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NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE |
HIGHLIGHTS
January 18, 2006
DATES TO REMEMBER
Next Steering Committee call: Jan 30th – The next NWCC Steering Committee call has been rescheduled for Monday, Jan 30th at 2 pm ET.
Save the date! February 27-28, 2006, NWCC Wildlife Workgroup Core Group Meeting – Core Group members, alternates, and other interested parties will meet February 27-28 in Washington, DC for updates on subgroup activities, discussion of ecological risk assessment frameworks, and presentations on recent research endeavors. The agenda and other meeting information are under development; keep reading these updates and checking our website, www.nationalwind.org.
Save the date! November 14-16, 2006, NWCC Wildlife Interactions with Wind Developments: Research Meeting VI – Please plan to join us in Texas for NWCC’s sixth meeting on wind power and wildlife. The agenda is being worked on by NWCC members. The agenda and other meeting information are forthcoming, keep reading these updates and checking our website, www.nationalwind.org.
NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS
Steering Committee
Call
January 30 @ 2:00 pm ET
Siting Workgroup Call
February 16 @ 2:00 pm ET
Working Groups
Environmental
Caucus Call
January 23 @ 1:00 pm ET
Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species Subgroup Call
January 27 @ noon ET
Wildlife Research
Meeting VI Planning Call
February 13 @ 1:00 pm ET
NWCC MEETINGS
Wildlife Workgroup Core Group Meeting
February 27-28, 2006
Washington, DC
Wildlife Interaction with Wind
Developments: Research Meeting VI
November 14-16, 2006
Texas
MAGIC MOMENTS
Updated Calendar of 2006 Events: click here
NWCC STAFF CONTACTS
Katie Kalinowski
Outreach Coordinator
(202) 965-6383
kkalinowski@resolv.org
Madeleine West
Research Fellow
(202) 965-6216
mwest@resolv.org
NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES
Steve Ugoretz has been nominated as Wildlife Workgroup chair. If the Core Group accepts his nomination, Steve will immediately begin his term as workgroup chair. The Core Group will also be nominating and selecting a vice chair. Both seats have one year terms, with the vice chair moving up to chair and a new vice chair selected. For more information, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:
Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species - Additional information is being provided by NWCC staff to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) for NFWF’s grant matching program. These funds would be applied towards research on the potential impacts of wind power on prairie chickens. Funds are also being sought from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and EPRI. Extension letters for wind industry pledges are being drawn up. Discussion continues with Drs. Bruce Sandercock and Samantha Wisely at Kansas State University on their prairie chicken research proposal.
The literature review on avian grassland/shrub steppe species and wind projects is under development. A conference call to address questions from the Ornithological Council research team will be held Jan 27th with the literature review advisory committee.
Comments on the grassland songbirds monitoring protocol have been incorporated and the new draft will be sent to the subgroup for review and comment.
Operating protocols for this subgroup have been drafted and are being revised based on member comments.
Risk Assessment - The subgroup’s draft white paper on ecological risk assessment (ERA) and its potential application to wind power was distributed to the workgroup and discussed on the Jan 4th conference call. The Core Group decided to continue conversation about ERA at the Feb 27-28 Core Group meeting, including whether the white paper can be translated into a useful tool for decision making.
Nocturnal Methods and Metrics - On the Jan 6th call, the subgroup and researchers reached agreement on the statement of work for the companion document to the NWCC publication Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document. The statement of work will be incorporated into a contract by RESOLVE staff.
The 6th NWCC Wildlife-Wind Research Meeting will be November 14-16 in Texas. The planning committee is working on developing a meeting agenda and securing a meeting location. For more information, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
Mitigation Toolbox - Work is resuming on this important resource. For more information, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
The next Wildlife Workgroup call is scheduled for March 8, 2 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.
The draft state-by-state siting factsheets have been updated with Siting Workgroup member comments and have been submitted to the Steering Committee for approval as a NWCC resource document. For information about this project, please contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.
On Dec 1-2, NWCC hosted a workshop in Washington, DC on technical considerations for siting wind facilities. Panels on sound, visual, safety, communications interference, and other non-wildlife siting factors associated with wind development were featured. Speaker presentations are online and proceedings are under development.
The next Siting Workgroup call is scheduled for February 16th, 2 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.
The next Transmission Update call will be Tuesday, February 21st at 1 pm ET. Topics and speakers are being identified. Look for more information in the next NWCC update.
On the Jan 17th Transmission Workgroup call, members expressed interest in having another round of meetings in the West, Midwest, and SPP regions. Planning calls for each region will be scheduled soon. For more information, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
The next Transmission Workgroup call is scheduled for April 4th, 2 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.