DOT environmental professionals rarely get the
chance to travel out of state and exchange their experiences
with other professionals encountering similar challenges.
However, some DOTs are leading the way in providing
forums for exchange on environmental topics, not only
for environmental specialists but for designers, construction
engineers, and maintenance staff. Some examples include
the following.
- Building on the national success of the International
Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET),
Northeastern state DOTs initiated a Northeast Transportation
and Wildlife Conference. As VTrans enjoys an unprecedented
working relationship with the Vermont Department of
Fish and Wildlife, VTrans hosted the first conference,
to be held on opposite years as ICOET. The two-day
even drew over 100 participants from all of the New
England States as well as DOT and other environmental
professionals from Ontario, Quebec, Washington DC,
Virginia, and Georgia. Technical presentations focused
on specific projects and programs that would benefit
the entire region. The second day consisted of breakout
sessions where all the conference participants could
share ideas and challenges with the larger group.
The intent of the conference was to begin an ongoing
dialogue on road ecology, among professionals in the
region. Non-governmental organizations are serving
as co-sponsors and the National Wildlife Federation
is producing a written report/summary/proceedings
from the conference to be circulated electronically
to participants and other interested parties.
- NCDOT sponsored a regional summit to develop a
sense of importance and urgency about developing an
environmental ethic, understand how and what to do
to create an environmental ethic, and share current "best
practices" for environmental stewardship and
streamlining. Over 14 states and 325 participants
came to the Southern Environmental Leadership Summit,
including staff from resource agencies and all DOT
divisions. The Summit followed previous efforts in
New Mexico and Kentucky.
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