Airplane Bird Strikes: A Growing Issue with Serious Consequences

After the much publicized Flight 1549 emergency landing in the Hudson River early last year some much needed attention was directed at the issue of airplane-wildlife collisions.  Somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 collisions occurred in 2009 (reporting is not mandatory so exact estimates are hard to get), and some of these caused substantial damage and put hundreds of passengers at extreme risk during emergency landings.

The FAA currently requires major commercial airports to conduct Wildlife Hazard Assessments and to prepare Wildlife Hazard Management Plans – documents used to assess the potential risks and take steps to reduce the likelihood of collisions.  Many smaller airports servicing the general aviation community are also required to conduct these assessments.  Steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of potentially catastrophic collisions include managing airport habitat to discourage use by wildlife, maintaining fences and other barriers to prevent wildlife from entering airports, and active controls such as distress calls and pyrotechnics to scare wildlife off runways and other areas of activity.  These measures, while relatively simple, can go a very long way towards reducing the number of collisions and preventing situations like Flight 1549.  The added attention and the realization of the deadly seriousness of the issue has reinvigorated the FAA to ensure that airports are in compliance with these requirements and to ensure that these are viewed as living documents that are taken seriously and not simply boxes to be checked.

Adding to our existing airport services, NRC Avian Biologists Brian Bub and Scott Yanco recently participated in training to learn how to assist airports assessing hazards and managing wildlife on airport grounds.  This training included a field visit to Orlando International Airport where they got to experience, hands-on, some of the techniques that can be employed in order to ensure a safe environment for the traveling public.  NRC is excited to be a part of the community of professionals dedicated to keeping airports safe for everyone.

To learn more about bird strikes, check out some of the links below or feel free to contact Brian or Scott.

Brian Bub

608-839-2037

Scott Yanco

720-330-7280 x11

Bird Strike Committee USA

FAA Wildlife Strike Database

Flight 1549

International Center for Aviation and Wildlife Risk Mitigation

Forty Years of NEPA

This past New Year’s Day marked the fortieth anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  The White House marked the day with a presidential proclamation encouraging all federal agencies to promote public involvement and transparency in their implementation of NEPA.

NEPA represented landmark legislation when the act passed in 1969. The act requires federal agencies to document and analyze impacts to the natural and human environment resulting from all major federal actions.  The act also requires deciding agencies to consider alternatives to any proposed action and to solicit and consider public comments on all proposals. The environmental assessments and environmental impact statements that are published as part of compliance with NEPA serve as complete accounts of all anticipated environmental effects.

Since the act initially took effect, it has been an important tool for the United States in ensuring that environmental quality is taken into consideration in everything our government does. Today, NEPA is still a critical tool for public engagement and transparency in government actions.

To learn more of NEPA – how it works, what is required, and how you can get involved – check out some of the links below or leave questions in the “Comments” field below and one of NRC’s NEPA experts will give you an answer.

·         Presidential Proclamation on NEPA Anniversary

·         Council on Environmental Quality Website

·         EPA’s NEPA Website

·         Text of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

·         NRC’s NEPA Services

NRC’s Denver Office Has Moved

NRC’s Denver office has recently moved to 1900 Wazee Street, Suite 200 - just a couple blocks from our previous location.  Our new location lies in the old Wazee Exchange building in the heart of Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver.  The building itself is nearly 200 years old but the interior of our office was custom designed and built for NRC.

As part of this move, we purchased almost entirely used furniture.  In doing so, NRC has helped reduce potential greenhouse gas emissions to the earth’s atmosphere.  Waste items like furniture that end up in landfills can contribute to annual greenhouse gas emissions.  By reusing furniture that would otherwise end up in a landfill, NRC has prevented 1.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released to the atmosphere.  This is the equivalent of burning over 3 barrels of oil or 157 gallons of gasoline!  NRC is proud of every effort we can make to help protect the environment. We encourage everyone to find ways that they can help - as we just learned, sometimes helping to protect the earth’s resources can be easier that we think. 

Thanks to Jynx Sanders of Merchants Furniture for providing emissions reduction data.

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