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43 Airport integrated wildlife population management programs use both indirect nonlethal habitat management (harassment, repellent, and deterrent techniques) combined with appropriate direct lethal and nonlethal wildlife population control methods (e.g., prey reduction, pesticide applications, live trapping, and live-ammunition shooting when necessary). To maximize the effectiveness of wildlife population control, the integrated approach would account for the ecology of the targeted spe- cies or guild to ensure that habitat attractiveness is minimized and the targeted population reduced. Although habitat man- agement and harassment techniques are more widely used by airports and are more generally accepted by the public, nonlethal and lethal wildlife population control measures are commonly used when immediate or more aggressive con- trol measures are warranted. An effective integrated wildlife population management program using both lethal and non- lethal population control methods can produce synergistic effects that outperform singular method strategies. Population control is accomplished in accordance with all federal and state regulations and specifically by permit for species of special attention. Because of the significant investment in time, effort, and cost associated with direct wildlife population control measures, it is paramount to also system atically collect data necessary to evaluate the overall effectiveness of such control measures. It is important that airports follow historic wildlife damage control and game management programs to increase and improve their wild- life population census activities for a systematic approach in determining the effectiveness of wildlife control. In addi- tion, adaptive management strategies are best tailored to the results of these analyses consistent with Safety Management Systems principles. Reports on the effectiveness of nonlethal and lethal control measures in the literature, particularly in airport environments, is limited. Although expected outcomes are often assumed to be consistent with agricultural wildlife damage control and game-management principles, more rigorous experimental designs at pertinent spatial scales are necessary. Several areas of research are needed in the field of reduc- ing wildlife hazards to aviation. Recommended research ini- tially could focus on: 1. Determination of criteria for data collection needed to assess wildlife population management tools and tech- nique efficacy. 2. Development of industry standard procedures to per- form wildlife risk assessments for use by airports. 3. Determination of best management practices for con- ducting and developing Wildlife Hazard Assessments and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans that incorpo- rate risk assessments. 4. Threatened and endangered species issues at the federal and state level affecting wildlife hazards to aviation. 5. Development of airport wildlife hazard management into the International Civil Aviation Organization and FAA standards for Safety Management Systems. 6. Development of standards and regulations for operators to reduce wildlife hazards to aviation that would specifi- cally target pilots, air traffic controllers, communication networks, airline training procedures, and other opera- tional stakeholders. 7. Development and testing of new and emerging tech- nologies for use in wildlife risk management to include remote sensing, communications technologies, and other methods for airport operations managers, air traffic controllers, and airborne aircrews. 8. Development and implementation of a singular com- prehensive wildlife hazard management strategy that incorporates all aspects of the issue including regu- latory requirements and recommendations for airport management, community land use planning, wildlife control, aviation operations, communications, air traf- fic control procedures, aircrew responsibilities, and other stakeholder requirements. Although much progress has been made in the field of reduction of wildlife hazards to aviation, there is still much to do. Wildlife population control programs as outlined in this synthesis address many of the issues faced by airport opera- tors and are accepted practice that are suggested for imple- mentation where applicable. Additional research efforts are needed to provide further understanding of wildlife popula- tion control program effectiveness and help develop a more thorough, comprehensive, and integrated framework to assist airport operators, biologists, and aviators in reaching the ulti- mate goal of improving aviation safety for all users. chapter seven ConClusions and information needs
