DCPREZ-2014-10672 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7. Towers and appendant facilities should be sited,designed and constructed so as to avoid or minimize habitat loss within and adjacent to the tower"footprint". However,a larger tower footprint is preferable to the use of guy wires in construction. Road access and fencing should be minimized to reduce or prevent habitat fragmentation and disturbance, and to reduce above ground obstacles to birds in flight. 8. If significant numbers of breeding,feeding, or roosting birds are known to habitually use the proposed tower construction area,relocation to an alternate site should be recommended. If this is not an option, seasonal restrictions on construction may be advisable in order to avoid disturbance during periods of high bird activity. 9. In order to reduce the number of towers needed in the future,providers should be encouraged to design new towers structurally and electrically to accommodate the applicant/licensee's antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users(minimum of three users for each tower structure),unless this design would require the addition of lights or guy wires to an otherwise unlighted and/or unguyed tower. 10. Security lighting for on-ground facilities and equipment should be down-shielded to keep light within the boundaries of the site. 11. If a tower is constructed or proposed for construction, Service personnel or researchers from the Communication Tower Working Group should be allowed access to the site to evaluate bird use,conduct dead-bird searches,to place net catchments below the towers but above the ground, and to place radar, Global Positioning System,infrared, thermal imagery, and acoustical monitoring equipment as necessary to assess and verify bird movements and to gain information on the impacts of various tower sizes,configurations,and lighting systems. 12. Towers no longer in use or determined to be obsolete should be removed within 12 months of cessation of use.