Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

Remote Sensing Technology And Ground-Based Observations For Evaluating A Proposed Airport Site In Conway, Arkansas, Russell P. Defusco, Ronald L. Merritt

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

The city of Conway Arkansas has proposed a replacement for its existing airport with a larger, more modern facility. Site selection and architectural design began eleven years ago with a preferred location selected near the Arkansas River. After nearly completing the architectural plans for construction, preliminary approval was granted from the FAA regional office pending final coordination from their headquarters. The FAA asked their Staff Wildlife Biologist to evaluate and endorse the proposed location. Concerns over local land uses and the proximity to a potential major flyway led the FAA to withhold support for the site pending further study. The …

Implementation And Distribution Of Bird Detection Radar And Bird Hazard Advisory Information For Military And Commercial Aviation, T. Adam Kelly

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Over the past five years, development of mobile bird detection radars for use as real-time aircraft bird strike avoidance systems has moved from research and development into active deployment as an operational technology. The MERLIN™ bird detection radar, with an update rate as frequent as once per second, is currently deployed as production-model technology with 15 systems operating in the U.S., Canada, Scotland, England and The Netherlands. Deployment challenges over the past two years have included “how” and “in what forms” to deliver the real-time and near real-time information to controllers, wildlife control units, pilots and decision makers so that …

Lessons Learnt From Avian Radar Trial At Toronto Pearson International Airport, Tim J. Nohara

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

The paper reports on lessons learnt from an avian radar trial conducted at Toronto Pearson International Airport in November 2005. Toronto Pearson International Airport is Canada's largest airport and has unique requirements due to its proximity to metropolitan Toronto, a major urban center. The paper begins with an assessment of desirable application requirements that take into account current wildlife management practices. Application requirements include early warning of birds approaching the airfield; real-time tracking of birds and aircraft, rapid review of overnight bird movements to identify bird stopovers, and integration into wildlife management operations. Next, the paper examines special radar design …

The Use Of Radar To Augment Visual Observations In Wildlife Hazard Assesments, Robert C. Beason, Michael J. Begier

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Assessing wildlife hazards to aviation in the airport environment is typically initiated by conducting a Wildlife Hazard Assessment (WHA). Ecological relationships between wildlife populations and habitat are usually discerned through observations during the course of one annual cycle. Although proximate hazards, on the airport, are well defined during the WHA process, off-airport features also can attract wildlife. Wildlife species can transit airport property traveling to and from habitat attractants. During a WHA, common wildlife sampling techniques are employed to determine species, their approximate numbers, and through association an index of potentially attractive habitat. Continuous observations could provide a more complete …

An Acoustic / Radar System For Automated Detection, Localization, And Classification Of Birds In The Vicinity Of Airfields, Bruce Stewart, Sebastian Pascarelle, John Pinezich, T. Adam Kelly, Andreas Smith, Robert Maher

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Bird-aircraft collisions present a significant threat to military and commercial aircraft, and as bird populations and air traffic continue to grow, and airport/airbase operations continue to expand, the problem will steadily get worse. To help mitigate bird strike hazards, we propose a multi-sensor system consisting of ground radar and acoustic sensors that can directly monitor bird activity and provide an alert when a threat condition occurs. Radar offers a large detection range and the ability to detect in all weather conditions, while acoustic sensors allow the ability to detect targets in the midst of clutter and add the capability to …

The Airport Is Not A Wildlife Refuge!, Russell P. Defusco, Robert L. Dogan

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Airports must eliminate or minimize bird and other wildlife attractants to maintain safe operating conditions. Unfortunately, all too often this is not the case. Outside pressure, political or economic decisions, and lack of awareness of appropriate management practices lead to many airports becoming safe havens for wildlife by accident or incredibly, by design. Airport tenants, airlines, or other users are often at the mercy of the airport operator or owner and believe they have little control over the situation where they operate. Proper habitat management is the basis for any wildlife or bird strike reduction program. Vegetation management is at …

Disposal Of Bio-Solids At Airports: Increased Wildlife Hazards To Aviation Or Not?, Michael J. Begier, Brian E. Washburn

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Airports often times employ different land uses on their airfields to generate or save funds. The application of bio-solids is one such use. Questions concerning this practice and its compatibility with safe aircraft operations arise; however, little information exists concerning this issue. FAA regulations and technical guidance do not currently prohibit this practice on airfields. Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, located in North Carolina, has applied treated bio-solids to portions of the airfield over the past 14 years; this program is anticipated to continue into the future. During 2003–2005, we conducted a study to compare plant community dynamics and …

The Impacts Of Habitat Manipulation On The Ring-Necked Pheasant Population At Cck Air Force Base In Taiwan, Shaopin Yo, Kuo-Bin Lin

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Ring-necked pheasant is an endemic subspecies of Taiwan. The main habitat of the bird is the grass lands at the low elevation in Taiwan. The population has been threatened due to the fast agricultural development and human disturbance at their habitats in Taiwan. However, the airfield of CCK Air Force Base has maintained a healthy pheasant population due to the large scale of grass lands without much human disturbances. Several bird strikes occurred at CCK air force base due to the foraging activities of ring-necked pheasant across the runway of the airfield. The main purpose of this study is to …

Response Of Birds To Aircraft Lighting: Implications For Reducing Bird-Aircraft Collisions, Bradley F. Blackwell, Thomas W. Seamans, Scott Philiben

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Is there a means by which birds might better discern aircraft position and speed, so as to reduce collisions? Vision is a primary and highly developed sensory pathway in birds, and recent work has shown that light can be an effective tool as a repellent and, potentially, as an alert. Given that bird-aircraft collisions (hereafter referred to as bird strikes) cost the commercial aviation industry world-wide in excess of $1.28 billion annually (U.S. $), the incorporation of ecologically salient light cues into the design of aircraftmounted lighting is one means by which airlines might reduce bird strikes. We will report …

Using Bird Strike Data To Monitor Bird-Hazard Control, Thomas C. Kelly, Ray Bolger, Gavin Fennessy, Michael J. A. O’Callaghan, Sorcha Sheehy, Patrick D. Bourke

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

An effective definition of a bird strike is the basis for quantifying the scale of bird hazard problems. Here we present a working definition of a bird strike, which in turn forms the basis of an analysis of 32 years’ data collected at Dublin Airport, Ireland. A variety of datasets are analysed including the number of bird strikes per ten thousand aircraft movements, the mass of the bird species being struck, the time of year at which bird strikes occur and the dimensions of the aircraft utilising the airfield. In addition, we have analysed the mean number of strikes per …

Birds Commuting Across The Runway: How To Reduce This Bird Strike Risk?, Albert De Hoon, Luit Buurma

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Not only birds residing at airports, but also birds commuting daily across the runways from and to places outside the airport boundaries, may pose a threat to departing and landing aircraft. Species such as gulls, geese, cormorants, ducks, flamingos, starlings and crows often have foraging sites that can be miles away from their breeding or roosting places. Dealing with those commuting birds that pass over airports on a daily basis is complicated because their roosting, breeding, and foraging sites do not belong to the airport’s property. The solution to the problem becomes even more complex when these sites are part …

Dna Identification Of Birdstrike Remains – Progress Report, Carla J. Dove, Marcy Heacker, Lee Weigt

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

The FAA (William J. Hughes Technical Center), U.S. Air Force, and the Smithsonian Institution signed a five year Interagency Agreement in 2003 to develop a multi-level DNA-based identification method for bird strike remains. The tasks to be achieved include: establishment of a database of mitochondrial DNA sequences (12s, 16s, CytB and COI) for 300 species of birds; testing and refining DNA-based techniques for forensic samples; and development of user-friendly methods of collecting ‘snarge’. A separate collaboration between the Smithsonian and the University of Guelph (Canada) began in 2004 to sequence one of these target genes (COI, ‘barcode’) for all birds …

Evaluation Of Bird-Strike Risk In Two Colombian Airports: A Standard Methodology To Rank Species And Propose Management Priorities, Juan David Amaya-Espinel, Sergio Córdoba-Córdoba, Guillermo Rico-Hernández

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

We conducted avian evaluations at two Colombian airports to assess, through a standard methodology, the risk of bird strikes. Evaluations were conducted at “Aeropuerto Perales” (AP), Department of Tolima, 1030 m a.s.l. Tropical Dry Forest and, “Aeropuerto Palonegro” (APN), Department of Santander, 1188 m a.s.l. Humid Pre-mountain Forest. Forty-seven species of 12 different families, 3,998 individuals were encountered at AP through 1284 records. In contrast, 33 species of 16 families, 1,112 individuals in 396 records were found at APN. The Whispering ibis (Phimosus infuscatus) was the most abundant species with more than 50% of all individuals followed by the Black …

Avian Influenza: What Field Biologists Should Know, Carla J. Dove, Marcy Heacker

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Because field biologists, airfield personnel, and those involved in bird strike prevention often handle blood and other tissue of avian origin, they need to understand the means of transmission and know effective ways to protect themselves and those that will be examining the remains for identification purposes. This poster will present up-to-date information on the HPAI H5N1 (Avian Flu) virus and provide details of how to safely handle bird remains. A list of websites and other information regarding safe handling of bird strike remains is provided.

Developing A Risk Rating System For Bird Strike Occurrences, Albert Froneman

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Bird strike reporting is becoming increasingly important as airport operators, airlines and government aviation authorities are requesting their staff to report all bird strike occurrences. In South Africa the Endangered Wildlife Trust has been managing an integrated bird and wildlife hazard management program at ten airports managed by the Airports Company South Africa for the past seven years. In an attempt to best understand the bird strike hazard at the various airports a bird strike definition has been adopted which includes the reporting of carcass remain retrieved from the runways through to the more serious incidents where damage was reported …

Bird Classification In Noisy Environments: Theory, Results And Comparative Studies, Y. Zhang, C. Kwan, D. Lao, Y. Deng

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Bird classification plays an important role in minimizing collisions between birds and aircraft. It is a challenging task to perform the sound-based classification correctly in a noisy environment. This paper addresses robust techniques that can improve the classification of bird in noisy environments. A complete recognition system is described and evaluated on a bird sound database containing 1547 bird sound files, with 11 bird species. Two types of features were extracted from the sound files: Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (Mfcc) and RelAtive SpecTrAl (RASTA). Also, two statistical classifiers were developed using Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) and Hidden Markov Models (HMM), …

Reduction Of Risk: A Flight Crew Guide To The Avoidance And Mitigation Of Wildlife Strikes To Aircraft, Paul Eschenfelder, Steve Hull

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Each year the world’s airlines lose between $1 billion to $2 billion due to wildlife strikes to aircraft. This is roughly the same level of loss as the carriers pay out each year for lost luggage. One US airline cites its losses at $2 million a month due to engine ingestion alone. The last several years have seen both hull losses to air carrier aircraft and lesser damage caused by such actions as loss of control and runway excursions. Wildlife strike mitigation is a defense in depth: airplane certification/construction standards; action by airport operators to minimize wildlife on and around …

Developing Protocols For Bird Strike Radar Performance Assessment, Edwin E. Herricks

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Over the past six years the Center of Excellence in Airport Technology (CEAT) has been supporting Federal Aviation Administration research in aircraft and airport safety. CEAT has conducted reviews of bird strike sensor technology, and has led validation testing of a radar developed specifically for bird detection at airports. This experience, which includes development of quality assurance plans and field validation of radar capabilities has led to the development of protocols for bird strike radar performance assessment. The protocols to be reviewed are based on a request made to bird radar vendors that asked for information in three areas: 1) …

Cattle Grazing As Part Of An Integrated Management Program To Reduce Wildlife Hazards At Kansas City International Airport, Dan Mcmurtry

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Opening in 1972, the Kansas City International Airport (MCI) has had numerous issues concerning white-tailed deer. The first documented deer strikes at MCI were in 1979 and 1980. Between 1996 and 2000, airport operations entered 39 reports of deer inside the fence on the AOA, or 0.72 deer incursions per month, and 28 instances where deer were struck by vehicles on airport property. In one situation, a deer entered the airport terminal by breaking through a large glass window and injured three people. After a Wildlife Hazard Assessment was completed in 1997, Wildlife Services and MCI worked together closely to …

Bird Use Of Stormwater Management Ponds: Design Considerations Relative To Decreasing Strikes With Aircraft, Bradley F. Blackwell, Laurence M. Schafer

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Airports must control the movement of storm water away from runways, taxiways, and aprons to insure the safety of aircraft operations. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recommends that such runoff be held for short periods, by use of detention ponds, so as to reduce use by wildlife (Advisory Circular No: 150/5200-33A; Hazardous Wildlife Attractants On or Near Airports). The purpose of our study was to quantify factors that potentially attract avian wildlife to stormwater management ponds so as to more efficiently direct resources toward management of hazards to aviation posed by these habitats, and provide critical input on the design …

Employing Bash At Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, Major Gary Cooke

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Westover Air Reserve Base (ARB) in western Massachusetts is home to 17 USAF C-5A Galaxy airlifters. The mammoth C-5, with a 222 foot wingspan and length of 247 feet, is the backbone of the U.S. Air Force airlift fleet. The 2,500-acre base is home to the largest single area of grassland in Massachusetts. The BASH program at Westover focuses mainly on the wildlife risk posed to the C-5, and is administered by the 439th Airlift Wing safety office. Airfield grasslands are host to two state-listed endangered/threatened bird species: the Grasshopper Sparrow and the Upland Sandpiper. To protect our airplanes from …

Real Birds Versus Whirly Birds: Bird Strikes To Civil Helicopters In The Usa, 1990-2005, Richard A. Dolbeer, Sandra E. Wright, Edward C. Cleary

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

To our knowledge, there has been no published analysis of bird strike data specific to helicopters. Our objective was to conduct a comparative analysis of strike reports involving helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wildlife Strike Database. From 1990-2005, 370 (0.6%) of the 64,734 reported bird strikes to civil aircraft involved helicopters. Of the 370 reported bird strikes involving helicopters, 186 (50%) indicated damage and 67 (18%) indicated substantial damage. In contrast, only 15% of bird strikes with fixed-wing aircraft resulted in damage and 4% resulted in substantial damage. Whereas helicopters accounted for only 0.6% of all …

The Vectorial 3d Bird Flight Monitoring System: A New Tool To Track And Manage Birds On Airports, Raoul Tomassi

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 8th (2006)

Among the many sensors available to detect and track bird movement on airports, few provide a satisfactory capacity to both monitor bird flight and the capability to rapidly review, update, and improve monitoring capabilities. The Vectorial Three Dimension Bird Flight (V3DBF) Monitoring System has been developed to provide detection and analysis of bird movement using digital images and advanced image analysis technology. The sensor system is capable of identifying bird targets and using geometric relationships between sensors and the targets to identify the range and altitude of birds. The rapid refresh rate of the system allows horizontal and vertical tracking …

Mansfield Ct: Planning A New Village Center, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer

Planning

The case follows the development of a plan for a new village center in Storrs, the central village of Mansfield, Connecticut. A process that was transparent and inclusive of the community members yielded a plan that gained the approval of the Town, the landowner (the University of Connecticut), and the citizenry. The process relied on the mending of fences, the leadership of key participants, and an innovative strategy that included development of a nonprofit corporation and creative use of grant money. While zoning changes are still in the works, the first stage of building goes forward.

Augusta Me: The New Bridge Begets A New Planned Neighborhood, Molly Pulsifer, Richard Barringer

Planning

Construction of a new Third Bridge over the Kennebec River in Augusta offered the prospect of a new and handsome gateway to the city. Further, the resulting change in traffic patterns offered the City the chance to plan for a pattern of development quite different from what the city had experienced for the past half-century. The case study describes the planning and construction of the new bridge and corridors that re-routed traffic out of Augusta’s downtown and older neighborhoods, and created the opportunity for planned development adjacent to the corridor created by the new bridge. It goes on to describe …

Strike One- You're Out!

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

Wildlife management and habitat modification at airports can help eliminate or greatly reduce collisions between aircraft and birds or other wildlife. This leaflet provides the aviation community with information on how the Federal Government can help with these life-threatening problems.

The Interactions Of So2 And So3 On A Carbon Sorbent And Their Impact On Mercury Capture, Edwin S. Olson, Charlene R. Crocker, Jenny Sun, Katie Hill Brandt, Grant E. Dunham, John H. Pavlish

EERC Publications, Papers, & Presentations

Recent experiments with SO₃ added to a synthetic flue gas exhibit unique and somewhat unexpected mercury capture behavior for various simulated flue gas compositions. As predicted by the EERC model, results showed that the more acidic SO₃ component is able to increase the initial reactivity of the carbon surface, an effect similar to that shown for HCl.

Factors Contributing To Dust Emissions In Clark County, Nevada Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 15, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Dust Emissions from Public Lands

• Hiring of post-doctoral scholar is currently being finalized.

• Modification to task agreement has been processed.

Scwds Briefs: Volume 22, Number 2 (July 2006 )

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

SCWDS BRIEFS
July 2006
USDA Publishes Final CWD Rule
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Herd Certification Program and Interstate Movement of Farmed or Captive Deer
International Avian Influenza Conferences
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses
HPAI H5N1
Two New NIH Grants & Three New Grad Students
Trypanosoma cruzi
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis)
Dr. Susan Little
Borrelia lonestari
Southern Tick- Associated Rash Illness (STARI)
Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick
Dr. Michael Yabsley
Protozoal Epidemics Among Frogs in Georgia
Rana heckscheri
Perkinsus-like protozoan
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Parasite & Disease Problems in Mourning Doves
West Nile virus
Ascardia columbae
Trichomonas gallinae …

Refuge Update – July/August 2006, Volume 3, Number 4

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:
Taking the Bighorns Home, page 9
Focus on . . . Transportation, page 10-18
Living and Learning the Desert, page 21
Studying Bats, Coast to Coast, page 24