Abstract:
This report is intended to help transportation and environmental professionals apply ecological
principles early in the planning and programming process of highway capacity
improvements to inform later environmental reviews and permitting. Ecological principles
consider cumulative landscape, water resources, and habitat impacts of planned infrastructure
actions, as well as the localized impacts. The report introduces the Integrated Ecological
Framework (Framework or IEF), a nine-step process for use in early stages of highway
planning when there are greater opportunities for avoiding or minimizing potential environmental
impacts and for planning future mitigation strategies. Success requires some
level of agreement among stakeholders about prioritization of resources for preservation or
restoration. This implies long range environmental planning as a companion to long range
transportation planning so that there is a basis and methodology for prioritization. This
report provides a structured collaborative way to approach these issues. It does not address
environmental mitigation and permitting actions required by current law or regulation.
The report provides technical background on cumulative effects assessment, ecological
accounting strategies, ecosystems services, and partnership strategies, along with a summary
of the available ecological tools that are most applicable to this type of work. The appendices
document three pilot projects that tested the approach during the research.
The Framework details steps to enhance ecological considerations and efficiency in the
early stages of planning highway capacity projects. Transportation professionals must routinely
interact with numerous agencies in the course of planning highway expansions. These
materials are intended to help each stakeholder better understand the missions and responsibilities
of the other stakeholders and provide a structured and repeatable framework for
interaction, thus allowing for agreement on ecological priorities. Use of the Framework can
streamline the delivery of highway projects and improve water resources and habitats.
The research from SHRP 2’s Capacity Project C06 produced two volumes of reports and
a companion guide. Volume 1 (forthcoming) covers institutional issues and provides examples
of techniques such as banking and programmatic agreements that can be used in the
highway planning process. The guide (forthcoming) provides step-by-step information to
help practitioners use the Framework. Essential content from the C06 project is available
on the Transportation for Communities: Advancing Projects through Partnerships website
(www.transportationforcommunities.com).
