Best Practices - Wildlife Management
Central Region
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- Guide Book for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports
- Wildlife Hazard Management Manual
- Wildlife Hazard Management Plan
- Wildlife Hazard Management Process at Airports
Guide Book for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports
Transportation Reasearch Board's (TRB) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 32: Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports explores wildlife challenges that airports may face and potential techniques and strategies for addressing them. This guidebook examines the different species that can be found at airports and specific information that may be helpful in identifying and controlling them, and the various wildlife attractants and best management practices that airport operators can employ to minimize wildlife activity at and around airports. The report also highlights wildlife control strategies and techniques that may be appropriate at ral aviation airports, and reviews how to develop a wildlife control program.
ACRP Report #32
Wildlife Hazard Management Manual
In December 1999, FAA distributed a manual to all part 139 airports entitled, Wildlife Hazard Management At Airports. This manual was updated in July of 2005. This manual was prepared for airport personnel in cooperation with the FAA and USDA Wildlife Services.The manual contains the following chapters and appendices:
Chapter 1 - Introduction to the Wildlife Strike Problem
Chapter 2 - The FAA National Wildlife Strike Database for Civil Aviation
Chapter 3 - Agencies & Organizations
Chapter 4 - Federal Regulations & Departmental Policies
Chapter 5 - Recognizing Hazardous Wildlife Attractants on or Near Airports
Chapter 6 - Developing Wildlife Hazard Management Programs at Airports
Chapter 7 - Evaluating Wildlife Hazard Management Programs at Airports
Chapter 8 - Wildlife Hazard Management Training for Airport Personnel
Chapter 9 - Wildlife Control Strategies and Techniques at Airports
Appendix A - USDA Wildlife Services Offices
Appendix B - Animal Damage Control Act
Appendix C - FAA Advisory Circulars
Appendix D - FAA Program Policies and Guidance
Appendix E - FAA Wildlife Related Certalerts
Appendix F - USDA Directive 2.305, Wildlife Hazards to Aviation
Appendix G - MOU between FAA and USDA
Appendix H - MOA between FAA DOD, EPA and USDA
Appendix I - Wildlife Strike Reports
Appendix J - Gull Facts for Airport Wildlife Control Personnel
Appendix K- Assessing Wildlife Hazard Management Plans at Civil Airports
Appendix L - Evaluations of Wildlife Control Products and Strategies
Appendix M - Wetlands Banking Mitigation Strategy for FAA
Appendix N - Liability Issues for Airport Managers
Appendix O - Summary of Vegetation Management
Appendix P - Title 14, CFR, Part 139.337
This document is available online. User's should note, however that this is a very large document and it may take a significant amount of time to download.
Download: Mike MullenJanuary 2000
Wildlife Hazard Management Plan
An increasing number of questions are being received concerning the preparation and content of an FAA approved airport wildlife hazard management plan. Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations, part 139.337, Wildlife Hazard Management, prescribes the specific issues that a wildlife hazard management plan must address for FAA approval and inclusion in the ACM.
A wildlife hazard assessment, identified as an ecological study in part 139.337(a), is conducted by a wildlife damage management biologist. The assessment provides the scientific basis for the development, implementation, and refinement of a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan, if needed. Though parts of the wildlife hazard assessment may be incorporated directly in the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan, they are two separate documents.
Part of the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan can be prepared by the biologist who conducts the wildlife hazard assessment. However, some parts can be prepared only by airport staff. For example, airport management assigns airport personnel responsibilities, commits airport funds, and purchases equipment and supplies. Airport management should request that the wildlife biologist review the finished plan prior to submitting it to the FAA for review and approval as an amendment to the Airport Certification Manual.
The wildlife damage management biologist's primary responsibilities are:
- to provide information on the wildlife attractants that have been identified on or near the airport,
- to identify wildlife management techniques,
- to prioritize appropriate mitigation measures,
- to recommend necessary equipment and supplies, and
- to identify training requirements for the airport personnel who will implement the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan.
It is often helpful for the airport manager to appoint a Wildlife Hazard Management Group that has responsibility for the airport's wildlife management program. The biologist should assist the Wildlife Hazard Management Group with periodic evaluations of the plan and make recommendations for further refinements or modifications.
The requirements for an acceptable Wildlife Hazard Management Plan are addressed in Part 139.337 (e) and Part 139.337(f). We have prepared a general summary that briefly explains the requirement of the relevant Part 139 subsections.
Download:
Ed ClearyWildlife Specialist
FAA Headquarters
January 1998
Wildlife Hazard Management Process at Airports
Aircraft collisions with wildlife annually cost the US aviation industry over $300 million in direct damage and associated costs and over 500,000 hours of aircraft down time. The cost in human lives lost (over 100 since 1960) best illustrates the need for management of the wildlife strike problem.
A number of certificated airports in the Central Region already have Wildlife Hazard Management Plans in effect while other airports have Wildlife Hazard Assessments in progress or are in the process of formulating plans.
Part 139.337(a) requires that a certificate holder provide for the conduct of an ecological study (Wildlife Hazard Assessment) if an air carrier aircraft experiences a multiple bird strike, an engine ingestion, or a damaging collision with wildlife other than birds. Part 139 also requires that an assessment be conducted if wildlife of a size or in numbers capable of causing one of these events is observed to have access to any airport flight pattern or movement area. Airports with a standing warning of wildlife hazards in the Airport Facility Directory (A/FD), announcements on the NOTAM system, or Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS), are considered to meet the conditions that require a wildlife hazard assessment. Letters of Correction have been issued at several airports where the certificate holder has failed to comply with this requirement. The FAA Airport Certification staff should be notified if one of the events listed above occurs at your airport.
The wildlife hazard management process usually begins with the conduct of a preliminary Wildlife Hazard Assessment by a wildlife damage management biologist with USDA Wildlife Services or some other private contractor. This preliminary assessment consists of a one or two day site visit by a wildlife biologist. The purpose of the preliminary assessment is to provide immediate assistance to an airport operator in managing a wildlife hazard and to determine if the airport has a significant wildlife problem which would require a more extensive year long
study of the seasonal fluctuations of wildlife activity.
If a year long Wildlife Hazard Assessment is necessary, airport operators may need to enter into a cooperative agreement with USDA Wildlife Services or some other private contractor for the study and other services such as training of airport personnel in wildlife hazard reduction programs. The cost of these cooperative agreements will vary depending on the size of the airport, the extent of the wildlife problem. At the completion of the Wildlife Hazard Assessment, a biologist will provide a report with an analysis of the wildlife hazard and recommendations for reducing the hazard. During the conduct of the
Wildlife Hazard Assessment, the airport operator will work closely with the wildlife biologist to implement measures to alleviate immediate wildlife hazards, as required by part 139.337(f), rather than wait until the completion of the study.
The Wildlife Hazard Assessment report must be submitted to the FAA for review. The FAA will consider the results of the study along with the aeronautical activity at the airport and the views of the airport operator and users, in determining whether or not a formal Wildlife Hazard Management Plan is required. When the FAA determines that a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan is necessary, the airport operator will formulate the plan using the Wildlife Hazard Assessment report as the basis for the plan and address the required elements addressed in part 139.337(e). The goal of the plan is to minimize wildlife populations on and around the airport that pose a threat to aviation safety and provide procedures for alleviating wildlife hazards whenever detected. The draft Wildlife Hazard Management Plan should be reviewed by the biologist prior to submitting the plan to the FAA.
While the airport operator is formulating a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan, the FAA will contact the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Office and request information concerning the presence of federally listed or proposed endangered or threatened species of habitat on or near the airport. If federally listed or proposed endangered or threatened species, or designated or proposed critical habitat are present, the airport operator must prepare a Biological Assessment (Title 50 CFR 402.13) assessing the impacts of the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan on these species or habitats. The Biological Assessment must be submitted to the FAA along with the draft Wildlife Hazard Management Plan for review and approval.
Once the FAA determines that the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan is in accordance with part 139 requirements, the airport operator will incorporate the plan into the Airport Certification Manual and submit the appropriate ACM revision for FAA approval.
Wildlife populations are constantly changing and wildlife may adapt to new habitats or control strategies. New control technologies may become available or established products or techniques may be withdrawn or banned. There may also be changes in wildlife control personnel at the airport. Once a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan is in effect, a process must be developed to periodically evaluate the plan for effectiveness in managing wildlife hazards. Detailed documentation of wildlife activity, strikes, and airport wildlife control actions is extremely important for monitoring the effectiveness of a wildlife management program and provides a record that the airport operator is complying with the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan. A monthly summary of these records can be used to provide baseline data for analyzing and evaluating the wildlife control program. A wildlife biologist should also be invited to conduct an annual assessment of the airport's wildlife management program.
Mike Mullen
July 2000 (Updated February 2011)
Page Last Modified: 09/10/12 13:15 EDT