This document is intended to supplement the 'Ecology Guidelines' by providing advice on procedures and survey techniques to inform the Natural Environment section of the Constraints Study, Route Corridor Selection Study and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for new schemes and improvements. These survey techniques are also intended to be appropriate to be undertaken prior to maintenance activities that could have implications for the natural environment. Ireland has a large number of species of protected flora and fauna, some of which are rare and have extremely localised and isolated distributions and, for these reasons, will rarely come in proximity to proposed national road schemes, e.g. Kerry slug, Killarney fern, natterjack toad. Other species, given their abundance and distribution, e.g. badger, otter and bats, are regularly encountered during the planning of national road projects. Ireland also has additional responsibility to protect a small number of endemic species and sub-species, e.g. Irish hare and Irish stoat. There are also a number of rare or threatened species that are listed in the Irish Red Data Books or are to be the subject of future listings, which have yet to be afforded any legal protection.