1. Airport tests new way to avoid deadly bird strikes: Tall grass
USA Today
August 12, 2014

2. Steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA)
Define the Problem
Gather the Evidence
Identify the Causes
Evaluate an Existing Policy
Develop Solutions
Select the Best Solution
(Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

3. Step 1: Define the Problem
Problem Statement:
Bird strikes on airplanes in the U.S.
Location: The United States
Undesirable consequences:
Loss of lives
Loss of property
Dead birds

4. Step 2: Gather the Evidence
10,000 airplane bird strikes per year in U.S.
Damage of $950,000,000 a year to planes
US Airways flight 1549 “Miracle on the Hudson”
Eastern Air Lines flight 375 in 1960 (62 dead)
Globally, bird strikes have killed more than 250 people since 1988 and destroyed over 229 aircrafts.
Since 1991 in the U.S. 25 fatalities and 279 injuries
: 218 wildlife strikes at Dayton airport

5. Step 3: Identify the Causes
Airports often built next to large tracts on uninhabited land.
These fields are used often by migratory birds.
Short grass in these areas prevents predators from attacking flocks.

6. Step 4: Examine an Existing Policy
Chemically treated food baits
Distress calls broadcast
Birds captured and relocated
Poisons
Shotguns
Specialists to break eggs and remove nesting materials
Loud noises, pyrotechnics, recordings of geese in distress

7. Step 5: Develop New Solutions
Tall grass, don’t mow as often
Lights fitted with anti-perching devices
Tubular steel beams for terminals and hangars
Landscaping: types of trees, vegetation that doesn’t produce seeds
Waste properly secured
Irrigation improved to avoid standing water

8. Benefits and Drawbacks
Tall grass leads to:
Less maintenance
Takes carbon dioxide out of air
Birds not harmed
Increased rodent population
Food source for raptors