Service(s):
GI Assessments / GIS Mapping
Training
Funding/Grants
Focus:
Natural Environment
Built Environment
Historical/Cultural Heritage
Scale:
State
Multi-state / Region
National
Region(s):
National
Sector:
Federal Government
Investments in green infrastructure
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) has both programmatic and geographical projects in green infrastructure. FHWA is the convener of the Integrated Planning Workgroup, an interagency endeavor aiming to integrate transportation system planning with natural and cultural resource planning more effectively.
The FHWA also developed the interagency document “Eco-Logical: An Ecosystem Approach to Developing Infrastructure Projects,” which was published in 2006. The report introduces ecosystem-based planning for infrastructure project development and mitigation of consequences. This framework might serve as a foundation from which ecosystem-based project creation and mitigation choices may be made.
As an example, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is providing $1.05 million to field-test Eco-Logical principles with a concentration on conforming with the SAFETEA-LU planning and environmental linkages provisions while working on the ground. FHWA also contributes to hands-on.
We’ve combined all of these various planning and environmental linkages processes into a bigger umbrella we call the Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) project.
Collaboration
The Integrated Planning Work Group includes members from the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, and National Marine Fisheries Service. The Integrated Planning Work Group is made up of representatives from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA)