How a Transportation Biologist Protects Wildlife | The Wildlife ...

Paul Wagner, a transportation biologist with the Washington State Department of Transportation, has been with the department for more than 20 years. He manages the biology branch, which involves assessing natural resources in an area that?s about to undergo a transportation project, determining how a project might impact protected species in an area, and designing projects to minimize some of those impacts.

For instance, one of the department?s major initiatives is the rebuilding of Interstate 90 as it goes through the Cascade Mountains in a place called Snoqualmie Pass. ?I?ve been involved in thinking about how do we do that project in ways that help to maintain ecological connectivity,? Wagner says. The department has also incorporated wildlife-crossing structures into the design of the project, working extensively with natural resource agencies, the forest service, and non-profit environmental organizations interested in promoting habitat protection.

For Wagner, there?s no such thing as a typical day. His tasks range from addressing questions related to individual projects to coordinating with outside agencies to identify and plan upcoming endeavors. ?In my office, we also work with a lot of developments of guidance and policy for the department,? Wagner says. His team is currently reviewing various bills within the state legislature to see how they might affect the department. ?[We?re] weighing in on some of those as they might relate to environmental issues for the department,? Wagner says.

Wagner also participates in the International Conference of Ecology and Transportation ? a biennial conference that began roughly 15 years ago. According to Wagner, the conference offers a platform for people, mostly from North America, to discuss and understand the ecological effects of transportation projects on natural resources and determine ways to plan for and mitigate some of these effects in an environmentally responsible way. The next conference will be in June in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Developments Along the Way
Over the years, Wagner has found that the field of transportation biology has grown. ?It?s something that?s really ? become a discipline of applied ecology and come into being just in the last few years,? Wagner says.? A number of factors account for that growth. ?In part, the regulatory context to do transportation planning has become more complex,? Wagner says. ?Our whole approach to habitat management has become more sophisticated in understanding our cultural impacts in ways we haven?t really articulated before.? Today, there are programs of study on road ecology that never existed before, making this a good time for aspiring wildlifers to consider transportation biology as a career. As Wagner says, ?If people are looking for places where there might be opportunities in the field ? especially for applied things ? this is probably an area where there?s going to be continued growth.?

Author Bio: Divya Abhat is Managing Editor of The Wildlife Professional.

Source: http://news.wildlife.org/twp/2013-spring/how-a-transportation-biologist-protects-wildlife/

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