Bypass becomes connector

Bypass becomes connector

"The [USDA] Forest Service is working with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Missouri Department of Conservation to develop a strategy that will serve to create, maintain and/or enhance Indiana bat habitat in this area. The Indiana bat occurs in the Midwest and eastern United States from the western edge of the Ozark region in Oklahoma, to southern Wisconsin, east to Vermont, and as far south as northern Florida and was listed as endangered throughout its range in 1967. http://www.darnews.com/articles/2004/07/13/news/news5.txt "

July 22, 2004

By Denise Freitag, staff reporter

The Aurora Journal Press

P.O. Box 59

Aurora, Indiana 47001

812-537-0063 or 812-926-0063

Fax: 812-537-5576

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=2075

To submit a Letter to the Editor: (Joe Awad, editor -- no other contact information other than the above was provided at the originating website.)

A roadway originally studied as a possible bypass for U.S. 50 traffic is now being considered as a potential Ind. 48-Ind. 1 connector road.

The City Of Lawrenceburg has proposed to move forward with an environmental study for the connector which has three alternative routes, said Scott Roush, Strand Associates, Columbus, Ind.

Roush gave a presentation about the connector road after the Lawrenceburg Advisory Plan Commission meeting Wednesday, July 7.

“It is not intended to resolve congestion related issues along U.S. 50,” said Roush.

A separate project, a U.S. 50 corridor study, also to be handled by Strand Associates, will address U.S. 50 congestion, he said.

Change in direction

The original roadway proposal began at U.S. 50 west of Tanners Creek, traveled north along Industrial Drive in Lawrenceburg past Ivy Tech State College, continued along the east side of Tanners Creek before turning east.

A new crossing over Tanners Creek would lead to Ind. 1 near Nowlin Avenue in Greendale.

According to a connector road project summary, the alignment was abandoned in 2000 “due to increases in construction costs caused by unstable soil conditions” and “issues related to the presence of the endangered Indiana bat.”

After interest in the bypass study was renewed, a traffic study was completed in 2003 to determine future traffic volumes along the alternative now being considered as a connector road.

The study showed about 6,100 vehicles per day would be transferred from U.S. 50 if this route was constructed, said Roush.

Although the removal of traffic is a reason to pursue the connector road, it is not the primary purpose after receiving the traffic count numbers, he said.

The main purposes now for building the connector road are providing a second crossing over Tanners Creek and providing a link to Interstate 275, U.S. 50, Ind. 1 and Ind. 48, he said.

Three alternatives for the connector road are being considered. All three begin at Ind. 48, end at Ind.1 near Nowlin Avenue and cross Tanners Creek in the same location.

The first two alternatives begin at Scenic Drive. Alternative 2A is about 2.8 miles long with an estimated cost of $22.8 million.

The second, 2B, is different from the first because it avoids a “high fill” area north of Ind. 48. The length is 2.9 miles with an estimated cost of $21 million.

The third, 2C, begins at Pribble Road and follows the existing roadway for about half a mile. The cost is $16.4 million for about 2.25 miles.

If the decision is made to move forward with the connector road 80 percent of the cost would come from federal funding while the state has agreed to contribute $1.1 million, said Roush.

Bypass not forgotten

The switch in purpose for the proposed connector road does not mean the search for a solution to U.S. 50 traffic congestion has been abandoned.
Earlier this year $250,000 was awarded through state and federal funds to conduct a U.S. 50 corridor study.

The study will cover the entire length of U.S. 50 in Dearborn County, said Stephen Smith, manager of the Indiana Department of Transportation long-range transportation planning system.

“The focus will be where the congestion is most severe,” he said.
INDOT is working with Strand Associates, which are targeted to become the consultants for the study, he said.

Over the next several months a scope of work will be developed. The State Attorney General also must review and approve the contract with the consultant, as he reviews all state contracts, said Smith.

The study is expected to begin late this year or in early 2005. The work will take about 18 months, probably wrapping up in late summer 2006, said Smith.
INDOT and the consultants will work in cooperation with local governments. An advisory committee of interested residents and government officials will be formed, he said.

The committee will hold regular meetings to provide feedback on the study, he said.

A Web page will be dedicated to the project on INDOT’s Web site. There also will be information meetings for the general public, said Smith.

A computerized traffic demand model used to simulate traffic movement will be one of tools used during the study. INDOT also will work with the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments, he said.

There are no preconceived ideas going into this study. All possible types of solutions will be considered, said Smith.

After the presentation by Roush July 7, questions surfaced about whether the U.S. 50 corridor and connector road studies, considered separate projects by the state with different funding “pots,” would clash with each other.

Though he is not against an environmental study for the proposed connector road, county plan director Travis Miller believes coordinating the two projects is important.

“I think they need to be incorporated under the same umbrella,” he said.
One of the reasons the same consultant was picked for both studies was to make sure efforts are coordinated, said Smith.

Greendale City Manager Steve Lampert said city council instructed him to send a letter to Lawrenceburg in support of the environmental study.

A solution, however, will have to be found for the bottleneck at the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Bellview Drive near Ind. 1 and Oberting Road, he said.

The proposed end to the connector road on Ind. 1 is not far from the Greendale intersection, he said.

Trying to turn left off Oberting Road in the morning is already difficult, he said.
There is not a lot of room to make improvements with railroad tracks and other obstacles close to the intersection, he said.

A new church building off of Nowlin Avenue also was recently constructed near the path of the proposed connector road, said Lampert.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12441944&BRD=2075&PAG=461&dept_id=386538&rfi=6

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Lakeshore seeks resident response to fire plan - Porter, Indiana National Lakeshore: Plan will safeguard humans, endangered species

(Note: Okay, now the inmates are telling us that 'prescribed burns' -- arsonists on parade? -- are 'for the benefit of' butterflies, bats, rattlesnakes, and birds. How many suckers did P.T. Barnum say were born every minute???)

July 18, 2004

By Brian Williams, Northwest Indiana Times staff reporter bwilliams@nwitimes.com or 219-462-5151, ext. 348.

Northwest Indiana News: NWITimes.com

601 W. 45th Ave.

Munster, IN 46321

219-933-3333 or toll-free: 866-301-3223

Fax: 219-933-3249

http://www.thetimesonline.com

To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@nwitimes.com

Porter, Indiana - Northwest Indiana's national park's fire response plan is getting its regular five-year review, and officials at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore want to know what nearby residents and visitors think.

No major changes are included, but the updated plan specifies how and when to conduct prescribed burns for the benefit of the four federally listed endangered animal species at the park -- the Karner Blue butterfly, Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Indiana bat and piping plover.

For example, prescribed burns will not be set at times of year when the migratory Indiana bat is expected in the area. Or in the case of the massasauga, which hibernates, burns can be timed for the periods it is below ground.

Watching out for the Karner Blue is a bit trickier, said Louis Hartjes, the park's fire management officer. Prescribed burns in the butterfly's habitat will destroy its eggs. But without the fires, the butterfly's sole food source, wild lupin, would be crowded out by other vegetation. To balance the two, the plan calls for a system of staggered burns in the areas of Karner Blue habitat.

The plan sets out the framework for prescribed burns that are controlled by park officials over the next five to 10 years, Hartjes said. Fire serves to restore and rejuvenate ecosystems such as the Hobart Prairie by clearing the way for new growth and enriching soil. Regular fires also prevent the buildup of fuels that could cause a later wildland fire to grow out of control.

The park's plan also continues the policy of suppressing all wildland fires, whether man-made or naturally occurring.

Despite the focus on endangered species, the main objective in controlling fires at the park remains the safety of firefighters, nearby residents and park visitors.

Hartjes said the park's neighbors, especially in the communities of Dune Acres and Ogden Dunes that are surrounded by park property, generally understand the theory behind the need for prescribed burns. Those living further away, who only experience smoke from the burns, are sometimes less patient with the practice, he said. Still, burns only take place four or five times a year and are minor events compared to what the nearby steel mills put into the air, he said.

All national parks are required to have updated fire plans in place by the end of the year, Hartjes said.

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/07/19/news/region_and_state/4a885f9d363d56

a386256ed5001a1063.txt

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Endangered bat habitat is found in Wayne County [Missouri]

July 13, 2004

Daily American Republic

P.O. Box 7

Poplar Bluff, Missouri 63902

573-785-1414

http://www.darnews.com

To submit a Letter to the Editor:

Rolla, Missouri - Mark Twain National Forest is proposing to amend its Land and Resource Management Plan to provide protection and management for endangered Indiana bats and their summer habitat.

A maternity colony of Indiana bats was recently discovered in an area near Greenville in Wayne County. The forest service proposes to designate an area to protect the maternity colony. Female Indiana bats roost under the loose bark of trees where they bear and raise their young. Under the proposal, the forest service would designate an area of protection and management around roosting trees and ensure there are sufficient trees available for the bats to roost.

"We are looking first to protect known occupied roosting trees," Jody Eberly, wildlife biologist for the Mark Twain National Forest said. "We must also provide a full range of habitat for Indiana bats including sustained foraging habitat and roosting trees, which can only be provided by careful, but active management of the area."

"Several Indiana bats have been captured by researchers in this area in the past two years, but this is the first time any have been successfully tracked back to their roost trees. Mark Twain National Forest and the North Central Research Station of the forest service have been surveying for Indiana bats for the past seven years to gain information on the specific summer habitat needs in Missouri, with only one previous capture of an Indiana bat," Eberly said.

The [USDA] Forest Service is working with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Missouri Department of Conservation to develop a strategy that will serve to create, maintain and/or enhance Indiana bat habitat in this area. The Indiana bat occurs in the Midwest and eastern United States from the western edge of the Ozark region in Oklahoma, to southern Wisconsin, east to Vermont, and as far south as northern Florida and was listed as endangered throughout its range in 1967.

Additional information on this project may be obtained from Becky Bryan, Forest NEPA coordinator at 573-364-4621 or on the Mark Twain National Forest Web-site at www.fs.fed.us/r9/marktwain/projects/project.htm.

http://www.darnews.com/articles/2004/07/13/news/news5.txt

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Forest plan expands wilderness: "U.S. Forest Service officials said the draft Environmental Impact Statement ... is kept secret until it is published..."

July 8, 2004

By Paula Tracy, Union Leader staff

The Union Leader Corp.

100 William Loeb Drive, P.O. Box 9555

Manchester, New Hampshire 03108-9555

603-668-4321

Fax: 603-668-0382

http://www.theunionleader.com

To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@theunionleader.com (200-word limit)

Laconia, New Hampshire - A draft proposal of a forest plan for the White Mountain National Forest is expected to recommend putting more acreage into protected wilderness, without a significant change to logging limits.

The areas where expansion of wilderness protection will be suggested are in the Wild River area, near the Maine border east of Gorham and Sandwich Notch, near Waterville Valley, according to U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-NH.

He did not know exactly how much land will be proposed as new wilderness.

Congress must approve expansion of wilderness areas, and Bradley said he wants to hear from a variety of sources -- from loggers and snowmobile clubs to wilderness advocates -- before he votes.

“I want to see input from all parties,” he said.

Bradley, who spends weekends in the forest at this time of year and is within reach of climbing all 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire, said the forest is well-managed, but the forest plan is crucial.

U.S. Forest Service officials said the draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is kept secret until it is published, is due at the printer’s soon. A 90-day public comment period will follow release of the plan, expected later this month.

The forest plan has to be updated every 10 to 15 years. The current plan was drafted in 1986. The forest was created in 1911 as a “land of many uses,” designed as a multi-use forest for recreation and timber extraction.

Currently, there are 113,000 acres of Congressionally designated wilderness in the forest, which encompassses 780,000 acres. Wilderness areas are far from roads or buildings, and have strict bans on machinery, logging or human altering of the landscape. They are meant to be places of solitude, forever.

Jason Stock, executive director of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association, said he expects the plan will allow more logging, although still at a level far below what new growth can sustain.

About half the forest’s acreage is open to logging under the current plan. New tree growth in the logging area can provide a sustained yield of 69 million measured board feet annually, according to the existing land and resource management plan. The plan allows loggers to cut an average of 35 million measured board feet a year, but loggers take only about half that now.

Several years ago, during a study of whether the forest was home to the endangered Indiana bat, logging came to a virtual halt.

The draft forest plan is the product of years of scientific analysis, and more than 100 local planning group meetings in Gorham, North Conway, Plymouth, Lincoln-Woodstock and Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Charles Niebling, policy director for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, said the local involvement by loggers, birders, hikers and the motorized recreational community is crucial to a wise and sound approach to managing public lands.

He said there has been a general consensus on the idea of wilderness expansion. But he urged Congress to hold off nominating lands for wilderness designation until the public hearing process is complete.

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=40513

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Louisville Sluggers are hardly the state's only bats

June 27, 2004

The Louisville Courier-Journal

P.O. Box 740031

Louisville, Kentucky 40201-7431

http://www.courier-journal.com

502-582-4594/4011

Fax: 502-582-4200

To submit a Letter to the Editor: krunyon@courier-journal.com

Kentucky is home to 14 species of bats, although 16 species have been documented in the state.

The Brazilian free-tailed bat (last confirmed in Calloway County in 1971) and the Seminole bat (two recorded sightings) are rare visitors. Otherwise, the state's bat species include:

Rafinesque's big-eared bat — A year-round resident most commonly found along the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau and in the Mammoth Cave region.

Virginia big-eared bat — A federally endangered species. Isolated populations are found in Eastern Kentucky and parts of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.

Big brown bat — A year-round statewide resident of Kentucky.

Silver-haired bat — A forest dweller that's usually seen in Kentucky as a migrant, but some do spend the winter here.

Red bat — Another forest dweller, the red bat is one of the largest in the state (about 4½ inches long). Common statewide mostly as migrants, but some overwinter here.

Hoary bat — Has been documented in more than 20 counties, usually during migration. Largest bat in the state, often exceeding 5½ inches.

Gray bat — A federally endangered species, gray bats are restricted to caves or cave-like habitats and have very specific roosting requirements. Consequently, about 95 percent of the population hibernates in only eight or nine caves.

Southeastern myotis — Found in western half of the state.

Little brown bat — Found across North America and common in Kentucky.

Small-footed myotis — Three inches long with a nine-inch wingspan, this is one of the state's smallest bats. Occurs locally across the eastern two-thirds of Kentucky.

Northern bat — Widely distributed, year-round resident.

Indiana bat — This federally endangered species is the smallest bat in the state (less than 2 inches long). Hibernation requirements are limestone caves with stable temperatures of 39-46 degrees. More than 85 percent of the population hibernates in nine known sites.

Evening bat — Fairly common throughout western third of Kentucky.

Eastern pipistrelle — A small bat (about 3½ inches long), it's common throughout the state during the summer and during migration. Nearly every cave in Kentucky will harbor a few hibernating individuals.

Source: Kentucky Bat Working Group Website: http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats.htm

http://www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/news2004/06/27/C13-kybats0627-3567.html

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Indiana Bat

http://specieslist.com/endangered/common_name/I/Indiana_Bat.shtml

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PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT PLAN FOR THE INDIANA BAT
(Myotis sodalis)

June 12, 1997

http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats/indbat-recmanageplan.htm