Wildlife Escape Ramps in Water Developments

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC 20240-0036

http://www.blm.gov

 

Augusts 25, 2016

 

In Reply Refer To:

1741 (220) P

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 09/07/2016

Instruction Memorandum No. 2016-147                 

Expires:  09/30/2019

 

To:                          All State Directors  

 

From:                     Assistant Director, Resources and Planning

 

Subject:                 Wildlife Escape Ramps in Water Developments

 

Program Areas:  Resource Improvement Projects – Water Developments

 

Purpose:  The purpose of this Instruction Memorandum (IM) is to remind field offices that escape ramps shall be installed and maintained in water development projects on public lands.

 

Policy/Action:  It continues to be the policy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that water developments on public lands shall be equipped with escape ramps.  This includes all existing and future constructed water developments on public lands regardless of who constructed (or constructs) them or how the construction was authorized.  All future water developments except for dirt tanks, pit reservoirs, naturally occurring waters, or closed tanks not accessible to wildlife, shall have escape ramps installed immediately upon completion of the project and before use.  Authorization for the installation of new water developments must document who is responsible for maintaining the escape ramp.

 

While it may be impossible to prevent all wildlife fatalities associated with water developments, the BLM shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that these projects are as wildlife safe as possible. 

 

Inspection:  Field officials shall inspect, or oversee the inspection, of all existing water developments that require escape ramps and document their presence and condition.  Coordination of this work should occur with any personnel in the field that would encounter water developments and could report on the presence and condition of escape ramps, particularly all range and wildlife staff.  To facilitate the accomplishment of this workload, grazing permittees/lessees or any other cooperators responsible for water developments can be asked to report on wildlife escape ramps on the projects for which they are responsible.  If an escape ramp is absent or the existing ramp is in need of repair/replacement, field officials must correct the situation as quickly as possible.  Individual Cooperative Range Improvement Agreements or Range Improvement Permits need to be reviewed to determine whether or not the installation or maintenance of the wildlife escape devices would be the responsibility of the grazing permittee/lessee or other cooperators responsible for the water development.

 

Maintenance:  Field officials shall ensure that maintenance of the escape ramps on existing projects is accomplished within a reasonable amount of time and in accordance with the project construction authorization (e.g., Cooperative Range Improvement Agreement or Range Improvement Permit).  Where maintenance responsibility for the escape ramp is not specified on the project authorization or cooperative agreement, field officials must either assign maintenance responsibility to the project cooperator or permittee, or ensure that the BLM’s responsibility for maintenance is documented in writing and placed into the project file.  

 

Documentation:  To the extent possible, all activities (inspection, maintenance, etc.) shall be documented using the Project Inspection and Maintenance Record Form 1740-1 and entered into the Rangeland Improvement Project System (RIPS) prior to September 25 of each year.  Proper documentation to the project file and correct entry into the RIPS will help ensure that managers and staff are sufficiently aware of the inspection and maintenance needs of existing projects, and may appropriately devote the necessary resources to complete these important tasks. 

 

Funding:  Resource Improvement Funds (8100/8200) may be used for this endeavor.  A single financial project code can be used for inspection and maintenance of all water developments.  Units of accomplishment for installation or maintenance will be coded to Project Element “JC” (Shrub, Grassland, and Forest Projects Maintained).

 

Timeframe:  Field offices are encouraged to program their workload to ensure every water development on public land that requires escape ramps are equipped with a functioning escape ramp in a timely manner.  Significant effort was made to inspect and maintain all wildlife escape ramps by the end of Fiscal Year 2009 in accordance with the Washington Office (WO) IM 2007-178.  Field offices should continue inspections and maintain escape ramps in functioning condition.

 

Budget Impact:  It is not known at this time exactly how many water developments are lacking escape ramps or have ramps that are in need of maintenance.  Inspection of all water developments on public lands that require escape ramps will take a significant amount of time and fiscal resources.  Maintaining, purchasing, or fabricating, and installing any missing or inadequate escape ramps will also take time.  This existing requirement should be included in the cost of maintaining existing water developments and when constructing new developments.

 

Background:  Water developments on public lands are designed to meet the needs of livestock, wild horses, and wildlife.  To reduce the risk of wildlife fatalities, the BLM has required installation of wildlife escape ramps in water developments for many years (See BLM Manual Handbook H-1741-2, “Water Developments” 11/06/90 – contact the BLM Library).  The BLM policy has been to “Install escape ramps in open water troughs and tanks to protect water quality and to reduce wildlife loss” (Section II-3b).  Water developments that require escape ramps include all troughs, open spring boxes, open tanks, and guzzlers.  The policy does not include dirt tanks, pit reservoirs, naturally occurring waters, or closed tanks not accessible to wildlife. 

 

Designs and installation specifications can be found in the BLM Handbook 1741-2, “Water Developments,” 11/90; and BLM Idaho Technical Bulletin 89-4 “Wildlife Watering and Escape Ramps on Livestock Water Developments:  Suggestions and Recommendations,” 11/89 (Update of Technical Note 305).  An electronic version can be accessed at http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/info/publications/technical_bulletins.html#1989.  A more recent publication with suggestions on the installation of wildlife escape ramps is "Water for Wildlife - A Handbook for Ranchers and Range Managers", which can be accessed at http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/water/bciwaterforwildlife.pdf.  However, escape ramp designs are limited only by the configuration of the water holding facility.

 

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  H-1741-2 Water Developments.

 

Coordination:  This IM was coordinated between the Fish and Wildlife Conservation (WO-230) and Forests, Rangelands, Riparian and Plant Conservation (WO-220) divisions.

 

Contact:  Dick Mayberry, Rangeland Management Specialist, WO-220, at 202-912-7229, or rmayberr@blm.gov; or Kimberly Hackett, Senior Natural Resource Specialist, WO-220, at 202-912-7216 or khackett@blm.gov; or Geoffrey Walsh, Wildlife Biologist, WO-230, at (202) 452-5048 or gwalsh@blm.gov.

 

 

 

Signed by:                                                            Authenticated by:

Kit Muller                                                            Robert M. Williams

Acting, Assistant Director                                   Division of IT Policy and Planning,WO-870

Resources and Planning