Results of a survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species and Ecological Services Field Offices, Refuges, Hatcheries, and Research Centers

The National Ecology Research Center (Center), as part of an ongoing research study on the effects of low altitude aircraft operations on fish and wildlife, conducted a survey in January 1987 of all U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) regional directors, research center directors, Ecological Services and Endangered Species field offices supervisors, refuge manager, and hatchery manager. The objective of the survey was to determine the nature and extent of aircraft-induced impacts on fish and wildlife species, populations, and habitat utilization. The field installation managers and biologists were asked to provide background information or data on fish and wildlife reactions to low-altitude aircraft disturbances, including physiological, behavioral, and reproductive/population effects. Specifically, the survey asked for information such as: (1) observations of animal reaction(s) to aircraft operations, e.g., desert bighorn sheep scare behavior in response to aircraft overflights and hatchery fish seizures and death following intense sonic booms; and instances of areas where aircraft noise is known or believed to be responsible for reduced population size, e.g. areas along heavily used aircraft flight corridors where breeding waterfowl densities are lower than in similar habitat away from the noise area.