Wildlife management practices at western Canadian airports

A survey of 38 airports in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, is used to document and explore differences in use of Airport Wildlife Management Plans; common wildlife attractants; wildlife countermeasure usage and outcomes; and animal strike record keeping systems. Hazardous activities and practices for managing waste and agricultural crops commonly occurred within 8 km of airports, but also occasionally airside or groundside. Maintaining long grass was the most routinely used countermeasure, but there are conflicting responses regarding the most appropriate grass length to deter wildlife. Removal of diverse habitat had the highest success ranking among listed countermeasures. Over 75% of airports kept strike records, but less than 7% used them to measure the outcomes of countermeasure implementation.