Initiative to Integrate an Eco-Logical Approach to Infrastructure Development Air Quality Advisory Committee July 24, 2008

 USACE  US F&W  NRCS - MO  SWI RC&D/ USDA-NRCS  US EPA (Region 5 & 7)  National Park Service – Jefferson Memorial  Mo & IL DNR  IL EPA  MO Dept Conservation  IL Historic Preserv. Agcy  IL & MO Dept of Ag.  Metro East Parks Dist.  Great Rivers Greenway  Metropolitan Sewer Dist. Natural Resource Agencies And the list is growing!

SAFETEA-LU  Metropolitan LRTPs shall be developed in consultation with State and local agencies responsible for: Land use management Natural resources Environmental protection Conservation Historic preservation  Consultation shall involve comparison of LRTPs with State conservation plans or maps; and/or Inventories of natural or historic resources.

SAFETEA-LU  LRTPs shall include discussion of Potential environmental mitigation activities Potential areas to carry out  Developed in consultation with Federal, State and Tribal Wildlife management Land management Regulatory

Goals for Initiative “Ecosystem based approach - a process for the comprehensive management of land, water, biotic and abiotic resources that equitably promotes conservation and sustainable use”  Work cooperatively develop data and tools to evaluate the cumulative effects of LRTP on natural resources and conservation plans; and to identify opportunities for innovative approaches to mitigation  Improve coordination and communication with resource management agencies, share best practices, and to help guide the initiative  Reduce costs and delays associated with mitigating the impacts of project for both public agencies and private developers, MoDOT, IDOT, and Metro  Improve environmental outcomes for our region

Ecosystem Based Mitigation “The process of restoring, creating, enhancing, and preserving habitat and other ecosystem features in conjunction with or in advance of projects in areas where environmental needs and the potential environmental contributions have been determined to be greatest”  Extend compensatory mitigation options by offering ways to evaluate alternatives for off-site mitigation and/or out of kind mitigation  Develop ways of crediting mitigation that builds upon current approaches  Improve habitat connectivity and wildlife conservation while developing needed infrastructure

First steps…  Organize and facilitate policy and technical data review committee to guide process  Work with MoRAP and resource agencies to develop uniform, fine resolution landuse/land cover data to begin development of ecological significance data layer (1-2 meter res.)  Starting in Jefferson Co. as pilot area to establish methodology, then will apply to entire 8 county region next year  Combine landuse/land cover data with other data on historical vs current vegetation, endangered species, cultural and historic assets, conservation plans, etc. and work with agencies to prioritize areas based on their “significance” to conservation and preservation in St. Louis region

Area Near San Marcos, TX: Nested Image Objects using ECognition (15 meter resolution)

Resource Data & Plans Watersheds Prime farming soils Karst soils/areas Floodplain Threatened and endangered species Sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places Protected parks Wetlands Land Cover 303(d) streams/ All Streams Centennial farms(IL only) Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan and Strategy –Resource rich areas –Natural Areas Inventory –Conservation Opportunity Areas Missouri Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy –Terrestrial and Aquatic Conservation Opportunity Areas Metro Park District Plans –Greenways –MetroEast parks & trails East St. Louis and Vicinity Ecosystem Restoration and Flood Damage Reduction Project

Other Products of Initiative  Environmental Atlas Will include maps and descriptive narrative describing natural and cultural resources and existing conditions Will also include a summary of environmental stress analysis performed during last plan update  Develop an collection of best practices on planning and mitigation, including low-impact infrastructure designs that will be integrated into our Great Streets Digital Design Guide

Questions? Caroline Twenter