Wildlife & Traffic
A European Handbook for Identifying Conflicts and Designing Solutions
Contents
- 10.1 Introduction
- 10.2 Developing an adaptive ecological asset maintenance plan
- 10.3. Maintenance requirements for ecological asset and wildlife management
- 10.4 Maintenance tasks sheets
- Maintenance of fencing: meshes and poles
- Maintenance of fencing: escape devices
- Maintenance of cattle grids
- Maintenance of screens installed to reduce disturbances
- Maintenance of amphibian/small fauna fences
- Maintenance of ecoducts, wildlife and multiuse overpasses
- Maintenance of viaducts, wildlife and multiuse underpasses
- Maintenance of modified culverts
- Maintenance of amphibian tunnels
- Maintenance of wildlife awareness signs
- Maintenance of signs activated by Animal Detection Systems (ADS)
- Management of vegetation
- Management of habitats for pollinators and other small fauna
- Control of Invasive Alien Species (IAS)
- Management of verges to reduce forest fire risk in sensitive areas
- Management of retention ponds to wildlife
- Management of road killed animals
- Management of Animal-Vehicle Collisions (AVC) data
- 10.5 References
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2
Maintenance of amphibian/small fauna fences

INSPECTION TASKS
To check
- Components of the guiding fences are not broken.
- Components are well-fixed to the ground.
- There is good continuity between the ends of the fence and entrances to amphibian passages.

SPECIFIC MAINTENANCE TASKS
To do
- Maintain a corridor free of bushes, high grasses, rocks or sand along the fence.
- Replace inappropriate wire mesh with an opaque fence to ensure effectiveness and avoid trapping amphibians. Cover gullies and eliminate any other trap where small animals can fall.
- Repair any discontinuities between the fence and the entrances to the passage.
- Fences made of synthetic polymers, wood or similar materials require more frequent inspections than metal fences or concrete walls.

SCHEDULE
- Minimum: once a year, just before seasonal migrations or periods when target species movements are increased.
- More frequent inspection may be required in sections that are repeatedly damaged.
- Additional inspections should be planned following floods, strong winds, snow or other adverse weather events.
Maintenance of ecological assets on transport linear infrastructure