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Airport Wildlife Management Bulletin No. 31


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AIRPORT WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Airport Wildlife Management and Planning (Part 1)

Bulletin no 31 - Summer, 2002 		Airport Wildlife Management Bulletin Logo

Editor's Note
Introduction
The Risk Assessment and Wildlife Management Process
Step 1: Initiate the process
Step 2: Perform preliminary analysis
Step 3: Estimate the risk
Step 4: Evaluate the risk activity
Step 5: Control the risk
Step 6: Take action
Step 7: Monitor impact
Summary
In our next issue
Additional Reading

Editor's Note

In previous bulletins, we discussed the addition of a Wildlife Management and Planning regulation to the Canadian Aviation Regulations, Subpart 2 — Airports. As mentioned in Bulletin #30, Information Update — 2002, the process of introducing the regulation was interrupted by events associated with September 11. We now expect that the new regulation will be in place by the end of this year.

To assist those airport operators required to comply with the new regulation, this bulletin and the next are devoted to practical advice on conducting risk assessments and developing management plans.

Introduction

In Bulletin #24, Planning Wildlife Control, we stated that the purpose of wildlife management planning was "to reduce the potential risks to aviation caused by bird and mammal activities on and in the vicinity of an airport."

The new regulation is performance-based, and therefore consistent with the current Transport Canada approach to Safety Management Systems (SMS). As a result, the regulation requires airport operators to develop and maintain management plans that include risk assessments prepared in Q850 or equivalent format. Through these formats, operators can conduct performance measurements and perform regular self-assessments to ensure the effectiveness of their plans and programs.

In SMS, risk management is defined as a proactive activity that looks at the risks associated with identified hazards and assists in selecting actions to maintain an appropriate level of safety when faced with these hazards. Before we can assess risk and identify mitigation measures, it's important to understand—in the context of wildlife control—the difference between hazards and risks.

A hazard is a circumstance in which there exists the potential for injury to personnel, damage to equipment and structures, loss of material, or for the reduction in the ability to perform a prescribed function. A flock of Canada Geese feeding on airfield grass is one example of a wildlife-control hazard.

Risk refers to the probability of injury or loss, measured in terms of likelihood and magnitude. In the wildlife control context, and in terms of the example presented above, risk is indicated by the severity of an accident that may occur when the probability is high that a passenger aircraft may be lost due to exposure to a flock of feeding Canada Geese.

As described in Bulletin #28, Sharing the Skies, airport operators can apply science-based planning to manage wildlife and reduce:

  • exposure to wildlife hazards,
  • the probability of wildlife strikes, and
  • the severity of strikes when they occur.

We can never eliminate the risks associated with collisions between aircraft and wildlife. Together, however, hazard identification and a systems approach to risk management can provide the information to help airport operators maintain acceptable risk levels.

The Risk Assessment and Wildlife Management Process

There are seven steps in the Q850 process as it pertains to TC Civil Aviation:

  1. Initiate the process
  2. Perform preliminary analysis
  3. Estimate the risk
  4. Evaluate the risk activity
  5. Control the risk
  6. Take action
  7. Monitor impact

Step 1: Initiate the process

Accurate risk assessments result from thorough research. Begin your research by collecting relevant documents and data. The following list includes some valuable sources of information:

  • Internet resources
     Information on regional wildlife studies.
  • Municipal governments
     Information on the location of landfills and other facilities that may attract birds.
  • 1:50,000 topographical maps and aviation VNC charts
     Often indicate the location of landfills, wildlife refuges, parks, etc.
  • Provincial environment and natural resources ministries
     Reports that contain valuable data on wildlife populations, movements and trends.
  • Canadian Wildlife Service
     Relevant reports and helpful staff.
  • Regional natural-history clubs
     Often maintain comprehensive wildlife inventories derived from activities such as Christmas Bird Counts and local birders' lists.
  • Municipal, university, college and community college libraries
     Resource materials that provide foundations for ecological studies.
  • Transport Canada
     TC bird identification posters and commercially available field guides will help you identify bird species common to your area. Bird-strike data is also available from TC, as is the book Sharing the Skies, which provides a strategic overview of management planning related to wildlife hazards.
  • Consulting firms
     Several consulting firms have conducted bird-hazard studies at Canadian airports. This information may also be available through your TC Regional Office.
  • Airport records
     Your own airport records may offer a valuable historical perspective on hazardous wildlife species in your area.

Risk assessments at major airports should be conducted by experienced bird-hazard consultants—even if the task is to simply validate data obtained from other sources.

Smaller airports may obtain their data at a lower cost by attracting honours and graduate students working on related academic theses.

Step 2: Perform preliminary analysis

A preliminary review of existing documents should provide a focus for your work. Bird-strike data can reveal the species most frequently involved in collisions with aircraft, as well as the times of year, month and day when incidents are most likely to occur. If a serious wildlife incident has ever taken place at your airport, the records will provide valuable risk-assessment data. Interviews with pilots and airline flight-operations staff may provide additional data and highlight specific issues that should be addressed in a management plan. These interviews will also help you meet the stakeholder-analysis requirements of Q850.

Step 3: Estimate the risk

Wildlife risk assessments are conducted by blending data from ecological studies with those from aviation studies to determine the impact of wildlife activities upon aircraft operations.

As defined in Bulletin #24, an ecological study is "an inventory of birds and mammals on and near an aerodrome that includes: identification of species, numbers, locations and their local, daily and seasonal movements; a description of the location and features on and near the aerodrome that attract wildlife."

Species must be ranked according to the severity of the threat they pose. Bulletin #26, Most Hazardous Species, dealt with the need for lists that assign relative hazard scores for each species. The following list applies to most Canadian airports, although we recommend you make modifications to account for the specifics of your location:

  1. Deer (all species)
  2. Geese (all species)
  3. Gulls (all species)
  4. Hawks (all species)
  5. Ducks (all species)
  6. Coyotes
  7. Owls (all species)
  8. Rock Doves (pigeon)
  9. Eagles (bald and golden)
  10. Sandhill Cranes
  11. Sparrows/Snow Buntings
  12. Shorebirds
  13. Blackbirds/Starlings
  14. Crows/Ravens
  15. Swallows
  16. Mourning Doves
  17. Herons (all species)
  18. Vultures (turkey)
  19. American Kestrels

This list enables you to begin prioritizing and directing actions to mitigate wildlife hazards. You may wish to quantify the risk associated with each species, perhaps through the framework established in May 2002 by LGL Ltd. in their report titled Bird Use, Bird Hazard Risk Assessment, and Design of Appropriate Bird Hazard Zoning Criteria for Lands Surrounding the Pickering Airport Site. This report classifies birds from level 1 to level 6, in which level-1 birds present the greatest risk to aircraft. Level-1 birds are categorized as large flocking birds that weigh 1.8 kg or more; level-6 birds are small and solitary, presenting minimal risk to aircraft. Following is the report's prioritization and classification of species at the Pickering Airport Site:

Level 1 Canada Goose
Level 2

Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Mallard
Black Duck
Great Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull

Level 3

Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Dove
American Crow

Level 4

Cooper's Hawk
Northern Harrier
Mourning Dove
European Starling
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

Level 5

Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Eastern Meadowlark
Snow Bunting
House Sparrow
Migrating Sparrows

Level 6 Many passerine species

Always keep in mind that the goal of risk assessment is to initiate a systems approach to reducing the exposure, probability and severity associated with collisions between aircraft and wildlife.

With this in mind, the new Wildlife Management and Planning regulation includes information on the vulnerability of various aircraft types. Comparing this information with site-specific, hazardous- and prioritized-species lists (such as those above) will help direct your wildlife-control efforts to those animals that pose the greatest risk to aircraft at your facility.

Furthermore, and as discussed in Bulletin #26, Most Hazardous Species, ensure that actions to control less hazardous species do not attract animals that pose a greater threat.

Step 4: Evaluate the risk activity

In evaluating risk activity, you determine whether you have the means to manage a risk identified through Step 3. For example, the birds most frequently involved in strike incidents at your airport may be gulls that migrate twice daily through your airspace on flights to and from a landfill feeding site. As these birds do not stop at your airport, you have no direct means to control their hazardous activity; the solution may involve long-term efforts to convince the landfill operator to initiate a comprehensive bird control program.

If, however, your analysis reveals that Canada Geese are regularly feeding on airfield grass — and have been involved in serious strikes — then you could exercise the provisions of a Canadian Wildlife Service permit and initiate an aggressive dispersal or lethal-control program. (Remember that lethal-control procedures may draw opposition from animal welfare groups, and should therefore be supported by public-information campaigns and consultation processes.)

Step 5: Control the risk

This phase involves the development of a site-specific wildlife-management plan. Although this can be one of the most challenging steps in the Q850 process, you'll find much of the work has already been done for you. Transport Canada, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Federal Aviation Administration all offer excellent manuals that describe state-of-the-art techniques and products for airport-wildlife control. These manuals are available in hard copy (see Additional Reading) and as electronic files that can be downloaded from these websites:

In essence, your wildlife-management plan will likely comprise the tactics identified in these manuals to address the prioritized wildlife hazards at your airport.

The greater challenge lies in implementing these tactics. Can existing staff fulfill the requirements of the regulation, or will contractors provide more cost-effective solutions? Be sure to examine closely the details of the hazard. If, for example, you determine that the risk is high only during regular short periods of the day, you may be able to co-ordinate staff duties to ensure personnel are available when required.

Through your wildlife management plan, you'll gain an excellent perspective on the specific challenges that exist at your facility — a perspective that will enable you to rationalize risks and dedicate limited resources strategically and cost-effectively.

Step 6: Take action

Now it's time to implement the actions described in your management plan.

Example #1
  • Risk assessment: Herring Gulls identified as the highest threat.
  • Analysis: These birds rest on the airfield early in the morning on their way to a landfill.
  • Action: Schedule bird-control officers for duty at first light to disperse the gulls before they settle.
Example #2
  • Risk assessment: Many damaging events occur at night.
  • Action: Schedule bird-control activities during those hours.

Step 7: Monitor impact

The final stage of the Q850 process involves the development of a monitoring system through which you can acquire the data that will help improve your management plan. The monitoring system should record:

  • all airport-wildlife activity and all bird and mammal strikes to establish trends;
  • all wildlife-dispersal techniques employed, as well as the results of their use to ensure the effectiveness of your efforts; and
  • any changes in the environment at and in the vicinity of the airport to ensure control efforts do not create new hazards.

Monitoring also provides you with information you'll require to conduct the self-assessment aspect of the Q850 process. For instance, analysis of your monitoring reports will help you determine whether wildlife-control resources are being expended effectively. Monitoring will also enable you to validate the conclusions made during the risk-assessment phase.

Summary

We hope the preceding guidance material will assist your efforts to comply with the new Wildlife Management and Planning regulation. To better understand the risk management process as it relates to wildlife hazards, you may wish to review some of the material listed below under Additional Reading.

Also available from Winfield Solutions (http://www.winfieldsolutionsllc.com/) and clickairport is software for data collection, monitoring and analysis. Furthermore, TC is working with the private sector to produce software that will enable you to develop your own risk assessments and management plans. For more information on this software, contact Winfield Solutions at winsol@reach.net.

In Our Next Issue

In Bulletin #32 we will examine the management planning process as it applies to several generic airports.

Additional Reading

Canada. Transport Canada. "Information Update 2002." Airport Wildlife Management. Bulletin No. 30. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 2002.

Canada. Transport Canada. "Most Hazardous Species." Airport Wildlife Management. Bulletin No. 26. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 2000.

Canada. Transport Canada. "Planning Wildlife Control." Airport Wildlife Management. Bulletin No. 24. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 1999.

Canada. Transport Canada. Safety Management Systems for Flight Operations and Aircraft Maintenance Organizations TP 13881. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 2002.

Canada. Transport Canada. Sharing the Skies TP 13549. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 2001.

Canada. Transport Canada. "Sharing the Skies." Airport Wildlife Management. Bulletin No. 28. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 2001.

Canada. Transport Canada. Wildlife Control Procedures Manual TP 11500. Ottawa: Transport Canada, 2002.

Cleary, E. and R. Dolbeer. Wildlife Management at Airports. United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services. Washington, D.C.: Federal Aviation Administration/ U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1999.

Hygnstrom, S.E., R.M. Timm and G.E. Larson, eds. Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage. United States. Department of Agriculture. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Animal Damage Control. Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee. University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. 2 volumes. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska, 1994.

Davis, R.A., Kelly, T.F., Sowden, R.J., Lang, A.L. Bird Use, Bird Hazard Risk Assessment, and Design of Appropriate Bird Hazard Zoning Criteria for Lands Surrounding the Pickering Airport Site. Canada. LGL Limited, Environmental Research Associates. King City, ON, 2002.

Reason, James. Human Error. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Reason, James. Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1997.

For more information contact:

Bruce MacKinnon
Wildlife Control Specialist
Transport Canada, Civil Aviation
Aerodrome Safety Branch (AARMB)
Place de Ville, Tower C, 7th Floor
Ottawa ON  K1A 0N8
mackinb@tc.gc.ca

Date modified:
2011-12-13