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Presidents Corner.
Shaun McClain, SR/WA, R/W-AMC
President - IRWA Chapter 14
Right of Way Magazine & Infrastructure News.
COVER STORY: Bridging The Gap For Bats
Bat exclusion essential to bridge work
BY KARLA REEVE-WISE
Featured
Bats make a substantial contribution to the global ecosystems and agriculture. They provide food for numerous predators, perform vital services for the ecosystem (pollinate, disperse seeds, fertilize with their guano and slow the spread of disease by influencing insect populations), function as ecological indicators and inspire industry and tourism opportunities. These flying primates are so important to our environmental health that it’s imperative we remove them in a safe manner from manmade infrastructure slotted for demolition and improvement and reestablish equivalent habitat on a new structure. Bat conservation can be accomplished by changing a scope of work to avoid any disturbance, planning to do the work when bats are not present, excluding the bats prior to the work or installing bat boxes on new bridge structures that don’t support current bat occupancy. My experience on three road projects illustrates some of those methods. The projects include a bridge requiring road maintenance, a smaller bridge demolition and improvement over a railroad and a large bridge demolition improvement over water.
Click on the magazine image or the link below for the FULL ARTICLE
September/October 2023 IRWA Right of Way Magazine
FULL ARTICLE HERE
Bat exclusion essential to bridge work
BY KARLA REEVE-WISE
Featured
Bats make a substantial contribution to the global ecosystems and agriculture. They provide food for numerous predators, perform vital services for the ecosystem (pollinate, disperse seeds, fertilize with their guano and slow the spread of disease by influencing insect populations), function as ecological indicators and inspire industry and tourism opportunities. These flying primates are so important to our environmental health that it’s imperative we remove them in a safe manner from manmade infrastructure slotted for demolition and improvement and reestablish equivalent habitat on a new structure. Bat conservation can be accomplished by changing a scope of work to avoid any disturbance, planning to do the work when bats are not present, excluding the bats prior to the work or installing bat boxes on new bridge structures that don’t support current bat occupancy. My experience on three road projects illustrates some of those methods. The projects include a bridge requiring road maintenance, a smaller bridge demolition and improvement over a railroad and a large bridge demolition improvement over water.
Click on the magazine image or the link below for the FULL ARTICLE
September/October 2023 IRWA Right of Way Magazine
FULL ARTICLE HERE