Airport Safety 



WS provides assistance in reducing human 

 safety risks and property damage associated 

 with wildlife-aircraft strikes at civil and 

 military airports. The demand for WS 

 assistance to reduce wildlife hazards in airport 

 environments is increasing rapidly as the 

 number of reported strikes has increased over 

 104 percent during the period 1990-98. A 

 total of 3,600 reported wildlife strikes were 

 recorded for FY 1999 in the FAA National 

 Wildlife Strike Database. Experts estimate that 

 wildlife strikes cost the U.S. civil aviation 

 industry more than $300 million annually. 



During 1999, cooperative funding was 

 provided to WS by the FAA, DoD, airports, 

 counties, municipalities, and waste-handling 

 facilities to conduct direct assistance activities 

 on civil and military airports. Technical 

 assistance provided by WS to airport 

 managers and military airbase commanders in 

 1999 included 210 initial consultations and 

 the development of 42 wildlife hazard 

 assessments, 17 wildlife hazard management 

 plans, and 7 environmental assessments. WS 

 provided direct hazard management assistance 

 to 110 airports and technical assistance to 316 

 airports and military air bases in 47 States and 

 Guam. On airports and military airfields where 

 WS operational projects were conducted, the 

 presence of wildlife was reduced by up to 95 

 percent. WS also provided training to 410 

 airport personnel in recognizing and managing 

 wildlife hazards to air traffic safety and, with 

 the FAA, WS coauthored a wildlife hazard- 

 management manual for airport personnel. 

 The partnership formed by WS and FAA to 

 improve aviation safety provides an outstand- 

 ing model of cooperation and efficiency 

 between Federal agencies. 



In 1999, WS completed its ninth year of 

 assisting John F. Kennedy International Airport 

 (JFKIA) with reducing the number of gull- 

 aircraft collisions. This joint WS operational 

 and research program has lowered the number 

 of bird strikes at rates varying year to year 

 between 75 and 90 percent below pre-1990 

 levels. While effectively increasing air 

 passenger safety at JFKIA, the program has 

 allowed a nearby gull nesting colony on 

 National Park Service land to remain viable 

 and has not caused a decline in the regional 

 breeding population. Relocation of the colony 

 away from the airport is not possible because 

 the colony is located on a fully protected 

 wildlife refuge. 



In 1996, WS initiated a training program to 

 prepare WS biologists for working effectively 

 in airport environments. Training courses are 

 conducted annually and focus on wildlife 

 survey and management technigues to 

 minimize wildlife hazards to airport safety and 

 on working effectively in unfamiliar, often 

 complex organizational environments. The 

 program's third training course was held in 

 Seattle, WA, in October 1998 and was attended 

 by 48 WS wildlife biologists and specialists. 

 The 34 biologists who attended have been 

 certified to supervise WS airport projects and 

 prepare airport wildlife hazard assessments 

 and management plans. WS now has a total of 

 104 personnel trained to conduct wildlife 

 hazard management work at airports, of whom 

 89 are certified biologists. 



Customer Service and Program Evaluation 



The WS program is a customer-driven 

 organization. Because the program is 

 cooperative in nature with clients paying for 

 services, it has always been part of the WS 

 culture to focus on the satisfaction of these 

 paying customers. In the past, WS has 

 conducted several customer satisfaction 

 surveys, including one in 1993 on direct 

 management assistance and one in 1994 on 

 technical assistance. For both sets of 

 customers, the results were high. Satisfaction 

 ratings ranged between 87 percent and 97 

 percent. In 1999, WS commissioned NASS to 

 survey U.S. livestock producers served by WS 

 in 24 States. More than 89 percent of the 

 survey respondents were at least "satisfied" 

 with direct assistance received from WS while 

 slightly over 85 percent said that WS direct 

 management assistance had been effective. 



In 1993, WS established an evaluation 

 committee to improve customer services. The 

 committee conducts yearly evaluations of 

 individual State programs with regard to 

 program operation, service delivery, customer 

 satisfaction, procurement, and relationships 

 with key cooperators including State and other 

 Federal agencies. During 1999, program 

 evaluations were conducted in Washington, 

 Alaska, Guam, and Hawaii. These evaluations 

 help to increase proficiency and maintain a 

 high level of customer service throughout the 

 program. 





