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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(National Wildlife Strike Database, unpublished data).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 />