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Bowers Field Wildlife Hazard Management Plan <br /> 2 Wildlife Hazard Evaluation <br /> For airports serving turbine-powered aircraft,the FAA(AC 150/5200-33C) recommends <br /> a separation distance of 10,000 feet between the airport's aircraft operating area and <br /> hazardous wildlife attractants. Hazardous wildlife attractants are those features that offer <br /> food,water, and/or shelter to hazardous wildlife. These attractants should be avoided, <br /> eliminated, or mitigated within this separation distance. <br /> USDA WS conducted a WHE to use in the development of this WHMP. This evaluation <br /> involved 12 formal and 1 informal site visits to ELN from February 2022 through <br /> January 2023. The purpose of the site visits was to identify the presence or absence of <br /> hazardous wildlife throughout the year and identify the features that attracted them. <br /> Although the number of animals, location, and activity were recorded, USDA WS did not <br /> attempt to quantify these observations in a manner allowing for rigorous statistical <br /> analyses, such as those of a formal FAA-approved WHA. <br /> USDA WS gave specific attention to evaluating the effects of cattle grazing on airport <br /> property. USDA WS identified the presence of multiple hazardous wildlife guilds and <br /> significant hazardous wildlife attractants. Some wildlife guilds posed a risk throughout <br /> the year while others posed risks seasonally. <br /> 2.1 Methods <br /> The airfield was divided into different locations based on habitat type,boundaries, and <br /> roads(Figure 2). Twenty-minute incursion surveys were conducted at 2 points along the <br /> runway and/or a transect was driven during each site visit. An incursion survey is used to <br /> specifically document wildlife crossing the runway. The transect generally took 90 to <br /> 120 minutes to complete. When hazardous wildlife were observed, a line was drawn into <br /> a GIS (ESRI ArcGIS Pro,Figure 3) database developed by USDA WS in Washington, <br /> showing the movement path/location of the animal(s). The date,time,weather, location, <br /> species, abundance, activity, and attractant observed were recorded for each entry. <br /> Species were grouped into respective guilds, based on taxonomy. <br /> Blackbirds—European starlings,red-winged blackbirds, and yellow-headed blackbirds; <br /> Corvids—American crows,black-billed magpies, and common ravens; <br /> Raptors—American kestrels,bald eagles,northern harriers,red-tailed hawks, rough- <br /> legged hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and turkey vultures; <br /> Shorebirds—killdeer; <br /> 2-1 <br /> 31 December 2024 <br />