1. Rosamaria Gonzales – USDA Wildlife Services
HABITAT MANIPULATION A COMPONENT OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR REDUCING BIRD USE OF AIRPORT
Rosamaria Gonzales – USDA Wildlife Services
Wildlife-aircraft collisions are one the most dangerous type of incidents that pose a safety risk to aircraft and human life at Key West Naval Air Station (KNQX).
Numerous waterfowl, wading birds, songbirds, and birds of prey use the airfield’s water features, overgrown shrubbery, and trees for feeding and roosting. Wildlife managers at airfields must contemplate which cover types will not attract hazardous wildlife. Vegetation management, along with habitat manipulation, can reduce these wildlife hazards.
During the original construction of the airfield (circa 1943), the surrounding bay bottom was used as fill to raise the elevation of the airfield’s three runways. This construction process created numerous lagoons, retention ponds, and drainage ditches; fostering the growth of mangrove forests and other salt marsh vegetation.
KNQX initiated an Airfield Vegetation Conversion project (AVCP) to clear away vegetation (i.e., mangroves and trees) within airfield clear zones and to improve drainage conveyances to meet the airfield safety criteria.
Before the project began, numerous roosting areas were found around the airfield. Effective habitat manipulation has considerably reduced the feeding and roosting areas on the airfield and now wildlife is primarily observed in undisturbed areas.
Vertical hazards to navigation have been removed and a decrease in reported bird strike events has been documented. Continuous wildlife surveys to determine the long-term effects of this drastic habitat manipulation will be incorporated into a new Wildlife Hazard Assessment.
Phase I airfield areas pre-construction 2009
Phase I airfield areas during construction March, 2013
Workers planting grass along areas where mangroves were removed
Wading birds feeding together in undisturbed saltwater marsh
Before mangrove removal, height of vegetation reached almost 12 ft.
After mangrove removal near the airfield
Drainage improvements to enhance flushing of wetlands
Improved water flow reduced foraging birds