Photo Credit:Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe
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The Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the critical role transportation plays in the economic and ecological well-being of human communities. Transportation projects influence the character of a region by the number of people and the type and amount of goods and service that it transports. Transportation designs can influence the plant, fish and wildlife habitat and the ecological health of the United States. The Service encourages the design of transportation projects that provide the greatest value to the greatest number of people while avoiding or minimizing impacts to habitat and to the disruption of the ecological processes that naturally sustain these areas.
Photo credit: Caltrans District 11
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The Service's Conservation Planning Assistance Program develops policy and products to help facilitate and guide the agency's role in transportation planning. The Conservation and Planning Assistance Program does this in a variety of ways. By gaining a better understanding of local transportation needs, the Service provides technical information that enables State Departments of Transportation and local transportation planning organizations to develop alternatives with minimal environmental impacts. Through a streamlined environmental review process, Service participation in transportation planning includes:
- Involvement in statewide/metropolitan planning process or State transportation plans (STPs);
- Sharing information on current events and issues related to environmental protection and transportation planning;
- Identifying and promoting innovative practices that protect natural resources;
- Identifying and promoting innovative practices that streamline the environmental review process; and
- Promoting partnerships with other Federal, State, and local governments and non-governmental organization to address the efforts above.
For a list of Fish and Wildlife transportation contacts in your area please click here:
or contact Catherine Liller, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Transportation Liaison.
email: Catherine_Liller@fws.gov
phone: 303-236-4318.
Photo credit: Alice M. Bard, Florida Park Service
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