Eco-Logical

Read below for information related Eco-Logical: An Ecosystem Approach to Developing Infrastructure Projects.

Eco-Logical

• Developed by a team of representatives from eight Federal agencies and the Departments of Transportation for four States, Eco-Logical articulates a vision of how infrastructure development and ecosystem conservation can be integrated to harmonize economic, environmental, and social needs and objectives.
  
  View or download the document

Eco-Logical Resources

• GIS Applications in Eco-Logical Grant Projects — Peer Exchange Summary Report: On August 22–23, 2009, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Interstate and Border Planning and Office of Project Development and Environmental Review sponsored a 1.5-day peer exchange to convene recipients of "Eco-Logical" grants whose funded projects related to geographic information systems (GIS). The purpose of the peer exchange was to allow grant recipients the opportunity to share information on and learn about the various GIS activities implemented with support from FWHA's first Eco-Logical grant cycle. View the report in html or pdf.

Eco-Logical Grant Program

• FHWA's Office of Environment, Planning, and Realty's has announced 15 cooperative agreements totaling approximately $1.4 million in response to the 2007 "Integrating Transportation and Resource Planning to Develop Ecosystem Based Infrastructure Projects" grant solicitation. The recipients represent State and local Departments of Transportation, State resource agencies, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, local governments, non governmental organizations, and one university (see below). (See chart below for list of grant projects)
  
  Other related work that FHWA will be supporting includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) expansion of the Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol, a tool used to determine ecologically sensitive areas in Texas, into a Regional Ecological Assessment Protocol (REAP) covering Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
  
  These pilot projects support the new planning provisions and environmental review process as described in SAFETEA-LU, Executive Order 13274: Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project Reviews, the new planning regulations, and the FHWA Stewardship and Streamlining Vital Few Goals. The projects will be administered by our staff with additional technical assistance from the FHWA Resource Center and other signatories to the Eco-Logical document. For additional information, please contact Bethaney Bacher-Gresock at (202) 366-4196 or bethaney.bacher-gresock@dot.gov.
  
  Please click on a project title below to learn more about that project and view status updates:
  
  

  Project Title	State	Applicant	Grant Amount	Contact
  Developing a Regional Ecosystem Framework for Terrestrial and Aquatic Resources along the I-70 Corridor, Colorado An Eco-Logical Field Test	Colorado	Colorado Department of Transportation	$152,500	Peter Kozinski, P.E. I-70 Mtn. Corridor Management Team CDOT, Region 3 — Eagle (970)328-6385 Peter.Kozinski@dot.state.co.us
  Sustainable Infrastructure Standards for Urban Ecology	Illinois	Chicago Department of Transportation	$73,281	Janet L. Attarian Project Director (312) 744-5900 jattarian@cityofchicago.org David Leopold Project Manager (312) 742-4772 david.leopold@cityofchicago.org
  Regional Transportation, Ecosystem, & Land Use Integration Plan	Illinois	Tri-County Regional Planning Commission	$109,477	John Chambers Senior Planner (309) 673-9330 jchambers@tricountyrpc.org
  An Eco-Logical Approach to Transportation Planning in the Kansas City Region	Missouri	Mid America Regional Council	$90,000	Thomas Gerend Assistant Director of Transportation Mid America Regional Council (816) 701-8303 tgerend@marc.org
  Creating Tools to Support Integrated Transportation and Resource Planning in New Hampshire	New Hampshire	Audubon Society of New Hampshire	$24,464	Carol Foss Director of Conservation Audubon Society of New Hampshire (603) 224-9909 CFoss@NHAudubon.org
  Providing Opportunities for Highway Programs to Remediate Natural Resource Concerns in New York	New York	Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District	$112,490	Jim Curatolo Watershed Coordinator Upper Susquehanna Coalition (607) 546-2528 jac3@htva.net
  Linking Lands and Communities in the Land-of-Sky Region of Western North Carolina	North Carolina	Land of Sky Regional Council (LOSRC)	$104,000	Jim Stokoe Senior Regional Planner Land of Sky Regional Council (828) 251-6622 Ext. 116 jim@landofsky.org Linda Giltz Regional Planner Land of Sky Regional Council (828) 251-6622 Ext. 138 lindag@landofsky.org
  Integration of North Carolina's Conservation and Transportation Planning	North Carolina	North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources	$136,689	Linda Pearsall Natural Heritage Program Director (919) 715-4195 linda.pearsall@ncmail.net
  Using the Ecological Approach to Develop and Implement Conservation and Mitigation Priorities for Oregon	Oregon	Oregon State University	$49,962	James Kagan Director, Institute of Natural Resources Oregon State University (503) 731-3070 jimmy.kagan@oregonstate.edu
  Central Texas Greenprint for Growth — a Tool for Balancing Sustainable Conservation Goals with the Infrastructure Needs of our Rapidly Urbanizing Region	Texas	Capital Area Council of Governments	$113,882	Sean Moran Center for Regional Development (512) 916-6030 smoran@capcog.org
  Developing a Regional Decision Support System for the Houston-Galveston Region	Texas	Houston Galveston Area Council (HGAC)	$100,000	Meredith Dang Land Use Transportation Coordinator Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments (713) 993-2443 meredith.dang@h-gac.com
  North Central Texas Regional Ecological Framework	Texas	North Central Texas Council of Governments	$177,500	Dan Lamers Senior Program Manager (817) 695-9263 dlamers@nctcog.org Tamara Hollowell Senior Transportation Planner (817) 608-2395 thollowell@nctcog.org
  Blueprint Jordan River, A Lake to Lake Vision	Utah	Coalition for Utah's Future/Project 2020	$85,000	Gabe Epperson Planning Director Envision Utah (801) 303-1453 gabe@envisionutah.org
  Integrating Green Infrastructure and Transportation Planning	Virginia	Thomas Jefferson Planning District	$77,833	Rochelle Garwood Senior Planner — Environment Thomas Jefferson Planning District (434) 979-7310 Ext. 320 rgarwood@tjpdc.org
  A Regional Ecological Assessment Protocol (REAP) for the South Central United States	Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma	US EPA, Region 6	$100,000	Sharon Osowski Morgan, Ph.D. Ecologist US EPA Region 6 214-665-7506 osowski.sharon@epa.gov

Transportation and Environment Related Resources

• Additional resources related to Eco-Logical are available on the Planning and Environment Linkages section of this website.