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"A Clouded Leopard in the Middle of the Road: New Thinking about Roads, People, and Wildlife" by Darryl Jones is a highly informative and enjoyable introduction to road ecology. The book uses personal stories from around the world to make the science of ecological damages caused by roads more relatable and understandable. It covers topics such as road mortality, landscape fragmentation, wildlife crossing structures, and successful collaborations between scientists and local communities. The book provides hope for the future and emphasizes the need for improved environmental impact assessments and ecological connectivity. Overall, it offers a broad overview of road ecology and serves as an engaging introduction to the topic. [Extracted from the article]

The global road network is expanding at an unprecedented rate, threatening the persistence of many species. Yet, even for the most endangered wildlife, crucial information on the distance up to which roads impact species abundance is lacking. Here we use ecological threshold analysis to quantify the road‐effect zone (REZ) for the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus). We found: (1) the REZ extends 5.4 km (95% CI [4.9–5.8 km]) from minor roads and 17.2 km (95% CI [15.8–18.6]) from major roads, the latter being more than three times wider than a previous estimate of the average REZ for mammals; and (2) only 4.3% of the chimpanzees' range is not impacted by existing roads. These findings reveal the high sensitivity and susceptibility of nonhuman primates to roads across West Africa, a region undergoing rapid development, and can inform the implementation of more effective guidelines to mitigate road impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Road mortality is the most easily visible effect of roads and traffic on wildlife populations. Mitigation measures such as fences and wildlife passages have been applied to reduce these effects. During the widening of Quebec's Highway 175 from two to four lanes between 2006 and 2012, 33 wildlife passages designed specifically for small and medium-sized mammals were installed under the road in combination with short fences. This study examined the effectiveness of the fences at reducing the number of small and medium-sized mammals killed along a 68 km section of the road while controlling for the potential confounding effects of landscape variables. Repeated daily mortality surveys were conducted by car during the summers of 2012–2015 to measure roadkill occurrence and detection probability. A total of 893 dead animals from 13 taxa were detected. Roadkill occurrence was significantly greater at fence ends than in fenced sections and unfenced sections (fence-end effect), indicating that the fences were not long enough to discourage animals from moving along the fence to the fence ends. Greater length would be required to meet the target of reduced road mortality. Shrubby vegetation in the median strip separating the two directions of the highway was associated with high roadkill occurrence for medium-sized species. Roadkill detection probability for all species combined was 0.72, ranging from 0.17 for small mammals (<1 kg) to 0.82 for medium-sized mammals (>1 kg). To reduce road mortality, when wildlife passages are constructed along with new highways or retrofitted to old highways, fences either should be continuous or sufficiently long to encourage passage use rather than movement around the fence ends. Future road mortality studies should be combined with data about wildlife abundance and detection probability to more accurately estimate the effects at the population level. Graphical abstract Image Highlights • The study addresses the effectiveness of mitigation measures at reducing roadkill. • Detection probability ranged from 0.17 (small) to 0.82 (medium-sized mammals). • Landscape variables (distance to forest, etc.) influenced spatial roadkill patterns. • Roadkill levels were higher at fence ends than within fenced and unfenced sections. • The fences were not long enough to meet the target of road mortality reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying and communicating uncertainty is core to effective environmental assessment (EA). This study evaluates the extent to which uncertainties are considered and addressed in Canadian EA practice. We reviewed the environmental protection plans, follow-up programs, and panel reports (where applicable) of 12 EAs between 1995 and 2012. The types of uncertainties and levels of disclosure varied greatly. When uncertainties were acknowledged, practitioners adopted five different approaches to address them. However, uncertainties were never discussed or addressed in depth. We found a lack of suitable terminology and consistency in how uncertainties are disclosed, reflecting the need for explicit guidance, and we present recommendations for improvement. Canadian Environmental Impact Statements are not as transparent with respect to uncertainties as they should be, and uncertainties in EA need to be better considered and communicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using strategic environmental assessment and project environmental impact assessment to assess ecological connectivity at multiple scales in a national park context. Subsequent papers zoomed into specific cases that (1) explicitly incorporated connectivity assessments in the EA process across scales and EA tiers ranging from project-level environmental impact assessments to strategic environmental assessments (Cumming and Tavares [2]), (2) developed and applied strong quantitative approaches to model habitat connectivity for certain target species in EAs (Kor et al. [5]), and (3) explored the contribution of mitigation measures to the connectivity of ecological networks for amphibians (Clevenot et al. [1]). Advancing the consideration of ecological connectivity in environmental assessment - Part 2 of the special issue Despite a rapidly growing body of research about ecological connectivity, studies explicitly examining and advancing its inclusion and consideration in environmental assessment (EA) have remained surprisingly sparse. [Extracted from the article]

Highlights: [•] We studied cumulative disturbance effect on female boreal caribou home-range size. [•] Roads and clearcuts had a significant impact on female home-range size. [•] Females expanded before contracting home-ranges as disturbance levels increased. [•] Females are seemingly constrained to suboptimal habitats at high disturbance levels. [•] Caribou seem to have limited natural capacity to cope with cumulative disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The novel sprawl metric presented is Weighted Urban Proliferation (WUP). [•] WUP is a combination of built-up area, its dispersion, and its utilization density. [•] The degree of urban sprawl in Switzerland increased by 155% between 1935 and 2002. [•] Examples from parts of Switzerland demonstrate that sprawl can be reduced. [•] WUP is suitable for performance control of limits to urban sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to understand the extent to which ecological connectivity has been considered in EIA in Canada. Several factors that may influence the consideration of connectivity were analyzed in an evaluation of 14 environmental impact statements (EIS) obtained from the Canadian Impact Assessment Registry. Connectivity is largely absent from the EIA process, and even projects that attempted to consider connectivity lacked the rigor required to effectively assess impacts on connectivity. Projects that included connectivity as a valued component performed somewhat better, whereas the assessment of connectivity was not affected by different federal environmental acts (CEAA 1992 vs. CEAA 2012), development sectors, or proponent types. Between sections of the EIS, a significantly greater number of evaluation criteria were met in the scoping section compared to all other sections. Without adequate guidance, connectivity analysis in EIA has been conducted ad hoc, with considerable variation in quality. Including connectivity consideration in EIA legislation would provide a legal framework to address the lack of policies, standards, and assessment guidelines. We provide recommendations for integrating connectivity in EIA in Canada and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moose-vehicle collisions are a frequent traffic-safety issue, particularly in northern regions where moose are attracted to the near-road areas because they can consume sodium from de-icing salts that accumulate in pools at snowmelt. Moose that find salt pools near roads tend to remember their location and to re-visit them to get the sodium they need in their diet. This study investigated the trade-off between road avoidance and salt pool spatial memory in the movement behaviour of moose using an agent-based model to determine how the interplay of these two factors influences the frequency of road crossings in the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve (Québec, Canada). Mitigation measures studied were the removal of roadside salt pools and the construction of compensatory salt pools away from the road shoulder. A GPS telemetry program of moose in the study area was used to validate our model. The model moose with both road avoidance and salt pool spatial memory activated produced the best results when comparing to the real moose data. Results show that both road avoidance and salt pool spatial memory significantly affect moose road crossings, but that road avoidance explains most of the variance. Road avoidance tended to decrease the number of moose crossings, but this decrease was partly compensated by the spatial memory of salt pools which typically increased the likelihood that moose will cross the road. The trade-off between road avoidance and salt pool memory was largest when original salt pools were maintained. In simulations where road avoidance and salt pool memory were both turned off, the impact of mitigation measures on the number of road crossings was lowest. For the most realistic moose behavior, the management scenarios resulted in reductions in road crossings between 22% and 79%, and the best scenario is to completely remove roadside salt pools. If compensation salt pools are used, they should be located as far as possible from the roads (beyond 500m) to have an impact on moose road crossings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rapid increase of urban sprawl in many countries worldwide has become a major concern because of its detrimental effects on the environment. Existing measures of urban sprawl suffer from a confusing variety of differing, and sometimes contradictory, interpretations of the term “urban sprawl”. Therefore, results from different studies cannot usually be compared to each other and are difficult to interpret consistently. Every meaningful method to measure the degree of urban sprawl needs to be based on a clear definition of “urban sprawl” disentangling causes and consequences of urban sprawl from the phenomenon of urban sprawl itself, as urban sprawl has differing causes and consequences in different regions and regulatory contexts. This paper contributes to the development of more reliable measures of urban sprawl by providing clarifications to the definition of “urban sprawl” and by developing a set of 13 suitability criteria for measures of urban sprawl. Our study proceeds in three steps. First, it proposes a clear definition of urban sprawl that is based on an evaluation of existing urban sprawl definitions. Second, it derives from this definition 13 suitability criteria for measures of urban sprawl. These criteria are useful to systematically evaluate the consistency and reliability of existing and future metrics of urban sprawl. The 13 criteria include (1) intuitive interpretation, (2) mathematical simplicity, (3) modest data requirements, (4) low sensitivity to very small patches of urban area, (5) monotonous response to increases in urban area, (6) monotonous response to increasing distance between two urban patches when within the scale of analysis, (7) monotonous response to increased spreading of three urban patches, (8) same direction of the metric''s responses to the processes in criteria 5, 6 and 7, (9) continuous response to the merging of two urban patches, (10) independence of the metric from the location of the pattern of urban patches within the reporting unit, (11) continuous response to increasing distance between two urban patches when they move beyond the scale of analysis, (12) mathematical homogeneity (i.e., intensive or extensive measure), and (13) additivity (i.e., additive or area-proportionately additive measure). Third, we illustrate the application of the 13 criteria by systematically assessing three existing measures of urban sprawl. We conclude that suitability criteria help understand the behavior of metrics intended to measure urban sprawl and to identify the most suitable measures. This article is the first part of a set of two papers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Urban sprawl (dispersed urban development) has increased at alarming rates in Europe and North America over the last 50 years. Quantitative data are urgently needed in monitoring systems for sustainable development. However, there is a lack of reliable measures of urban sprawl that take into account the spatial configuration of the urban areas (not just total amount). This paper introduces four new measures of urban sprawl: degree of urban dispersion (DIS), total sprawl (TS), degree of urban permeation of the landscape (UP), and sprawl per capita (SPC). They characterize urban sprawl from a geometric point of view. The measures are related through TS = DIS ×urban area, UP = TS/size of the landscape studied, and SPC = TS/number of inhabitants. The paper investigates the properties of the new measures systematically using 13 suitability criteria which were derived from a clear definition of urban sprawl as discussed in a previous paper. The scale of analysis is specified by the so-called horizon of perception. Second, the new measures are applied to three examples from Switzerland. Subsequently, the measures are briefly compared to other measures of urban sprawl from the literature. We demonstrate that UP is an intensive and area-proportionately additive measure and is suitable for comparing urban sprawl among regions of differing size, while SPC is most appropriate when comparing sprawl in relation to human population density. The paper also provides practical advice for calculating the new measures. We conclude that the new method is more suitable than previous methods to quantify the indicator “urban sprawl” in monitoring systems as this method distinguishes the phenomenon of urban sprawl from its various causes and consequences. This article is part II of a set of two papers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is an increasing need and interest in including indicators of landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems of sustainable landscape management. Landscape fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure and urban development threatens human and environmental well-being by noise and pollution from traffic, reducing the size and viability of wildlife populations, facilitating the spread of invasive species, and impairing the scenic and recreational qualities of the landscape. This paper provides the rationale, method, and data for including landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems, using as an example the Swiss Monitoring System of Sustainable Development (Monet). We defined and compared four levels of fragmentation analysis, or fragmentation geometries (FGs), each based on different fragmenting elements, e.g., only anthropogenic, or combinations of anthropogenic and natural elements. As each FG has specific strengths and weaknesses, the most appropriate choice of FG depends on the context and objectives of a study. We present data on the current degree of landscape fragmentation for the five ecoregions and 26 cantons in Switzerland for all four FGs. Our results show that the degree of landscape fragmentation as quantified by the effective mesh size method is strongly supported by the postulates and indicator selection criteria of Monet, and we identify the most suitable FG focusing on the land area below 2100m (e.g., excluding lakes) and allowing for an equitable comparison of fragmentation degrees among regions that differ in area covered by lakes and high mountains. For a more detailed analysis of landscape fragmentation in the context of environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, a combination of all four FGs may provide a more informative tool than any single FG. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Roads and traffic affect animal populations detrimentally in four ways: they decrease habitat amount and quality, enhance mortality due to collisions with vehicles, prevent access to resources on the other side of the road, and subdivide animal populations into smaller and more vulnerable fractions. Roads will affect persistence of animal populations differently depending on (1) road avoidance behavior of the animals (i.e., noise avoidance, road surface avoidance, and car avoidance); (2) population sensitivity to the four road effects; (3) road size; and (4) traffic volume. We have created a model based on these population and road characteristics to study the questions: (1) what types of road avoidance behaviors make populations more vulnerable to roads?; (2) what types of roads have the greatest impact on population persistence?; and (3) how much does the impact of roads vary with the relative population sensitivity to the four road effects? Our results suggest that, in general, the most vulnerable populations are those with high noise and high road surface avoidance, and secondly, those with high noise avoidance only. Conversely, the least vulnerable populations are those with high car avoidance only, and secondly, high road surface and high car avoidance. Populations with low overall road avoidance and those with high overall road avoidance tend to respond in opposite ways when the sensitivity to the four road effects is varied. The same is true of populations with high road surface avoidance when compared to those with high car and high noise avoidance. The model further predicted that traffic volume has a larger effect than road size on the impact of roads on population persistence. One potential application of our model (to run the model on the web or to download it go to www.glel.carleton.ca/ or www.nls.ethz.ch/roadmodel/index.htm or contact the first author) is to generate predictions for more structured field studies of road avoidance behavior and its influence on persistence of wildlife populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines the dispersal distance of mammals proportioned to home range size. Relation of dispersal distance and home range area to body size; Regression of log-transformed data in maximum dispersal distance; Mammals used in scaling rule for ecological practitioners.

This study investigates practices of uncertainty disclosure and communication in Canadian environmental assessment (EA) in the context of the Joslyn North Oil Sands Mine project. Nineteen interviews with project stakeholders were conducted, revealing significant uncertainties about the project, attributed to multiple factors including lack of clarity in the terms of reference and requirements of the proponent; the project's predicted impacts and proponent commitments to mitigation; cumulative effects and the potential for effects interaction with other projects; Aboriginal engagement, including engagement processes and broader socio-political context; and poor uncertainty disclosure and communication practices. Some uncertainties were disclosed but at times downplayed to render the project more palatable through the EA process. Informants stated that this is not an uncommon occurrence in oil sands EA. Recommendations to improve uncertainty disclosure and communication in EA and enhance the consideration of uncertainties in decision-making are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological connectivity should be an important consideration in environmental assessment (EA). How often and how thoroughly the analysis of ecological connectivity is integrated in the EA process is, however, unknown. We surveyed EA actors and stakeholders regarding their perceptions of, and experiences with, connectivity analysis in the context of EA. 134 practitioners, regulators, consultants, researchers, and interest groups from all inhabited continents participated. Over 72% of respondents stated that ecological connectivity should always be considered; however, it is often considered too late in the EA process, at a scale of analysis often unsuitable for capturing landscape-scale effects, and relying on overly simplistic metrics or qualitative approaches. This disparity between the availability of a range of quantitative tools and the poor consideration of connectivity in EA raises major concerns about current practice and the feasibility of connectivity analysis in project-based EA. Connectivity consideration will need to be required explicitly and supported by best-practice guidance to address the conditions that should trigger a connectivity analysis, the required types of approaches, and the kind of information required to inform decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing awareness of the negative effects of urban sprawl has made sprawl a topic of great debate. However, higher efforts are needed to protect forests, agricultural lands, and other open spaces from urban sprawl. This study compares patterns of accelerated increase in sprawl in the Montreal and Quebec Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada with the Zurich metropolitan area in Switzerland between 1951 and 2011. We applied the recent metrics of urban permeation ( UP ) and weighted urban proliferation ( WUP ) to measure urban sprawl. Urban sprawl has accelerated continuously in Montreal and Quebec since 1951. Here, the fastest increases in sprawl have been observed in the last 25 years, whereas in Zurich the strongest acceleration was in the 1960s. Urban sprawl has increased exponentially in Montreal since 1951. On the Island of Montreal, the degree of urban sprawl ( WUP ) increased 26-fold from 0.49 UPU/m 2 in 1971 to 12.74 UPU/m 2 in 2011, while in Quebec City it increased 9-fold from 2.41 UPU/m 2 to 21.02 UPU/m 2 from 1971 to 2011. In contrast, the level of sprawl ( WUP ) in the Inner Zurich metropolitan area increased almost 3-fold from 3.12 UPU/m 2 in 1960 to 8.91 UPU/m 2 in 2010, i.e., it was higher before 1980, but then was surpassed by Montreal and Quebec City. The strongest increases in land uptake per person were observed in Quebec City and on the Island of Montreal, while it increased only slightly in Zurich. Two major reasons for this striking difference in sprawl dynamics are Switzerland's stronger planning legislation since 1979 and a much higher level of public transportation availability in Zurich. The comparative analysis of urban sprawl presented in this study can greatly help land-use planners critically assess projected plans and control urban sprawl and its negative consequences. The WUP method can also be used to establish targets and limits to urban sprawl and to evaluate the effectiveness of measures to control sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads increase wildlife mortality and present a movement barrier for many species. While wildlife passages have been advocated as a solution to many of the problems associated with roads, they are expensive and many roads still have none. However, roads usually have a series of drainage culverts designed to allow water to cross underneath the road, which might also be used by some mammals. This study aims to (1) determine what variables influence the number of successful passages of drainage culverts by mammals, and to (2) parse the effects that these variables have on the entry into and subsequent full passage of drainage culverts by individual mammals, using cameras and animal track stations along a 20 km stretch of autoroute 10 in Southern Quebec (Canada). Overall, 20 species were observed outside of the drainage culverts, but only about half of them were detected making full crossings. While various species were often seen outside, only animals highly tolerant to water, including raccoons (Procyon lotor) and American mink (Neovison vison), were observed fully crossing the structures with regularity, whereas the number of full crossings was small (<8) for all other species. High-water levels and use of polyethylene as a construction material were the strongest deterrents for both the number of successful passages and the probability of entry into the culverts. While several variables (e.g., water level, structure material, moon luminosity, distance to forest) influenced culvert entry, none had an influence on a mammal's probability of complete passage once it had entered. The results imply that ordinary drainage culverts are unsuitable as substitutes for designated wildlife passages for mammals. We recommend the installation of designated wildlife passages and fences, and that in places where wildlife passages are not feasible, dry ledges be installed in existing drainage culverts to better allow small and medium-sized mammals to safely cross under roads while avoiding the water inside of the culverts. To our knowledge, this study is the first to successfully combine trail cameras inside of drainage culverts with track-box data in the adjacent habitat. Image 1 • We asked what species use ordinary drainage culverts under roads to cross safely. (80). • Twenty species were observed outside the drainage culverts, but only few used them. (82). • Only two species highly tolerant to water crossed the structures regularly. (74). • Water level and polyethylene as construction material were the strongest deterrents. (85). • Drainage culverts are unsuitable as substitutes for wildlife passages for mammals. (81). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In a review of landscape-scale empirical studies, Fahrig (2017a) found that ecological responses to habitat fragmentation per se (fragmentation independent of habitat amount) were usually non-significant (>70% of responses) and that 76% of significant relationships were positive, with species abundance, occurrence, richness, and other response variables increasing with habitat fragmentation per se. Fahrig concluded that to date there is no empirical evidence supporting the widespread assumption that a group of small habitat patches generally has lower ecological value than large patches of the same total area. Fletcher et al. (2018) dispute this conclusion, arguing that the literature to date indicates generally negative ecological effects of habitat fragmentation per se. They base their argument largely on extrapolation from patch-scale patterns and mechanisms (effects of patch size and isolation, and edge effects) to landscape-scale effects of habitat fragmentation. We argue that such extrapolation is unreliable because: (1) it ignores other mechanisms, especially those acting at landscape scales (e.g., increased habitat diversity, spreading of risk, landscape complementation) that can counteract effects of the documented patch-scale mechanisms; and (2) extrapolation of a small-scale mechanism to a large-scale pattern is not evidence of that pattern but, rather a prediction that must be tested at the larger scale. Such tests were the subject of Fahrig's review. We find no support for Fletcher et al.'s claim that biases in Fahrig's review would alter its conclusions. We encourage further landscape-scale empirical studies of effects of habitat fragmentation per se, and research aimed at uncovering the mechanisms that underlie positive fragmentation effects. Highlights • Habitat fragmentation per se is a landscape-scale phenomenon. • Cross-scale extrapolation from edge effects to fragmentation effects is unreliable. • Most responses to habitat fragmentation per se are non-significant. • Most significant responses to habitat fragmentation per se are positive. • Sets of small habitat patches with a large total area have high conservation value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Urbanization poses both challenges and opportunities for the management of urban ecosystems globally. In the Greater Montreal Area (GMA), a major North American urban area where green infrastructure (GI) implementation is in its early stage, there are challenges in maintaining provision of ecosystem services due to urban expansion and climate change impacts. In response, stakeholders in the GMA are trying to further integrate the GI concept into planning practices and have participated in focus groups to discuss various approaches to implementing the GI concept. This paper addresses stakeholder perceptions of the opportunities and obstacles related to natural ecosystem management in the GMA. We discuss the way in which participants perceive the prospect of the GI concept to influence discourse and policy about environmental planning. We found plural perspectives on GI yet there was a broad consensus regarding problems in bringing planning tools in line with socio-ecological processes. This research provides a novel contribution by showing how the concept of GI informs narratives about metropolitan green space and environmental planning. The narratives of most research participants emphasised: 1) that efforts to protect and enhance the urban ecosystem should be approached within a coherent social and ecological framework at the scale of the metropolitan area, and 2) that GI planning needed to rely on collaborative and participatory approaches to enhance ecosystem services at all scales of the GMA. Highlights • GI provides a comprehensive approach to urban environmental planning, and is conducive to identifying limitations in existing policies. • Moving forward with GI implementation requires planing approaches integrating diverse sources of knowledge through public participation. • Discussions about GI raises a normative dimension about interactions between socioecological processes and structures of governance. • Narratives on GI emphasise the importance of distributing benefits and costs related to ecosystem management through improved collaboration. • The adaptability of the GI concept constitutes an impediment to persuade central actors to implement a coherent regional scale approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental approach to road mitigation that maximizes inferential power is essential to ensure that mitigation is both ecologically-effective and cost-effective. Here, we set out the need for and standards of using an experimental approach to road mitigation, in order to improve knowledge of the influence of mitigation measures on wildlife populations. We point out two key areas that need to be considered when conducting mitigation experiments. First, researchers need to get involved at the earliest stage of the road or mitigation project to ensure the necessary planning and funds are available for conducting a high quality experiment. Second, experimentation will generate new knowledge about the parameters that influence mitigation effectiveness, which ultimately allows better prediction for future road mitigation projects. We identify seven key questions about mitigation structures (i.e., wildlife crossing structures and fencing) that remain largely or entirely unanswered at the population-level: (1) Does a given crossing structure work? What type and size of crossing structures should we use? (2) How many crossing structures should we build? (3) Is it more effective to install a small number of large-sized crossing structures or a large number of small-sized crossing structures? (4) How much barrier fencing is needed for a given length of road? (5) Do we need funnel fencing to lead animals to crossing structures, and how long does such fencing have to be? (6) How should we manage/manipulate the environment in the area around the crossing structures and fencing? (7) Where should we place crossing structures and barrier fencing? We provide experimental approaches to answering each of them using example Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study designs for two stages in the road/mitigation project where researchers may become involved: (1) at the beginning of a road/mitigation project, and (2) after the mitigation has been constructed; highlighting real case studies when available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]