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Bowers Field Wildlife Hazard Management Plan <br /> WHMP was deemed prudent. This WHMP will follow a significant portion of CertAlert <br /> 97-09 (Wildlife Hazard Management Plan outline). The objective of this WHMP is to set <br /> forth a well-defined set of policies, goals, and standards by which wildlife hazards can be <br /> effectively reduced. <br /> ELN recognizes that it is not possible to eliminate wildlife strikes,but through the <br /> development and implementation of this WHMP,wildlife hazards can be substantially <br /> reduced. <br /> 1.3 Strike History <br /> Wildlife strikes are largely unpredictable events. It is impossible to know exactly when <br /> an animal will collide with an operating aircraft. Dolbeer et al. (2021)determined that <br /> 75%of the airports incurring wildlife strikes were GA airports,but those reports only <br /> accounted for 6%of the strikes. That is, from 1990—2020,roughly 1,500 GA airports <br /> reported 13,000 strikes,whereas 522 commercial airports reported 196,000 strikes. <br /> Sixty-four percent were GA aircraft and 55%of the events occurred at GA airports. Of <br /> the 74 aircraft destroyed following a wildlife strike, 41 (64%)were GA aircraft(Dolbeer <br /> et al. 2021). This information suggests that GA airports and aircraft are susceptible to <br /> wildlife strikes and that relatively few strikes involving GA aircraft at/near GA airports <br /> get reported. Roughly 71%of strikes occurred below 500' above ground level (AGL), <br /> which is an area within or immediately adjacent to most airfields. This suggests that <br /> actions on and around the airfield can have the greatest benefit in decreasing wildlife <br /> hazards. <br /> The annual number of strikes reported for Washington State is on an upward trend <br /> (National Wildlife Strike Database,unpublished data). The FAA recorded 3,963 wildlife <br /> strikes in Washington from 1990 through 2020. There were 17 fatal strike events <br /> reported nation-wide. Two occurred in WA(an American white pelican in 2018 and an <br /> American green-winged teal in 2019). Smaller passerines and raptors were the most <br /> commonly struck birds in Washington. <br /> No wildlife strikes were reported for ELN, however USDA WS witnessed near misses <br /> during site visits. It is likely that strikes occurred at ELN,but were not reported to the <br /> FAA(Linnell et al. 1999). <br /> 1-3 <br /> 31 December 2024 <br />