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PROCEEDINGS of the First
National Symposium January 6-8, 1976 |
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FOREWORD Why was a national Symposium needed on rights-of-way and the abandonment? Because of their linear configurations, rights-of-way cross many landforms, habitats, property ownerships, and governmental jurisdictions. It is common for a single electric transmission or gas pipeline right-of-way to cross dozens of property ownerships in several counties or even states. Additionally, rights-of-way directly affect people of diverse points of view, for example, the landowner, the project engineer and the land use specialist. The Symposium was intended to fill a need for a common meeting ground for individuals and groups concerned about the environmental impacts of rights-of-way. Various professional or service groups have met and discussed rights-of-way management many times; however, these discussions have usually centered around the significance of rights-of-way to a particular group of individuals with much the same point of view. Such groups included service organizations for utilities and professional biological societies. The discussions usually were limited to single topics such as engineering techniques, application of herbicides, or wildlife benefits achieved by clearing rights-of-way through forests. In June 1973, a colloquium, Biotic Management Along Power Transmission Rights-of-Way, was held at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Massachusetts.1 This colloquium was a part of the Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences and was the first professional meeting that I know of which addressed a broad range of environmental concerns related to rights-of-way management. This regional colloquium served to point up the need for subsequent meetings of a wider geographic scope and a more detailed coverage. Dr. Arner, Head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at Mississippi State University, and the steering committee began planning for the Mississippi State University Symposium in the fall of 1974. What were the Symposium's shortcomings? The program of the Symposium at Mississippi State University was not perfectly balanced. Too much weight was given to rights-of-way for overhead electric lines and too little to other kinds of rights-of-way such as gas pipelines, railroads, and highways. Preferably, the Symposium should have covered several categories of related rights-of-way with an approximately equal number of papers presented in each category. Rights-of-way of all kinds cause environmental impact and the techniques for mitigating those impacts are often transferrable from one kind of right-of-way to another. For a national Symposium, not enough coverage came from parts of our country, particularly the Pacific Northwest and the North Central United States. Additionally, the important topics of public acceptance of rights-of-way and public input to the decision making process were inadequately covered. Additional information could have been provided on the effects of government regulations on rights-of-way and the environment. What were the Symposium's accomplishments? The Symposium brought together qualified, concerned experts from a variety of disciplines. Maximum opportunity was provided for individual input and the participation was lively. A variety of formats was used for the sessions including a Forum on Environmental Effects of Electric Fields, a Workshop on Selection of Routes for Rights-of-Way, and a Panel Discussion on Future Directions in Wildlife Research on Utility Line Rights-of-Way. Current information was presented and rigorous discussion ensued on the biological effects of electric fields, a controversial topic receiving wide attention. A range of modern techniques for selecting routes for rights-of-way was presented and many ideas were advanced on ecologically sound methods for clearing and maintaining rights-of-way. All strong and weak points considered, this collection of papers appears to be the most comprehensive to date on the very important broad subject of environmental concerns in rights-of-way management. As such, these papers should be of considerable value to anyone wishing to identify or mitigate impacts of rights-of-way. Clyde Fisher of Northeast Utilities, Charles Smart of Tennessee Valley Authority, Lawrence Hamilton of Cornell University, and Robert Giles of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University contributed much to the development of the Symposium program. Are subsequent symposia warranted on environmental concerns in rights-of-way management? Extensive interest has been expressed in holding future symposia
on rights-of-way and the environment and alternative meeting places
and dates have been suggested. The concerns which brought about
the Symposium at Mississippi State University will continue to exist.
In fact, the national outlook is for construction of more rights-of-way
and intensified land use, thus the need for future meetings probably
will sharpen. Also, new techniques and plans for mitigating environmental
impacts will be developed and should be aired at periodic symposia.
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Transmission Line Siting
Forum on Environmental Effects
Right-of-Way Construction, Maintenance
and Restoration
Wildlife Uses of Rights-of-Way
Bibliography
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