reduce maintenance costs, and increase safety on US 80 and future causeway projects. These results have broader application to diamondback terrapins throughout their range and to other hard-shelled chelonids on a global scale. We will present information on our next steps for additional designs for artificial nesting habitat and how we are leveraging partnerships to increase our impact and diversify application.

Roads can be an ecological threat for turtles by skewing the demographic structure of turtle populations and decreasing their fecundity. We sampled Malaclemys terrapin terrapin across a variety of habitats along the Connecticut coast. We applied a previously developed model of probability of occurrence to distinguish areas where M. t. terrapins may occur and then within 1000m of those areas we observed road characteristics that are associated with road mortality. We then assigned “road complexity” rankings, that fell between either high road complexity or low and/or no road complexity, and then randomly selected 6 high complexity roads, and 3 low complexity roads to sample. Baited hoop nets and opportunistic catch were used for M. t. terrapin mark and recapture sampling from May-August of 2022 and 2023. Location, sex, and morphological data were recorded for 1,809 M. t. terrapin. The results of our data suggest that M. t. terrapin with statistically shorter plastron lengths and/or smaller masses occur in areas associated with sites of high road complexity compared to M. t. terrapin sampled in areas associated with low road complexity. These results suggest that large adult females M. t. terrapin may be disproportionately eliminated due to road mortality along roads with high traffic volume and road density. We explore our demographic results by introducing preliminary road monitoring data from “Terrapin Trackers,” a collaborative, community science program that trains volunteers to document live M. t. terrapin crossing roads as well as roadkill.

(CANCELLED) The USFWS listed the Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis) as endangered under the ESA. Through increased protection, management, and designation of important hibernacula as critical habitat, the population increased until inception of white-nose syndrome (WNS). To meet conservation requirements of the ESA under both Sections 7 and 10, mitigation has turned increasingly to protection, management, restoration, and even creation of hibernacula. Over time and as a result of WNS, the number of unprotected hibernacula available and suitable for mitigation has dwindled. Thus, attention is increasingly turning towards conservation goals that ‘grow populations’ of the species by improving the suitability of hibernacula that are little- or un-used. Despite a growing literature on hibernation physiology, conservation and associated funding decisions are often made based on old, incomplete, and sometimes misleading information on the physiological ecology of hibernation. By better understanding the science behind the ‘lies’ our elders taught us, we can improve conservation outcomes. Creating hibernacula can be successful using adaptive management (implement, monitor, and modify a design as required to reach a defined desired future condition) and by avoiding the common ‘myths’ of hibernation: bats go to sleep in autumn and awaken in spring; colder temperatures are universally better for hibernation, because it is more energy efficient; energy expenditures (and conservation) is the only cost of hibernation; predictable areas (cold and at the entrance) within hibernacula are used year after year; autumn weight gains equate to greater late-winter energy availability; and perhaps most telling, the perception that hibernation is ‘good’ for bats. By understanding these myths we can improve conservation mitigation success and minimize efforts that are ineffective, or worse, create an ecological sink.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides greater opportunity and impetus for transportation and wildlife agencies to work collaboratively to understand the impacts of transportation infrastructure on bats and bat habitat. The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) which aims to advance our understanding of the status and trends of North American bats, is supporting this and other collaborative efforts through customized assessment guidance, expanded options for ingest of transportation-related data, advanced analytical products, and novel transportation-related decision-support tools. These efforts are in accordance with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) Resolution 2023-05-07, they aid effective monitoring, management, and conservation of bats and bat resources, they align assessment efforts with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines and help transportation infrastructure projects avoid delays and added costs.

When project constraints forced Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) toward a culvert design alternative that would eliminate upstream passage of native fish populations, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) suggested off-site mitigation. The original culvert could not be modified to maintain existing fish passage due to various factors, resulting in the loss of access to existing habitat upstream of the structure. CTDEEP suggested a site located on State Forest property for fisheries mitigation. This site involved a culvert that created a barrier blocking upstream fish passage for native Brook Trout, a species of greatest conservation need in CT. The mitigation aimed to remove the existing barrier, restore and stabilize instream and streambank habitats at and below the crossing, and monitor the Brook Trout population response through pre and post project annual fish surveys.

The project required extensive coordination and collaboration with multiple federal, state, and local agencies to decide the method of rehabilitation, select the off-site mitigation location, create and update a memorandum of agreement, confirm funding sources, and construct the mitigation site. This was further impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The rehabilitated culvert was complete in 2021 and the mitigation culvert replacement in 2023. By September 2024, CTDEEP will have completed the second year of monitoring and will present the results of fish response to the upgraded crossing and increase availability of over 1.68 miles of upstream habitat. The presentation hopes to discuss the coordination around this project, creation of agreements among agencies, and the results of the off-site mitigation. Wildlife passage is not always feasible for every project due to extenuating circumstances, but a willingness to collaborate and be creative can result in successes for wildlife and strengthening of partnerships.

The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration’s Culvert Replacement Municipal Assistance (CRMA) Program has been operating for ten years. This program typically awards between $500,000 to $2M annually across 10-20 municipalities to design, permit, and replace undersized, restrictive, or failing culverts and road stream crossings in areas of high ecological value with structures that better meet the goals of the MA Stream Crossing Standards.

The MA Stream Crossing Standards are designed to improve stream processes and connectivity, improve aquatic and terrestrial organism passage, meet the hydraulic needs of rivers and streams, reduce flood risks, and improve community access and climate resiliency.

Typically one year grants are awarded for specific portions of work, and are designed to fill funding gaps and support projects at any phase of the replacement process. Typically projects utilizing these funds span across multiple years and seek external funding opportunities across the project lifespan.

Now, the Division of Ecological Restoration is reviewing the decade of projects and efforts that have been part of the program. This includes outreach to previous grantees and partners to:

Document the status of high priority culvert replacement projects previously funded through annual grants;
Determine technical assistance and funding needs, (e.g. assistance in identifying applicable funding opportunities, navigating design, permitting and/or construction phases);
Analyze successful funding and permitting pathways that can inform other projects;
Identify action items for the CRMA program and other stream continuity efforts to best meet its objectives and the needs of partners.

In this presentation, the Division of Ecological Restoration will share preliminary findings from outreach and interviews with previous grantees to synthesize common themes and summarize case studies with relevant project implementation findings.

Storm Ida hit Connecticut in 2021 dropping between 2 and 9 inches of rain across the State. The reservoir and irrigation system at TPC River Highlands golf course in Cromwell, CT was overburdened by the rainfall causing water to spill over and saturate the slope along the adjacent P&W Rail Line. The system overflow and existing topography conveyed the water to a central 26-inch culvert located below the railroad tracks which failed under the flow conditions resulting in a landslide along the Connecticut River embankment to the east. The landslide was approximately 120 feet long and 80 feet deep with a resulting loss of 10,000 cubic yards of material. The rail line was suspended over the failed slope and exposed a 12-inch fuel line connected directly from New Haven to Bradley International Airport, halting critical freight service and necessitating trucking of 18-24 tankers of fuel to the airport daily until the line reopened. CTDOT issued an Emergency Declaration to facilitate repairs to the failed slope to stabilize the suspended fuel and rail lines. CTDOT facilitated coordination with various stakeholders including the CT Airport Authority, P&W Railroad, Buckeye Fuels, TPC River Highlands and agency staff from CTDEEP, USACE, USFWS, and NOAA in order to secure expedited resource reviews and permit approvals. Coordination included design of the slope stabilization as well as determining any potential remedial action to remove sediment discharged downslope into the Connecticut River. The repairs included stabilizing and reconstructing the failed slope and installing appropriate drainage structures to convey storm drainage. The timeline from initial slope failure to completed construction and reopening of rail service was approximately three months. The presentation will focus on the coordination with stakeholders and agency staff to facilitate expedited review and permit processing as well as the design of the slope repairs.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is required to identify Stormwater Retrofit Locations statewide that will allow for disconnection of stormwater that directly discharge to waterbodies. The identification of suitable locations is performed through GIS analysis that considers numerous variables: availability of existing stormwater infrastructure mapping, whether a location is within CTDOT Right of Way, a locations proximity to a receiving waterbody, documentation of drainage problems within the area, condition of the infrastructure and if the land is capable of infiltering stormwater. When a site has been determined to be suitable a standalone stormwater retrofit project is moved forward into design. These stormwater retrofits provide an ecological benefit to waterways by helping reduce pollutant loading in the systems. CTDOT worked collaboratively with USGS to determine baseline pollutant loading from the Department’s stormwater infrastructure to model where CTDOT stormwater is significantly contributing to pollutant loading within a given waterbody. This information is then used to prioritize stormwater retrofit projects with the greatest ecological benefit.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 | 10:40 AM - 12:00 PM

The Nature Conservancy is currently developing a new regional Habitats and Highways training in partnership with transportation and fish and wildlife agencies from across the northeast. Modeled off of Vermont’s nationally-recognized “Habitats and Highways” program, which received a 2022 Environmental Excellence Award from the Federal Highway Administration, the new region-wide training will focus on road ecology concepts and tangible solutions to enhance terrestrial connectivity and other co-benefits. The final product, expected to be complete in the fall of 2024, will be in the form of a 60-90 minute video that will be accessible to anyone in this field.

With guidance from agency partners, we are updating and expanding on VT’s existing training, showcasing new and additional road ecology projects from across the northeast. The training will include information on basic road ecology concepts, connectivity planning and prioritization tools, wildlife-friendly infrastructure solutions, monitoring and evaluation, partnerships, resources, and sustainability. The goal is to reach a diverse range of transportation professionals, build awareness of connectivity issues, inspire practical wildlife-friendly transportation projects and creative thinking, and encourage expanded interagency connectivity planning.

We will collect footage for the new video by hosting field trips to project sites with DOT and F&W agency staff in each participating state during the spring and summer of 2024. For the conference, we propose a panel session featuring several of the state agency partners involved. The session would include background on VT’s existing influential program, an introduction to the forthcoming new regional training video, feedback and insight from agency staff involved in its creation, and a solicitation for input on future uses, additional audiences, and potential next steps.

TRACK: Connectivity Planning with Partnerships and Implementation at Various Scales (Regional to Local) - Terrestrial | ROOM: Marriott Salon B

Landscape fragmentation isolates wildlife to small habitat islands, restricting their abilities to navigate among suitable habitats and locate cover, food, and breeding grounds critical for survival and population viability. This has become increasingly important as species shift their ranges in response to climate change. The Western New York (WNY) Wildway is a landscape-scale conservation initiative to create a network of protected cores and corridors from the Allegheny Plateau of Appalachia to the Great Lakes and beyond. With its connection to the larger Eastern Wildway, the WNY Wildway will allow plants and animals to safely roam across the land as they once did, to expand their ranges in order to ensure their survival as the climate changes, and allow wildlife that have disappeared from our region to return.

With over a million acres within the project area, the WNY Land Conservancy is using a network of partnerships to build the WNY Wildway, and foster collaboration between non-profit organizations, state agencies, and municipalities to share ideas, resources, and information for effective planning. Partnering with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the WNY Land Conservancy is working to better understand how wildlife navigates roadways as barriers to movement while modeling wildlife occupancy in the project area. This example of private-public partnership is allowing NYSDOT to incorporate wildway principles in the screening process of future infrastructure projects to not only improve transportation and safety for NYS residents, but to enhance wildlife connectivity.

This presentation will discuss the creation of the Western New York Wildway and detail how a regional land trust is localizing the Eastern Wildway vision through a network of partnerships, highlighting the collaboration success between the Western New York Land Conservancy and the New York State Department of Transportation.

A group of transportation and conservation partners have joined together to improve motorist safety and wildlife passage along a unique stretch of US Route 2 in Randolph, NH. This stretch of US Route 2, known as Bowman Divide, is situated between the White Mountains to the south and the Randolph Community Forest and Kilkenny Unit of the White Mountain National Forest to the north. Studies completed over the last 20 years have identified the Bowman Divide area as a priority for wildlife passage because of concentrated wildlife use and high incidents of Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions (WVC). New Hampshire Audubon published one of these studies in 2007 and is leading a project in close partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) to evaluate different culvert and/or bridge structures to allow wildlife to pass under the road. NHDOT owns and maintains US Route 2 and supports efforts to understand alternatives that benefit both the traveling public and wildlife. The project is a unique example of a public-private partnership that brings together state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the local community.

(VTrans) is undertaking a corridor-wide upgrade of 5 culverts and bridges along a 10 mile stretch of state highway passing through sensitive wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) habitat and an important wildlife corridor. While roads impact most wildlife, wood turtles (a proposed Candidate Species for federal listing) are especially sensitive to roadkill, which can be a driving force behind localized population decline. Moreover, this habitat block lies at the epicenter of the global range of wood turtle and may be especially important for the species in the face of predicted changes to climate. Prior to development of conceptual plans VTrans, Vermont F&WD, Orianne Society, and VTrans’ consulting engineers met to discuss options for providing wildlife connectivity through these projects. While none of the species using this habitat block are federally or state protected, the partners identified this as a group of projects important enough to design for connectivity along this corridor as a proactive stewardship opportunity without regulatory leverage driving that design decision.

Specifically, the new structures will include wildlife shelves and passage for species including some specific and innovative designs for wood turtles. VTrans is partnering with Orianne Society to conduct pre-construction monitoring of wood turtle movement within a few thousand feet of bridge projects utilizing GPS trackers and camera traps. This monitoring will assess how the highway impacts wood turtle movements and determine where current road crossing hotspots are. Orianne will also conduct post construction monitoring for at least one year to collect baseline data on how the upgraded structures affect wood turtle movement.

This presentation will be a case study in proactive connectivity work for a suite of species from wood turtle to moose and will highlight ecology and movement patterns of the wood turtle. The presentation will address the importance of proactively reconnectin

When the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) proposed their new high-speed Open Road Tolling facility in York 2014, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) identified impacts to State-listed turtles as a concern. Despite extensive reviews of potential wildlife crossings, onsite mitigation was determined to not be possible. To mitigate impacts, MTA and MDIFW approached the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) regarding potential offsite mitigation in the form of a wildlife crossing at a wetland causeway area along Route 236 in Eliot. This stretch of highway had previously been identified by MDIFW as a rare turtle mortality "hotspot" in Southern Maine. All three agencies were committed to the wildlife crossing project, and a three-way Memorandum of Understanding was developed and ultimately signed which committed funding to protecting these important resources. However, during the timespan between initial project concept cost estimates and ultimate design and development of the project, material and contractor costs skyrocketed, necessitating the need to seek additional funding sources. Ultimately, MaineDOT was able to secure additional funding through the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2019, a barrier fence was installed to prevent further rare turtle mortalities along the causeway, and in 2021 the wildlife crossing was installed. This presentation describes the challenges and the collaboration of multiple partners in making this important project a reality, results of monitoring of the wildlife crossing, and applications for future projects.

TRACK: Integrating Wildlife Conservation in State and Local Planning | ROOM: Marriott Salon C

In collaboration with Caltrans biologists, traffic safety liaison, maintenance staff and engineers, Animex International has been developing a solid wildlife barrier that can be attached to existing standardized western guardrail systems to prevent wildlife from getting onto roads. Solid barriers have been proven to be more effective at excluding amphibians from the highway and encourage them to move towards wildlife crossing structures quicker than highly transparent mesh materials.

The pilot project site has very limited embankment for a secondary wildlife fence so the team decided to investigate the possibility of attaching a wildlife exclusion barrier to the existing guardrail.

Animex has designed and installed a similar system in Ontario Canada that has proven to be successful in guiding various animals to a wildlife underpass in a wetland. The team has been adapting this existing design to meet the safety requirements of Caltrans.

The current proposals are due to be reviewed by the new products committee and initial discussions and adaptations have included the following considerations:

Dimensions (height/section length/thickness)
Material type
Fasteners
Drainage
Maintenance and repairability
Loading
Installation

If the approval process is successful the team will look to install and monitor the system in the District 5 region and hope it will enable other projects across the state and wider U.S.A. to adopt and utilize the same solution quickly and efficiently.

In this presentation, we will provide an insight into the history of the project, share technical developments and explore the challenges we have overcome so far.

VDOT is the third largest state Department of Transportation with respect to maintenance and operation responsibility with more than 60,000 lane miles of roadways and over 200,000 assessed road-stream culverts. With maintenance budgets routinely having limited funding, addressing culvert maintenance and replacement needs on this scale has its challenges. Given the five-year window of increased funding from the BIL, VDOT has advanced programmatic efforts supporting grant-based fish and wildlife passage projects. Within the past year, VDOT has been successful in receiving two FHWA BIL grant awards, a construction grant under the Culvert AOP Program and a planning grant under the Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program. Further driving the need and opportunity for prioritization of locations and opportunities for funding, was the completion of Virginia’s first Wildlife Corridor Action Plan (WCAP) in May 2023. VDOT is looking to create a decision framework for guiding fish and wildlife passage investments, improve geospatial mapping of important habitat connectivity and natural resource areas, and culvert screening to allow the early identification of grant and project opportunities. Moreover, VDOT’s FY24-26 Business Plan provides a case model for allowing environmental stewardship considerations guide right-of-way management decisions, from a cost benefit perspective. In this session, VDOT will provide an update on VDOT’s success with BIL grants and our efforts to support building a business case for fish and wildlife passage improvements.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Georgia Field Office, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Georgia Division, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resource Division (GDNR), and the US Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District (USACE) have collaborated to complete a Programmatic Biological Assessment and Biological Opinion for the streamlining of consultation under the Endangered Species Act. The agreement covers all federally and state protected bat species in Georgia and nearly all project types undertaken as part of the GDOT work program. The agreement allows for a predictable set of avoidance and minimization measures to be incorporated into GDOT construction and maintenance contracts, including an option to make contributions to a conservation fund in exchange for a loosening of tree-clearing restrictions that add cost and time to construction contracts. The fund will be used by GDNR to acquire properties to offset the loss of forested habitat due to road construction; property acquisition will be in accordance with the DNR’s State Wildlife Action Plan and will aid in the recovery of bat species. Ultimately, this programmatic approach streamlines the environmental review process related to federally and state protected bats for nearly all GDOT project types while also providing a funding source for the permanent protection of bat habitat.

Beaver management can be contentious. Their dam-building can impact roads, property, and other infrastructure but also provide us with nature-based resilience: flood storage, peak flow attenuation that minimizes erosion, groundwater recharge, and improved nutrient cycling. In this presentation, we discuss a wildlife management tool and two restoration projects that mimic beaver activity to restore resiliency.

First, a decision tool has been developed for municipalities to provide a repeatable, evidence-based way to inform beaver management decisions. Our tool uses field assessments to rate actual or potential risks to property/infrastructure and provides site-specific understanding to direct managers to a variety of proven techniques to manage beaver-induced flood risk while preserving resiliency benefits.

Second, we describe our design solution to alleviate localized flooding at a headwater stream in South Hadley, MA. In concert with replacing failing and undersized culverts, simple “in-stream wood features” (aka, beaver dam analogs) are proposed to mimic the benefits of beaver dams: slow and disperse high flows, promote floodplain/wetland reconnection, and entrain sediments to repair the incised stream.

Third, we share our ongoing restoration design at a former golf course (now protected open space) in Northampton, MA. Extensive site disturbance and modifications to a stream have caused chronic erosion and downstream flooding. Beaver dam analogs are proposed as one element to repair the degraded stream and reconnect to floodplains/wetlands. The design also includes “beaver buffet” plantings to recruit beavers, currently downstream, into the site.

These cases demonstrate how beaver-driven solutions and ecological mimicry can be applied in site-specific and watershed-scale approaches to improve water quality, enhance resilience, and promote habitat diversification.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 10:20 AM

TRACK: Planning and Implementation of Pollinator Habitat Within Rights of Way | ROOM: Marriott Salon A

Bumble bees are experiencing severe declines across North America. In one study, the relative abundance of four bumble bee species declined by up to 96% and their surveyed geographic ranges contracted by 23–87% over a 20-year period (see citation below). The extensive network of roads, railroads, and utility rights-of-way (ROW) corridors spanning the country presents a valuable opportunity to create and connect pollinator habitat across landscapes.

An example of utilizing ROW for habitat conservation is the Nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement for the Monarch Butterfly on Energy and Transportation Lands (the Monarch CCAA). The Monarch CCAA is a unique partnership between the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and dozens of transportation agencies and energy companies. In exchange for voluntary conservation commitments, energy and transportation organizations receive regulatory certainty and operational flexibility in the face of a potential federal endangered species listing of the monarch butterfly.

Building upon the success of the Monarch CCAA, UIC and industry partners are collaborating on a companion agreement for multiple at-risk bumble bee species. Bumble bees face similar threats as the monarch butterfly such as habitat loss and degradation, climate change, and pesticide exposure This multi-species agreement will focus on eleven federally petitioned or listed bumble bee species which span much of the continental U.S.

This presentation will provide a brief update on the achievements of the Monarch CCAA and an in-depth look into the proposed bumble bee agreement. Attendees will learn about the proposed scope, conservation measures, timeline, and how to get involved.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) maintains 11,400 shoulder miles of roads and highways. The state right of way varies greatly in width from inches to hundreds of feet from the edge of pavement. Within the right of way there are opportunities in “interior” areas such as ramp gore areas and large medians to establish pollinator habitat where motorist safety will not be compromised. CTDOT started a pollinator program in 2017 with (8) locations and has since expanded to (126) locations comprising (208) acres. These “set aside” areas are called conservation areas (CA’s), where reduced mowing is practiced and where possible, planting/transplanting and invasives management is conducted.

Within the designated conservation areas mowing is reduced in the regular growing season to the highway shoulder (15’ shoulder mow) and the area perimeter, such as the woods edge. This manages shoulder sight distances as well as keeping woody debris from creeping into the CA. A full cutback is conducted in the fall season generally after seed dispersal has passed and monarchs have migrated south.

CTDOT has working relationships with CT Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, CT Agricultural Experiment Station, UCONN Invasive Plant Working Group, and other groups. This relationship provides technical support and additional resources to further the effort in increasing pollinator habitat along CT’s right of way system.

CTDOT will continue to add CA’s where possible and practice BMPs in the management of these areas. The Department is continually looking to expand this Program and we have recently purchased specialized seeding equipment. This season we will be reclaiming overgrown areas and adding them to our Conservation Areas.

The Nationwide CCAA for monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) on Energy and Transportation Lands (MCCAA; the Agreement) is a collaboration between the University of Illinois at Chicago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”), and partners from the energy and transportation sectors. The Agreement is intended to provide a net conservation benefit to monarch butterflies while providing regulatory predictability to enrolled partners. The Service is required to make a decision on whether or not to list the monarch butterfly under the ESA before September 30, 2024. Interested parties must enroll in the Agreement prior to the final rule publish date (anticipated to be September 2025). Although several DOTs in the northeast are in the process of trying to better understand the Agreement and/or are preparing application materials for enrollment, enrollment in the Agreement is generally low in this part of the country. My presentation would provide a brief overview of the Agreement and share data gathered from meetings with and webinars provided by various DOTs around the country that have enrolled in the Agreement. RIDOT will also share their experience engaging in an enrollment decision analysis. The presentation will provide insights on the enrollment process and help DOTs in the northeast to understand common challenges in enrollment and/or implementation of the Agreement.

MaineDOT is currently replacing large bridges that span over historic spawning grounds for shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon in the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers. These sites are also directly adjacent to hydroelectric facilities and fishways intended allow for sea run fish species to migrate including Atlantic salmon. This talk will discuss some of the complexities and 'out of the box' analyses required to complete Section 7 Endangered Species Consultation to facilitate delivery of the construction projects.
*Note: This workshop is an anomaly and fits outside of the Planning and Implementation of Pollinator Habitat Within Rights of Way Track.

TRACK: Evaluating Success of Passage, Connectivity, and Roadside Habitat Management | ROOM: Marriott Salon B

In 2006, a study commenced to better understand dispersal and habitat use of eastern box turtles along the then proposed U.S. Route 7 bypass in Brookfield, CT. Data from this study was used to refine already-proposed mitigation efforts for the construction of a 1.7 mile stretch of highway and to monitor the success of mitigation initiatives. Based on data collected during pre-construction the following mitigation package was developed:

Installation of a pre-cast concrete arch culvert passage tunnel.
Installation of pre-cast concrete and chain-link exclusionary barriers.
Creation of two early successional habitat areas totaling 1.13 hectares
Enhancing an existing 1.63 hectares of shrub/scrub habitat

The precast concrete arch structure was used by a total of 6 individuals, representing 16.6% of the total adult turtle population. Additionally, 11 mammals, 4 amphibians, and 1 snake species were documented using the tunnel.

We documented 89 observations in the 0.45 ha creation post-construction, with 50% increases in the total number of turtles using the site – from 8 during construction to 12 post-construction. Furthermore, the creation area was used 5 times by nesting turtles.

The highway slope creation area saw a steady increase in use from 61 observations during construction to 229 observations post-construction, in addition to an increase in the total number of turtles using this area from 3 during construction to 17 post-construction.

This presentation aims to describe in detail the design and installation of the pre-cast concrete passage tunnel, the concrete exclusionary barriers, and habitat creation initiatives. Additionally, data will be presented on our follow-up 10-year follow-up monitoring efforts evaluating the long-term success of the project’s mitigation initiatives.

This presentation is about the research project we created as a compensation measure for the wetland loss generated by the third phase of the reconstruction of a two-lane road (Rd 185), into a four-lane highway with two separate carriageways (Hwy 85), located in Quebec. As Highway 85 is in a key area for connectivity in Quebec, we decided to install wildlife crossings and fencing to minimize animal roadkill while encouraging connectivity. We noticed there is little data available on the effectiveness of wildlife crossings for both herptiles and small mammals due to the lack of research and long-term monitoring which is why we decided to do a research project with replicas of sites designed to do comparative testing of three diameters of dry culverts paired with a stream or drainage culvert, to evaluate crossings success rate of these structures for the different species of herptiles and small- to medium-sized mammals. We also added other crossings paired with three different types of fences specially dedicated to herptiles and small- to medium-sized mammals, including sites that includes both a dry culvert and modified culvert. This project also includes large mammal crossings with fencing: five underpasses with waterflow and three multi-use underpasses. All these passage structures will be monitored with cameras, including escape gates and ramps. The objectives are to measure the success rates of animal crossing by species (or taxon) and assess the impact of theses structures on connectivity as well as on animal mortality. This should help establish and upgrade guidelines for the design of wildlife crossing structures dedicated to herptiles and mammals in future projects.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation supports Municipal bridge replacements through the Federal Local Bridge Program. The Federal Local Bridge Program is a set aside of the funding that the DOT receives from FHWA to provide financial aid to municipalities for eligible bridge projects. Participation in the program dictates that coordination with State fisheries division and NOAA National Marine Fisheries units is led by CTDOT environmental staff. The projects are included at monthly interagency coordination meetings with regulatory and resource staff from state and federal agencies where design considerations are discussed. The Department also oversees the hydraulic analysis required for the bridge replacements. The Department led coordination, oversight, and participation in the monthly meetings, and coordinated field visits with resource staff provide a unique opportunity to ensure the replacement structures meet stream crossing design criteria and take into account improvements for fish passage where possible – which is of heightened importance as many of the crossings are over smaller low-order streams with valuable habitat. Three case studies will be presented which exemplify the environmental success achieved through collaboration within the program: East Flat Hill Road over Transylvania Brook, Southbury was the first blockage caused by a two perched steel plate pipe arches (14.8ft x 9.1ft diameter) blocking access to headwater habitat; Walnut Street over Falls River in Essex had a perched 4 culvert crossing blocking fish and wildlife passage; and Tomlinson Avenue over the Quinnipiac River in Plainville was the last perched culvert consisting of twin 11.5 x 7.3ft elliptical pipes along the Quinnipiac River. The presentation will focus on design considerations and modifications to ensure passage, challenges encountered during design and resource coordination and the collaboration necessary for success.

Often exclusion fence is used to keep turtles off the road to avoid road-kill but also to funnel animals to safe crossing structures under roads. In doing so, we often exclude turtles from using previously known nesting habitat such as road-side substrates. This study evaluated the use and effectiveness of two built-in crossing structures (an up-sized drainage culvert and an ACO wildlife tunnel), Animex exclusion fence and associated constructed nesting mounds. We also examined the effectiveness of various nest cover techniques used to protect nests from predation. The study area is at the Collins Creek Provincially Significant Wetland located within the City of Kingston, Ontario that is bisected by Princess Street and Creekside Valley drive. The primary species was the Snapping Turtle, although Painted Turtles occur in high numbers. In 2023, there were 91 Snapping Turtle nests found on 12 nesting mounds along the exclusion fence, and on average, 99% of eggs hatched from 52 nests that were not predated. We estimated 922 hatchlings emerged and hatchling success was 99% and did not vary among nests. There was on average 20.2 hatchlings per nest. Of the protected nests a protective box was applied to 26 (32%) nests, chainlink was applied to 30 (37%) nests and 25 nests remained as controls (unprotected). Nests covered by a protective box experienced no predation (0%), nests covered by chainlink experienced 60% predation (18 of 30) nests and 80% (20 of 25) of control nests experienced high levels of predation. There were no road-killed turtles found in the study area. There was some evidence that turtles were crossing at fence ends and it is recommended to extend the fence with creation of an additional nesting mound at one primary location. Our study informed the placement and design of nesting habitat associated with exclusion fencing for development of more formal guidelines.

(CANCELLED)This lightning talk will provide brief snapshots of a suite of best practices, initiatives, and efforts that are currently being implemented in Massachusetts to enhance landscape connectivity, resiliency, conservation, and road ecology throughout the Commonwealth. These efforts are possible through data sharing and early coordination with a diverse group of stakeholders and natural resource agencies. The results of these partnerships have led to innovations and conservation opportunities; examples ranging from marine reef creation, bat and migratory bird conservation, stream restoration to fish passage.

Since 2000, Beaver Solutions has installed over 2,000 flow devices in New England and New York. These flow devices prevent drainage structures such as culverts from being dammed by beavers while simultaneously preventing roads from washing out in “new normal” large storm events. They have been used by over 100 local municipal highway departments as well as National Grid, Massachusetts DCR, and MassDOT. While traditional beaver trapping is sometimes necessary, in most areas across New England it is a very short-term solution as new beavers repeatedly return to problem sites. Luckily, almost every road culvert can be protected with these flow devices, which last about 10 years or longer with less than one hour of maintenance per year. John Egan will briefly summarize different types that can be used and how cities and towns have used them as a foundation for their municipal beaver management plans.

Session will be pre-recorded.

As part of our Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ) initiative, New Jersey has created 2 tools designed to collect roadkill data. One tool is called NJ Wildlife Tracker and enables individuals from the public as well as agency staff to opportunistically collect data of wildlife across all species observed on a roadway via a mobile-friendly application. NJ Wildlife Tracker can also be populated by larger datasets on the backend. A second tool is an expansion of the NJ Wildlife Tracker tool, using the same base schema in a mobile-friendly application, but with a few additional fields, and designed specifically for the collection of data during roadkill surveys following a standardized protocol that the CHANJ Team developed. Both tools are components of a single data management system that enables data to flow efficiently and populate a statewide roadkill database, generate roadkill survey datasets specific to certain road segments collected in a standardized way, and all appropriate data also flow in a streamlined way into the state’s rare species Biotics database. The tools and resultant data are helping to build awareness of the importance of habitat connectivity, are enabling partners to participate in research and data collection, and are helping to inform road mitigation decisions.

An important part of building strong relationships with State Partners is taking time to recognize the partnership and sharing the successes with a larger audience. The Connecticut Departments of Transportation and Energy and Environmental Protection Regulatory, Wildlife, and Fisheries Divisions have a long history of collaboration addressing environmental concerns associated with the projects delivered under the State’s Capital Plan. What the agencies haven’t always done is taken the time to recognize the accomplishments that come from the collaborative approach. In 2018, the first DEEP-DOT Summit was held to dedicate time for the Agencies to discuss and celebrate these collaborative efforts. A wider audience comprised of staff and management from both agencies attended the summit to hear about the shared efforts and involvement in project delivery from pre-project planning to permitting and construction. Presentations focused on streamlining efforts, unique case studies, lessons learned, and overall collaboration. A second summit held in June 2024, which was expanded to a full-day event, included joint presentations on program updates, cooperative agreements, and project case studies. In addition, a field component was included to look at different wildlife habitats and discuss how the functions, values and management of certain habitats can factor into transportation designs and alternative assessment and design decisions. Taking time out of busy schedules to work on relationships, especially as both agencies welcome large numbers of new staff, has proven to build meaningful relationships which have led to greater collaboration.

In 2020-2023, intensive water quality monitoring was conducted at seven bridge/culvert active construction projects sites across Maine in support of a programmatic agreement between Maine Department of Transportation (Maine DOT) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The water quality monitoring data is being used to establish baseline turbidity and determine future turbidity limits related to in-water construction events and their effects on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and its critical habitat protected under the Endangered Species Act. Stantec Consulting collected in-situ turbidity measurements during construction activities with the objective of determining site-specific relationships between NTUs and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). For turbidity evaluations and monitoring, NTU is often used as a surrogate for TSS because it can be measured instantaneously in the field with a handheld device, however, laboratory studies on fish thresholds are in TSS. Stantec collected in situ NTU turbidity readings using a calibrated handheld turbidity meter at seven in-stream project sites in Maine during pile driving activities, cofferdam installation, cofferdam removal, and/or stream diversion work. Based on the 2021, 2022, and 2023 in-situ turbidity monitoring, Stantec was able define the duration and intensity of turbidity plumes related to in water construction activities at six different project sites. The results also suggest that NTUs can be used a proxy for TSS with significant linear relationships (p-value < 0.05 and r-squared > 0.95) for future construction monitoring.

CTDOT State Project 0014-0177 consists of replacement of Bridge 02675 carrying Route 146 over Sybil Creek in Branford. The existing 10-ft span bridge with timber tide gate has been replaced with a 10ft x 8ft box culvert and replacement tide gate structure. A tide gate has been in place at this location since the early 1900’s. According to the historic reports the upper marsh was extensively ditched for mosquito control in 1916. The current gate system has been in operation since the construction of Bridge 02675 CTDOT in 1921. The tide gate separates Sybil Creek from the upstream marsh. The timber gates functioned by opening with the outgoing tide (when water levels in the upper marsh are higher than the downstream area) and closing on the incoming tide. The gates had no vertical adjustability and did not completely seal allowing upstream movement of flows even in the closed position. Upstream of the Route 146 crossing is a local road crossing of Sybil Creek that carries Waverly Park Road, a small dead-end roadway that services approximately 45 residences. The homes that front Sybil Creek near the Waverly Park Road crossing exist just above the average tide line; some homes even front directly on the Creek with cantilevered structures. The only protection from daily flooding for these homes is the tide gate. A 1987 study prepared for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, estimated a tidal range upstream of the tide gate of approximately 1ft. and was the basis for design. With the replacement of the bridge, a new dual tide flap gate that can completely seal and be vertically adjusted was installed in 2023 and originally calibrated based on the 1987 study. Lessons learned include what additional site information would have been useful during design, the importance of gate calibration for correct tidal flushing to function to prevent flooding, and maintenance requirements of the new structure.