Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
This executive summary plus thousands more available at http://www.nap.edu
Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads
http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11535.html
xvi
Preface
This framework considers a few critical pieces of ecosystems but could
be expanded to include more ecological features. The opportunity exists
to evaluate the efficacy of these laws and policies, but the collection of
more data and the synthesis of extant information need to be done in
ways that have generally not been done.
Integrating ecological considerations into all phases of road development—from planning to construction to vehicle use to ongoing maintenance—is a continuing challenge. Practitioners are moving in that
direction and are encouraged to continue in that direction. We suggest
that integrative assessments done earlier in the planning process are a
key solution to this chronic issue.
These findings would not have been possible without the hard
work, collective action, and perseverance of this committee. I would like
to thank my colleagues on the committee for their efforts. Some members of the group have hundreds of years of collective experience as
practitioners and gladly shared that wisdom; others are among the leading researchers in the field of road ecology. I have been honored to serve
alongside such an august group. But even more, it was a pleasure and
joy to get to know them and work with them all.
The committee and I gratefully acknowledge and thank the staff of
the National Research Council for their support. Suzanne van Drunick
served as project director and provided gracious leadership throughout
the project. Bryan Shipley provided beneficial research and report
preparation. Liza Hamilton provided outstanding venues and programs
for the meetings and help in preparing the report. David Policansky provided helpful guidance and counsel. Ruth Crossgrove, Mirsada KaralicLoncarevic, John Brown, Alexandra Stupple, and Sammy Bardley also
helped with various aspects of the project and report preparation. The
committee is appreciative of BEST members for their oversight of this
study.
The committee benefited immensely from the help and advice of
practitioners and scientists who spent their valuable time to give presentations, reports, and advice to the committee during the numerous meetings.
The National Research Council process for producing the report involves extensive reliance on external reviewers. The committee thanks
the reviewers of its final report for their thoughtful contributions.
We hope that the conclusions and recommendations of the report
provide solid advice to agencies and the road community to better assess
This executive summary plus thousands more available at http://www.nap.edu
Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads
http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11535.html
xvi
Preface
This framework considers a few critical pieces of ecosystems but could
be expanded to include more ecological features. The opportunity exists
to evaluate the efficacy of these laws and policies, but the collection of
more data and the synthesis of extant information need to be done in
ways that have generally not been done.
Integrating ecological considerations into all phases of road development—from planning to construction to vehicle use to ongoing maintenance—is a continuing challenge. Practitioners are moving in that
direction and are encouraged to continue in that direction. We suggest
that integrative assessments done earlier in the planning process are a
key solution to this chronic issue.
These findings would not have been possible without the hard
work, collective action, and perseverance of this committee. I would like
to thank my colleagues on the committee for their efforts. Some members of the group have hundreds of years of collective experience as
practitioners and gladly shared that wisdom; others are among the leading researchers in the field of road ecology. I have been honored to serve
alongside such an august group. But even more, it was a pleasure and
joy to get to know them and work with them all.
The committee and I gratefully acknowledge and thank the staff of
the National Research Council for their support. Suzanne van Drunick
served as project director and provided gracious leadership throughout
the project. Bryan Shipley provided beneficial research and report
preparation. Liza Hamilton provided outstanding venues and programs
for the meetings and help in preparing the report. David Policansky provided helpful guidance and counsel. Ruth Crossgrove, Mirsada KaralicLoncarevic, John Brown, Alexandra Stupple, and Sammy Bardley also
helped with various aspects of the project and report preparation. The
committee is appreciative of BEST members for their oversight of this
study.
The committee benefited immensely from the help and advice of
practitioners and scientists who spent their valuable time to give presentations, reports, and advice to the committee during the numerous meetings.
The National Research Council process for producing the report involves extensive reliance on external reviewers. The committee thanks
the reviewers of its final report for their thoughtful contributions.
We hope that the conclusions and recommendations of the report
provide solid advice to agencies and the road community to better assess