BACKGROUND
The FAA/USDA Wildlife Hazard Management at Airports manual provides a framework to evaluate wildlife hazard management plans (WHMPs) and programs. The FAA’s Advisory Circular 150/5200-38, Protocol for the Conduct and Review of Wildlife Hazard Site Visits, Wildlife Hazard Assessments, and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans, defines minimum acceptable standards for field work and document preparation. While these publications provide valuable guidance, they do not include how airports can identify key metrics for success and risk reduction. Simple reductions in the number of wildlife strikes may not adequately characterize an airport’s program effectiveness at reducing risks to aviation, human health, and safety.
Beyond compliance, there are additional sustainability considerations of an effective airport wildlife hazard management program, such as, budget and resource allocation, revenue generation, legal constraints, environmental initiatives, and community sensitivities. A robust, proactive approach to achieving the safest navigable airspace and land-use is essential.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research was to provide airport operators of all types and sizes with guidelines and tools to implement an effective and sustainable* wildlife hazard management program.
A. Guidelines include universal, scalable, step-by-step processes and procedures to determine the following:
- A definition of successful and unsuccessful airport wildlife hazard management efforts, with specific examples across a range of airports and lessons learned;
- A mandatory list and a prioritization of recommended metrics/KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and goals to include, at a minimum:
- Strike data;
- Risk analysis;
- Economics, benefit-cost analysis;
- Community and environmental sensitivity;
- Operational impacts (i.e., flight delays, runway closures);
- Stakeholder input and analysis;
- Best evaluation practices (frequency of reviews, i.e., quarterly or annual) to evaluate existing performance through audit tools; and
- Corrective action through a continuous improvement process.
B. Evaluation tools are scalable for all types and sizes of airports and may include:
- Risk matrices (i.e., wildlife, habitat, economic benefit);
- Development of leading and trailing KPIs;
- Checklists/templates to determine how metrics/KPIs are developed and prioritized; and
- Testing of the evaluation tool prior to final tool design.
