Application of Geospatial Ecological Tools and Data in the Planning and Programming Phases of Delivering New Highway Capacity: Proof of Concept—East-West Gateway Council of Governments (2014)

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CHAPTER 1 Introduction Project Context In 2008, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (the Council), the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Saint Louis region, embarked on an innovative process, called the Ecological Approach to Infrastructure Development Initiative (Ecological Initiative). The Council partnered with the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP) at the University of Missouri–Columbia to expand consultation and to build geospatial tools to be used toward mitigating the impacts of the region’s transportation investments on the environment. MoRAP is a consortium of partners from state and federal agencies and non-government conservation organizations who take a coordinated approach to geospatial data development, analysis, and delivery. Efforts are aimed at improving natural resource management and conservation outcomes. The Council became a formal partner with MoRAP in order to strengthen the Council’s ability to develop and integrate ecological planning into the transportation planning process through the Ecological Initiative. The partnership allows the Council to build and strengthen relationships with resource agencies operating in the Saint Louis region. An extensive network of federal, state and regional/local agencies exists through the partners and affiliates within MoRAP and the governmental relationships established through work at the Council level. This network was instrumental in the development of the regional level ecological geospatial data tool (Ecological Initiative tool). This process identified the area’s most ecologically significant natural resources and mapped them in order to better inform transportation planning decisions for the region. The Ecological Initiative tool was applied during the development of RTP 2040, the region’s long-range transportation plan, but it has yet to be utilized as a tool for environmental screening at the corridor level for pre-NEPA analysis. The Ecological Initiative tool has the potential to streamline the transportation planning process in the region and advance conservation goals through the availability of quality fine-resolution ecological data. The region is the home to the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, as well as other river systems, such as the Meramec and the Kaskaskia Rivers. Wetland impacts, especially in the floodplains of these big rivers, are significant environmental issues facing the region. Wetland areas are often included in critical habitat areas for threatened and endangered (T&E) species. Conservation areas in the region are also often included as critical habitat areas. The Ecological Initiative hopes to focus mitigation efforts on wetland locations of greatest restoration potential and identify conservation area expansion and linkage. By doing so, a great deal can be done to enhance conservation efforts in the region. 3

Proof of Concept Goals The SHRP 2 C40B2 Proof of Concept (C40B2) is designed to advance pilot studies that implement the products of SHRP CO6A and CO6B and to show how applying a geospatial tool can support integrated ecological planning at the regional and local level. Many practitioners do not have funding to create new information, are unaware of what is available, and do not know how to use available tools. The SHRP 2 C40A project and C40B2 worked together to address this need for access, by creating geospatial tools that will advance the overall goals of the SHRP 2 Capacity focus area. C40B2 provides a means to test acceptance of the Ecological Initiative tool by regulatory and resource agencies as well as to assess the transferability of the tool and the development process. The Council’s partnership with MoRAP carried through to C40B2. The Council and MoRAP (C40B2 team), as co-principal investigators, undertook C40B2 as an opportunity to apply the Ecological Initiative tool into specific study areas. The Council acted as the primary coordinator with the C40A team and the SHRP 2 Project Panel. The Council’s staff brought a diverse range of planning expertise and resources in transportation planning; GIS and research services; and environmental planning. MoRAP’s staff brought an extensive background in natural resource and conservation planning and expertise in linking remote sensing, geographic information systems, and spatial statistics/environmental modeling to address practical problems in natural resource management, conservation ecology, biogeography, and landscape ecology. The C40B2 team partnered with the C40A team in the development and testing of the national-level web-based geospatial tool (Eco-Plan). The C40B2 team considered the benefits to MPOs, state DOTs, and natural resource management and regulatory agencies of both the Ecological Initiative tool and Eco-Plan. MoRAP led an internal focus group that provided technical expertise throughout the course of the project and that consisted of technical staff from both MoRAP and the Council. The focus group reviewed and provided input for the development and the beta test of Eco-Plan and collaborated on the data refinement to the Ecological Initiative tool. Report Structure The report is organized into five chapters. The first three chapters detail the Ecological Initiative research efforts. Chapter 2 discusses the Ecological Initiative geospatial tool development process, how environmental issues are assessed in the Council’s long-range transportation plan, and how the Integrated Ecological Framework (IEF) was followed. Chapter 3 provides an assessment of the Ecological Initiative tool and the proposed enhancements. Chapter 4 details the methodology and the results of the data refinement. Chapter 5 describes the results of the C40B2 team’s beta test of the Eco-Plan and feedback on usability and transferability. Chapter 6 discusses the transferability of the Ecological Initiative’s geospatial tool development process. And lastly, Section 7 summarizes conclusions from the C40B2 work. 4