ABOUT THIS BOOK

Safe Passages brings together in a single volume the latest information on the emerging science of road ecology as it relates to mitigating interactions between roads and wildlife. This practical handbook of tools and examples is designed to assist individuals and organizations thinking about or working toward reducing road-wildlife impacts. The book provides:

an overview of the importance of habitat connectivity with regard to roads
current planning approaches and technologies for mitigating the impacts of highways on both terrestrial and aquatic species
different facets of public participation in highway-wildlife connectivity mitigation projects
case studies from partnerships across North America that highlight successful on-the-ground implementation of ecological and engineering solutions
recent innovative highway-wildlife mitigation developments

Detailed case studies span a range of scales, from site-specific wildlife crossing structures, to statewide planning for habitat connectivity, to national legislation. Contributors explore the cooperative efforts that are emerging as a result of diverse organizations—including transportation agencies, land and wildlife management agencies, and nongovernmental organizations—finding common ground to tackle important road ecology issues and problems.

Safe Passages is an important new resource for local-, state-, and national-level managers and policymakers working on road-wildlife issues, and will appeal to a broad audience including scientists, agency personnel, planners, land managers, transportation consultants, students, conservation organizations, policymakers, and citizens engaged in road-wildlife mitigation projects.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Jon P. Beckmann is an associate conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society and an affiliated professor at Idaho State University.

Anthony P. Clevenger is a senior wildlife research scientist at the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University.

Marcel P. Huijser is a research road ecologist at the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University.

Jodi A. Hilty is Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s North America Program.

REVIEWS

"The authors of Safe Passages offer a comprehensive, state-of-the-art synthesis of road ecology, skillfully integrating conservation science, policy, and transportation planning. This book delivers the powerful and hopeful message that it is possible to resolve complex environmental issues through cooperation, collaboration, and coordination. It is essential reading for students and practitioners engaged in developing creative solutions for mitigating the negative impacts of roads on wildlife."

— Sharon K. Collinge, Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

"Safe Passages...details case studies at mitigating risk to wildlife, humans and the environment on the increasingly fast-paced lanes of the nation's highways."

— Bozeman Daily Chronicle

"Safe Passages is a valuable sequel to Road Ecology...This new work synthesizes current and emerging mitigation techniques for diminishing the impacts of roads on terrestrial and aquatic species. Topics include the disruption of wildlife habitat connectivity, overpass and underpass crossing structures, fencing, highway design/construction, and water barriers...This work is valuable for a broad readership, but it is especially appropriate for transportation and civial engineers, conservation biologists, landscape ecologists, and wildlife managers."

— CHOICE

"...a welcome contribution to the literature and will be of particular value for managers."

— Conservation Biology

"Wildlife corridors and transportation corridors are literally the collision crossroads of ecology and economy. At this intersection lies one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time—aligning the needs of wildlife to move through landscapes for their survival with the needs of people to move to sustain their livelihoods. Safe Passages documents stories of conservation hope and success."

— Gary M. Tabor, Director, Center for Large Landscape Conservation

"Safe Passages thoughtfully explains the importance of integrating wildlife concerns into the transportation project development process and makes a sound case for working collaboratively to minimize the effects of roads on the natural environment. Don't just read this important book—consider it a call to action to save what we truly treasure."

— Mary E. Gray, Environmental Protection Specialist, Federal Highway Administration

"This book will be a valuable resource for wildlife ecologists and transportation agencies that engage in wildlife-transportation issues..Because of its application of science to management and encouragement for collaboration between scientists, policy makers, and the general public, Safe Passages: Highways, Wildlife, and Habitat Connectivity by Beckmann et al. would be a useful addition to upper-level and graduate courses that examine decision-making, urban and regional planning, human-wildlife interactions, and landscape ecology. A fine new standard of road ecology has been set for the 2nd decade of the 21st century, one that provides direction for future study."

— Journal of Mammalogy

"The editors (two of the Wildlife Conservation Society and two of the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State U.) present 17 papers exploring recent work in the relatively new discipline of road ecology, which centers on understanding the interactions between road systems and the natural environment. Focusing primarily on highways, the papers review and synthesize current methods of planning approaches and technologies for mitigating the impacts of highways on terrestrial and aquatic species; examine issues of public involvement in highway-wildlife connectivity mitigation projects in North America, describe case studies of different approaches for developing organizational partnerships for mitigation projects, and review recent innovative technological and institutional developments."

— Reference & Research Book News

"Ironically, an increasing proportion of human interactions with wildlife are from the very vehicles that daily litter roadsides with carcasses. This book is a practical guide to a problem that must be solved."

— Hugh Possingham, University of Queensland, Australia

"Safe Passages: Highways, Wildlife and Habitat Connectivity—edited by WCS Conservation Scientist Jon Beckmann and WCS North American Program Director Jodi Hilty—details the latest developments in the evolving science of road ecology and provides a 'tool-box' for individuals and organizations engaged in reducing road-wildlife impacts."

— Stephen Sautner, Wildlife Conservation Society

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
Preface

PART I. Current Practices
Chapter 1. Connecting Wildlife Populations in Fractured Landscapes \ Jon P. Beckmann and Jodi A. Hilty
Chapter 2. Wildlife Crossing Structures, Fencing and Other Highway Design Considerations \ Anthony P. Clevenger and Adam T. Ford
Chapter 3. Reducing Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions \ Marcel P. Huijser and Pat T. McGowen
Chapter 4. Safe Passages for Fish and Other Aquatic Species \ Matthew D. Blank

PART II. Ecologically Effective Transportation Plans and Practices
Chapter 5. An Eco-Logical Approach to Transportation Project Delivery in Montana \ Amanda Hardy and Deb Wambach
Chapter 6. Improving Conservationists' Participation \ Patricia A. White

PART III. Effective Partnerships
Chapter 7. The Banff Wildlife Crossings Project: An International Public-Private Partnership \ Adam T. Ford, Anthony P. Clevenger, and Kathy Rettie
Chapter 8. Reconstruction of U. S. Highway 93: Collaboration between Three Governments \ Dale M. Becker and Patrick B. Basting
Chapter 9. Citizens, the conservation Community, and Key Agency Personnel: Prerequisites for Success \ Mark L. Watson and Kurt A. Menke
Chapter 10. The I-75 Project: Lessons from the Florida Panther \ Deborah Jansen, Krista Sherwood, and Elizabeth Fleming
Chapter 11. Wildlife Underpasses on U.S. 64 in North Carolina: Integrating Management and Science Objectives \ Mark D. Jones, Frank T. van Manen, Travis W. Wilson, and David R. Cox
Chapter 12. Strategic Wildlife Conservation and Transportation Planning: The Vermont Experience \ John M. Austin, Chris Slesar, and Forrest M. Hammond
Chapter 13. Arizona State Route 260: Promoting Wildlife Permeability, Highway Safety, and Agency Cultural Change \ Norris L. Dodd and Jeffrey W. Gagnon

PART IV. Effective Innovations
Chapter 14. A Local Community Monitors Wildlife along a Major Transportation Corridor \ Tracy Lee, Michael Quinn, and Danah Duke
Chapter 15. The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and Regional Transportation Authority: Citizen-Support for Habitat Connectivity and Highway Mitigation \ Carolyn Campbell and Kathleen Kennedy
Chapter 16. Current and Developing Technologies in Highway-Wildlife Mitigation \ Marcel P. Huijser, Doug E. Galarus, and Angela V. Kociolek
Chapter 17. The Way Forward: Twenty-first Century Roads and Wildlife Connectivity \ Jodi A. Hilty, Jon P. Beckmann, Anthony P. Clevenger, and Marcel P. Huijser

Contributors
Literature Cited
Index

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