Pullman-Moscow Airport has gone to the birds

PULLMAN – Work to re-configure the runway at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport has inadvertently created habitat for wildlife and a potential hazard for aircraft.

As many as 15 birds have been congregating intermittently in basins created to catch sediment from the excavation before it enters a creek that runs through airport grounds, said Executive Director Tony Bean.

The basins have filled with water in a year where precipitation has been averaging double what’s normal since Jan. 1, said Bean, who brought the airport board up to speed on the issue at a Wednesday meeting.

Right now the problem is being controlled by harassing the birds with nonlethal measures such as rounds that are fired into the air to make a loud bang, Bean said.

If the number of birds grows or landing in the ponds becomes habitual, the airport will use a third-party contractor to shoot the birds dead in accordance with environmental and city of Pullman rules, Bean said.

“We’re trying to keep our planes in the air,” said Board Chairman and Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson.

Fewer than five birds collided with planes in the past year. If pilots realize they’ve been hit, they land their planes as soon as possible, and aircraft are subject to a thorough inspection before flying again, Bean said.

Once the upgrade reaches a later phase, likely in January, the basins will no longer be needed and will be removed.

Until then, exterminating birds will be used as a last resort as part of a broader approach to discourage animals from entering airport land, Bean said.

The airport eradicates moles and allows farming as close to its perimeter as possible so the facility blends with the surrounding landscape, Bean said. “We want it to look vanilla as much as we can.”

The Smithsonian Institution helps identify birds, information that helps the airport figure out if it has a food source or something else on the grounds that might draw them, Bean said.

In other business, the board awarded a $17.6 million bid to M.A. DeAtley in Clarkston. The money will cover the moving of 3 million cubic yards of earth on the east side of the runway as well as final touches that will be completed when similar work on the west side of the runway is done.

M.A. DeAtley won the bid for the west side of the runway last year and is expected to wrap up that work this year. It is not clear when M.A. DeAtley will be able to start because it has to wait until the soil dries.

The excavation is part of a massive $119 million upgrade, most of which is being paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration. It will extend the runway and increase the distance between the runway and taxiway, bringing the facility up to speed with FAA requirements for the size of aircraft in use at the airport. The five-year project is anticipated to be finished in 2020.

As the airport grounds are readied for the new runway, airport officials are continuing negotiations to acquire more than 100 acres from Washington State University for a runway protection zone that has to remain vacant for safety reasons. The property is home to 40 research facilities and part of Tukey Orchard.

The airport has a Monday meeting to see if the FAA will approve what airport officials believe is a fair offer for WSU, Bean said.

The FAA needs to sign off on the deal because it is providing so much of the project money.

“After that meeting, there probably will be a presentation to WSU,” Johnson said.

Any offer would need to be reviewed by WSU officials and approved by the school’s board of regents. The airport’s land acquisition is not on the agenda when the board meets Wednesday and Thursday. The board has a June retreat and then next convenes Sept. 20-21.