Airport Business - 13
WILDLIFE CONTROL
Gopher tortoises are protected by strict
regulations that protect them and
their underground burrows, and which
makes handling the animals illegal
without a license.
HDR INC.
Knowing some owls could potentially
lose their homes, the team dug nine
new starter owl burrows away from the
project area for the airfield's winged
residents to move into.
HDR INC.
Florida burrowing owls and
gopher tortoises love the grassy
open land and sandy soils
found in areas such as FXE, and
the airport has long protected
the animals by marking known
burrows so maintenance
workers and landscapers can
avoid disturbing them.
HDR INC.
To accommodate the west loop road,
however, HDR helped the airport move
20 gopher tortoises to a new home and
created new starter burrows for Florida
burrowing owls-protecting them
outside of the project area.
A Complex Headcount
Florida burrowing owls and gopher
tortoises love the grassy open land and
sandy soils found in areas such as FXE
and the airport has long protected the
animals by marking known burrows so
maintenance workers and landscapers can
avoid disturbing them. The work began
in summer 2017 with a survey of animals
in the project area. However, a formal
survey was tricky, in part because gopher
tortoises and burrowing owls were found
to swap burrows, and in one instance, to
share burrows at the site.
Determining which animals were
using which homes was key, because
there are different rules and permits
for each species and burrow. Knowing
Florida's permitting process, and what
is required by the state to protect each
species, was critical.
S he r r i Sw a n s on , a s e n io r
environmental scientist for HDR, and
a certified Gopher Tortoise Agent, was
brought in to survey the project area.
Her preliminary work identified the
potentially occupied, active and inactive
burrows in the path of the proposed
construction.
After the initial sur vey was
completed, Swanson led the process of
applying for permits - which allowed the
team to collapse unoccupied owl burrows
and to relocate gopher tortoises found in
the affected area.
A year later, permits now in hand,
the area was resurveyed. Seventeen
owl burrows and more than two dozen
tortoise burrows were mapped in the
area in October 2018. Knowing what
to expect, the team was now ready to
relocate the animals, but the clock was
ticking.
Looming Deadlines
Strict regulations govern any disturbance
of either species, including rules that
determine the timing of any action.
Gopher tortoises cannot be moved
if conditions at their recipient site are
forecast below 50 degrees for three
consecutive days after the tortoises
arrive. With late fall and winter weather
approaching, the team had to thread a
needle on temperature and timing.
OCTOBER 2019 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 13
http://www.AVIATIONPROS.COM
Airport Business
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Airport Business
Inside the Fence
Industry Update
On the Wild Side
Change for Good
Cover Story: Economy Inflight
Williston Takes Flight
Enhance Airport and Airline Relations
FBOs and OEMs: Strange Bedfellows
Airport Guru
Solid Answers for Successful Airports
Product Focus
Animal Control on the Runway
Airport Business - 1
Airport Business - 2
Airport Business - 3
Airport Business - 4
Airport Business - 5
Airport Business - 6
Airport Business - Inside the Fence
Airport Business - Industry Update
Airport Business - 9
Airport Business - 10
Airport Business - 11
Airport Business - On the Wild Side
Airport Business - 13
Airport Business - 14
Airport Business - 15
Airport Business - Change for Good
Airport Business - 17
Airport Business - 18
Airport Business - 19
Airport Business - Cover Story: Economy Inflight
Airport Business - 21
Airport Business - 22
Airport Business - 23
Airport Business - 24
Airport Business - 25
Airport Business - Williston Takes Flight
Airport Business - 27
Airport Business - Enhance Airport and Airline Relations
Airport Business - 29
Airport Business - 30
Airport Business - 31
Airport Business - FBOs and OEMs: Strange Bedfellows
Airport Business - 33
Airport Business - Airport Guru
Airport Business - 35
Airport Business - Solid Answers for Successful Airports
Airport Business - 37
Airport Business - Product Focus
Airport Business - 39
Airport Business - Animal Control on the Runway
Airport Business - 41
Airport Business - 42
Airport Business - 43
Airport Business - 44
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