Adressing OSAB NOS WS Rec.s

8/9/2019 Adressing OSAB NOS WS Rec.s

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Addressing OSAB Recommendations

Some wildlife, especially birds, are negatively impacted by humandisturbance

Cost for addition buffers is offset by the benefits to the community

Lois Balin, Urban Wildlife Biologist

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Photo credit: Graham Owens www.grahamowengallery.com/photography/stilts.htm



The Amended OSAB Recommendations will Benefit the

Community of El Paso

1. Increase economic stimulation

2. Encourage successful ecotourism by ensuring

wildlife are found in our Wildlife Sanctuaries

3. Ensure habitats designated as NOS will continue

providing quality nature experiences.

4. Sustain ecological health and biodiversity



The Amended OSAB Recommendations are:

To provide adequate buffers 10¶ masonry wall and landscape buffer along the property

of NOS Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) districts; built by the

owner of the property of the non-NOS zoning district whenbuilding upon it.

To require NOS WS districts to have a minimum perimeter

setback distance (50-100¶) for high disturbance uses onlyalong the property lines abutting an existing NOS WS

zoning district to minimize potential negative impacts.



COMMUNITY BENEFITS OF OPEN SPACE

1. Attract Investment. NOS creates a high quality of lifethat attracts tax-paying businesses and residents tocommunities.

3. Boost Tourism. Open space boosts local economies byattracting tourists and supporting outdoor recreation.

2. Revitalize Cities. NOS stimulates commercial growth andpromote inner-city revitalization.



Ecotourism

Tourism the world's largest industry

According to the Outdoor Industry Associationstudy:

$730 billion annually to the U.S. economy

Supports nearly 6.5 million jobs across the U.S.

Generates $88 billion in annual state andnational tax revenue



COMMUNITY BENEFITS OF OPEN SPACE

6. Safeguard the Environment. Protectdrinking water, clean air, prevent floods, and achieveother environmental goals.

4. Protect Farms and Ranches. Protectingagricultural lands.

5. Promote Sustainable Development. Helpscommunities prevent the higher costs of unplanneddevelopment.



Some wildlife, especially birds, are negatively

impacted by human disturbancePhoto credit: www.mlahanas.de/.../Fauna/BlackWingedStilt.html



Black-necked StiltPhoto credit: www.mlahanas.de/.../Fauna/BlackWingedStilt.html



White-faced Ibis Photo credit:



The Amended OSAB Recommendations are:

To provide adequate buffers, 10¶ masonry wall, between NOS andWildlife Sanctuary districts. for vacant or in existing developments.The > 10¶ masonry shall be built by the owner of the property of thenon-NOS zoning district when he/she builds upon it.

To require NOS zoning district properties, designated WildlifeSanctuaries to have a minimum perimeter setback distance (50-100¶)for high disturbance uses only along the property lines abutting an

existing NOS zoning district to minimize potential negativeimpacts.

To require a minimum landscape buffer of 10¶ along the property linesof any commercial, manufacturing, or industrial uses abutting anexisting NOS zoning district, designated WS.



What are the Potential Factors that Cause Negative Impacts?

1. Noise from heavy industry,

etc.: earsplitting, smashing,shattering, crashing,

demolishing, hammering,

and pounding sounds

2. Human Activities: bustle,

commotion

3. Large numbers of humans

Photo credit: Stiver photos www.ontfin.com/Word/california-shorebirds/



How is Bird Tolerance to Human

Disturbance Measured?

The response from an approaching predator isanalogous to the response from human disturbance.

Distance animals flee from disturbance results in lostenergy intake and adverse effects.

Buffer zone areas are developed by managers based onanimal tolerance to human disturbance.

Buffers minimize the probability that animals will bedisturbed by human disturbance.



Data on the Potential Negative Impacts to Wildlife

Human disturbance may negatively impact breeding and non-breeding

shorebirds and other bird species.

Disturbance during feeding and roosting has a significant adverse affect on

the mortality, body condition, breeding success and population size of

some shorebirds.

Photo credit: Stiver photos www.ontfin.com/Word/california-shorebirds/



Buffer-Zone Distances to Protect Foraging and Loafing Water birds

from Disturbance by Personal Watercraft and Outboard-Powered Boats

Abstract:

Outdoor recreation and ecotourism can have negative effects on wildlife species, so it is important to determinebuffer zones within which activities near critical wildlife areas are limited. We exposed 23 species of water birds( Pelecaniformes, Ciconiiformes, Falconiformes, Charadriiformes) to the direct approach of a personal watercraft( PWC) and an outboard-powered boat to determine their flush distances. We used 11 sites with a mixture of low,moderate, and high amounts of human activity along the east and west coasts of Florida during September±November 1998 and April±June 1999. We detected considerable variation in flush distances among individualswithin the same species and among species in response to both types of vessels. Average flush distances for thePWC ranged from 19.5 m ( Least Tern [ Sterna antillarum]) to 49.5 m (Osprey [ Pandion haliaetus]), whereasaverage flush distances for the outboard-powered boat ranged from 23.4 m ( Forster's Tern [ S. forsteri]) to 57.9 m(Osprey). Larger species generally exhibited greater average flush distances for both types of watercraft. Acomparison of the flush distances elicited by each watercraft indicated that only the Great Blue Heron (Ardeaherodias) exhibited significantly larger flush distances ( t test, p < 0.01) in response to the approach of the PWCthan in response to the outboard, whereas four species (Anhinga [Anhinga anhinga], Little Blue Heron [Egrettacaerulea], Willet [Catoptrophorus semipalmatus], and Osprey) exhibited significantly larger flush distances ( t test,p < 0.05) in response to the approach of the outboard-powered boat than in response to the PWC. Eleven species(68.8%) showed no significant difference ( t test, p> 0.05) in their flush distances in response to the fast-moving

PWC and the outboard-powered boat. Our data suggest that a single buffer-zonedistance can be developed for both PWC and outboard-

powered vessels. Buffer zones range from 328¶ (100 m) for plovers and sandpipers, 590¶ (180 m) for wading birds, and 150 m for

ospreys would minimize their r disturbance at foraging and loafing sites in Florida.

James A. Rodgers Jr.* Stephen T. Schwikert Bureau of Wildlife Diversity Conservation, Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission, 4005 South Main Street, Gainesvil le, FL 32601 ±9099, U.S.A.



Flight distance and population trends in European

breeding birds Anders Pape Møllera,b a CNRS, UMR 7103, Laboratoire de Parasitologie

ABSTRACTFlight distance reflects the risk that individual animals are willing to take when approachedby a potential predator, as shown by a negative relationship between susceptibility topredation and flight distance.

Species with long flight distances should more often suffer fromdisruption of their activities by resulting in declining reproductive

success and hence declining population size of such speciesif disturbance happens more often. Long flight distances thus suggest that individuals needlarge amounts of space for their body size, resulting in the prediction that species with longflight distances should have a higher frequency of declining populations than species withshort flight distances, when human impact on natural habitats increases. Bird species withlong flight distances had declining population trends across Europe in a comparative studyof 56 species, even when controlling statistically for other factors associated withpopulation declines, with effect sizes ranging from 0.36 to 0.58 (Pearson's r ). These

findings suggest that standardized measures of flight distance provide reliable informationabout the population consequences of risk-taking behavior by individuals and thesusceptibility of different species to increased levels of disturbance.

potential predators, including humans, than species with short distances,



Research Results

Buffer width for breeding shorebirds is species specific.

A wide buffer is necessary for birds (American avocets)that detect danger at a distance and will leave the nest.

Managers should be conservative in developing buffer zones due to variability in flushing distances.

Existing published data for a given species may be usedfor buffer size

Photo by Martha Marks; [email protected]



The Amended OSAB Recommendations will

Benefit the Community of El Paso:

1. Increase economic stimulation

2. Boosting ecotourism by ensuring wildlife occur in the Wildlife Sanctuaries

3. Ensure rare habitats, scenic, and recreationalareas designated as NOS will continue toprovide quality nature experiences

4. Safeguard ecological health and enrichbiodiversity



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Adressing OSAB NOS WS Rec.s

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