NORWICH – Recent events such as the bird strikes on a US Air jet that had to land in the Hudson River and other issues involving wildlife and aviation are in the news. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has rules and regulations concerning control of wildlife on and around airports to improve aviation safety.
Lt. Warren E. Eaton Airport in Norwich has always had a Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Plan as required by the FAA, but have developed a more comprehensive approach to improve safety at the airport.  The Wildlife Hazard planning team, consisting of Airport Administrator Donald Macintosh, General Manager Jamie Baciuska of Gama Aviation, and Operations Chief Rebekkah Whiting of TASIS Comm Group, has examined the variety of methods the FAA allows to control wildlife hazards.  Those include actual hunting of the wildlife, pyrotechnics, and oiling wildfowl eggs. One technique now in use is the planting of a special grass and maintaining it at a level so that the wildfowl cannot see approaching predators. They also don’t like the taste or texture of that grass.  The planning team employs the best tactics to control risks but is concerned about the ecological and environmental impact to the area.
The identified major species that impact this airport are geese, woodchuck, fox, and deer.  The plan calls for “worrying” or chasing the wildlife so they move elsewhere, especially during the wildfowl nesting season.  This is done on foot and with vehicles.  The best method is the use of a trained canine asset, a golden retriever named “Gracie.” The wildlife will run from people on foot or from vehicles, but soon return.  Whiting has noted that the canine asset is viewed by the wildlife as a predator and do not readily return to the area. “Gracie” is not trained or used to chase deer.  The deer are still controlled by conventional means.
A reported wildlife strike in 2002 occurred when a Citation II jet departing the airport struck a Bald Eagle.  The aircraft immediately returned to the airport for inspection before traveling on to its destination. The aircraft had damage in excess of $5000.00 but fortunately that damage did not affect the safety of air operations.  The dead eagle was transferred to the NYS Department of Environment Conservation. They determined that the eagle was infected with the West Nile Virus. Wildlife can develop significant safety risks and have a sizeable economic impact and the airport hazard plan mitigates those issues.
TASIS Comm Group is executing the Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Plan for the airport under the Memorandum of Understanding between the organizations. TASIS Comm Group, ten years old this year, is a non-profit, entirely volunteer organization that provides services to agencies and organizations all over Central New York.