Mitigation Measures and Recommendations in the USA to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Transportation Infrastructure on Wildlife

Abstract

Serious and adverse conservation consequences of transportation infrastructure have not only altered the landscape but have also become a source of pollution to impact the entire environment and the living styles of wildlife in the planet. The design, construction, operation and management of transportation infrastructure should therefore consider their environmental and ecological impacts from the point of views of conservation biology and environmental science. This paper summarizes the mitigation measures in the USA to avoid, minimize and mitigate negative environmental and ecological impacts of transportation infrastructure on wildlife movements, including wildlife crossing structures and fencing. The review of existing efforts to enhance wildlife crossings in the USA and federal/state level guidelines and recommendations are presented, together with the cost-benefit analyses. It is recommended that each local transportation agency proposes implementation steps to examine the current practices to reduce the negative impacts of transportation infrastructure on wildlife and make recommendations on how to systematically incorporate the successful design practices into their local transportation projects.