Abstract
In 2002, a project to construct a new freeway along the Okinosu shore, located in Tokushima Prefecture in southwestern Japan started. However, the process of this construction involved land reclamation along the shore line where the endangered tiger beetle Cicindela lewisi inhabited. In compensation for the loss of their original habitats, the creation of a new artificial shore in the adjacent area was planned. Observational surveys in the original habitats demonstrated that adult tiger beetles usually utilize the vegetated area in the upper part of the shore and their larvae make nesting holes in the bare sand area of relatively lower zone. For closely mimicking conditions of their original habitats, the direct transplantation of coastal vegetation and surface soil from the natural coast was conducted. After these fundamental arrangements for existence of the tiger beetle in the new shore were completed in 2007, a corridor was made between the newly created and the original habitats for facilitating their natural movements. In the summer of the same year, adult tiger beetles had been already observed in the created shore. In the next spring, the larvae and their nesting holes were also observed. Moreover, the numbers of the both adults and larvae still increased suggesting that this mitigation succeeded at that stage.
On the other hand, the other main purpose of the shore creation is the provision of amenity space. However, the human use is often considered to be incompatible with the environmental conservation. We conducted the workshop for considering the rules of shore use and its management systems in 2009 including locals. We agreed on making the rules that restricts human activities to harmless level for tiger beetle activities. Then, fences was installed in 2010 and could successfully prevented shore users from entering the larval habitat.
