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NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE |
HIGHLIGHTS
February 1, 2006
DATES TO REMEMBER
Registration Open! February 27-28, 2006, NWCC Wildlife Workgroup Core Group Meeting – Join Core Group members, alternates, and other interested parties on February 27-28 in Washington, DC as we hold a mini-workshop on ecological risk assessment frameworks, give updates on subgroup activities, and more. The draft agenda is being finalized, but logistics information and online registration are available here.
New Wildlife Workgroup Chair – Steve Ugoretz has been selected by Wildlife Workgroup Core Group members as the Wildlife Workgroup Core Group chair. Steve is with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and a representative of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA). Congratulations Steve!
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
Siting Workgroup Call
February 16 @ 2:00 pm ET
Transmission Update Call
February 24 @ 1:00 pm ET
Steering Committee
Call
February 24 @ 2:00 pm ET
Working Groups
Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species Subgroup Call
February 10 @ 11:00 am ET
Wildlife Research
Meeting VI Planning Call
February 17 @ 11:30 am 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
Program Associate
(202) 965-6216
mwest@resolv.org
NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES
Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:
Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species - Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has offered $30,000/yr for 4 years towards NWCC-sponsored research on the potential impacts of wind power on prairie chickens. DOE is considering its contribution to the research funds and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is expected to reach a funding decision in March. Additional follow-up is being done with EPRI and Playa Lakes Joint Venture. A call is being organized among all potential funders and the researchers, Drs. Bruce Sandercock and Sam Wisely from Kansas State University to fine tune the sites to be researched.
Karin Sinclair from NREL has agreed to serve as technical monitor for the prairie chicken research. As technical monitor, she will: verify the study plan, make site visits, examine data, review proposed changes to the research plan, track and monitor research progress, and give feedback to NWCC and the Oversight Committee.
An Oversight Committee for the GS3 Subgroup is being formed. Subgroup members have been asked to submit nominations for the following groups: wind industry, federal management/research (USGS/USFWS), scientific academic, state agency – management/research, and NGO. Once established, the Oversight Committee will work on finalizing the operating protocols.
The literature review conducted by the Ornithological Council research team on avian grassland/shrub steppe species and wind projects is under way.
A revised draft of the grassland songbirds monitoring protocol went out to the subgroup for review.
Risk Assessment and Adaptive Resource Management - On Feb 27th, a mini-workshop building on the subgroup’s draft white paper on ecological risk assessment (ERA) and its potential application to wind power will be held as part of the NWCC Wildlife Core Group’s meeting.
Nocturnal Methods and Metrics - Agreement on a statement of work for a companion to the NWCC publication Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document has been reached. The technical team led by Dr. Tom Kunz, will start work as soon as a contract is signed to support the project.
Mitigation Toolbox - This Subgroup is gearing up again, for more information, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
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.
The next Wildlife Workgroup call is scheduled for March 8, 2 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.
Steering Committee members have submitted their comments on the draft state-by-state siting factsheets. Revisions are currently being made, and an updated version will go out the Steering Committee for final 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 Transmission Update call has been rescheduled for Friday, February 24th at 1 pm ET. An update on the Western Governors’ Association’s Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee (CDEAC) process will be the focus of this call and speakers are being confirmed. Look for more information in the next NWCC update.
Another series of regional meetings in the West, Midwest, and SPP is slated for 2006. Planning calls for each region are being scheduled and notices will go out to regional representatives 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.