Wildlife Workgroup

The NWCC Wildlife Workgroup is a forum to define, discuss, and address wind-avian interaction issues, involving all stakeholders and focusing on public policy questions. The Workgroup serves as an advisory group for national research on wind-avian issues and released the report Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document, the first ever comprehensive guide to metrics and methods for determining or monitoring potential impacts on birds at existing and proposed wind energy sites. The Wildlife Workgroup has facilitated four National Avian-Wind Power Planning Workshops to define needed research and explore current issues.

• 2008 Wildlife Workgroup Blueprint
  Updated: April 17, 2007

• Wind/Wildlife Publications, Activities and Events Table
  November 13, 2008

Wildlife Briefings

• Texas Habitat Initiatives: Presentation by Heather Whitlaw
  March 6, 2008

• US Forest Service Briefing on Draft Wind Energy Directives

• NAS Study Briefing Summary

• APLIC Model Briefing Summary

Core Group

• Core Group Operating Protocols

• Core Group Member List

Subgroups

Research Priorities

• Draft NWCC Prioritized Research Needs White Paper
  November 7, 2006

Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C)

• Press Release: Study Underway on the Effects of Wind Power on Prairie-Chicken Demography and Population Genetics
  July 30, 2007
• Overview of the Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C)
  Updated April 29, 2008
• Press Release: Collaborative Study of the Effects of Wind Power on Prairie-Chicken Demography and Population Genetics
  May 9, 2006

Risk Assessment

• Draft Ecological Risk Assessment White Paper
  Revised March 2007

Wildlife Publications

• Assessing Impacts of Wind-Energy Development on Nocturnally Active Birds and Bats: A Guidance Document
  November 2007
• Critical Literature Review: Impact of Wind Energy and Related Human Activities on Grassland and Shrub-Steppe Birds
  October 2007
• Songbird Protocol
  Updated June 2007

• NWCC Mitigation Toolbox    Form to submit updates
  May 2007 - 962KB PDF
  The toolbox describes various mitigation measures or tools that can be used in the decision-making process. To help guide future decision making, this toolbox provides information about existing mitigation policies and guidelines, as well as on whether strategies are based on sound scientific research. It indicates the effectiveness of various methods of avoiding, minimizing, or compensating for direct and indirect impacts on wildlife caused by wind power facilities. The toolbox is a living document and is updating twice annually. If you wish to suggest updates to the current information, or additional information to include, please include them in the update form above and send them to Taylor Kennedy at tkennedy@resolv.org.

• Wind Turbine Interactions with Birds and Bats: A Summary of Research Results and Remaining Questions
  November 2004 - 236KB PDF

• Avian Collisions with Wind Turbines: A Summary of Existing Studies and Comparisons to Other Sources of Avian Collision Mortality in the United States
  August 2001 - 2.83MB PDF

• Addendum to: "Studying Wind Energy / Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document"
  August 2003 - PDF 45KB

• Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document
  December 1999 - 624KB PDF

Meeting Summaries

• Probability of Impact Workshop
  November 13, 2007 - Golden, CO

• Wildlife Workgroup Meeting
  November 14, 2007 - Golden, CO

• Wildlife Workgroup Research Meeting VI
  November 14-16, 2006 - San Antonio, TX

• Wildlife Workgroup Webcast Summary – Draft California Statewide Guidelines for Reducing Impacts to Birds and Bats from Wind Energy Development
  February 28, 2007

• Wildlife Workgroup Core Group Meeting Summary
  February 27-28, 2006 - Washington, DC

• Wildlife Workgroup Meeting Summary
  May 4-5, 2005 - Aurora, CO

• GS3 Subgroup Initial Meeting Summary
  March 29-30, 2005 - Wichita, KS

• Wildlife Workgroup Meeting Summary
  April 23, 2003 - Denver, CO

• Avian Work Group Meeting
  December 6, 2000 - Seattle, WA

• Avian Workgroup Meeting 
  June 23, 1999

• Avian Workgroup Meeting #8
  November 5, 1997 - Boston, MA

• National Avian/Wind Power Planning Meeting III Outcomes
  Overheads from Plenary 16

Proceedings of Wildlife Research Meetings

• Proceedings of Wildlife Research Meetings VI
  November 14-15, 2006 - San Antonio, TX

• Proceedings of Wildlife Research Meeting V
  November 3-4, 2004 - Lansdowne, VA

• National Avian Wind Power Planning Meeting IV Summary
  May 16-17, 2000 - Carmel, CA

• Proceedings of National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting III
  May 1998 - San Diego, CA

• Proceedings of National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting II
  September 1995 - Palm Springs, CA

• Proceedings of National Avian-Wind Power Planning Meeting I
  July 1994 - Denver, CO

Related Links

• Pennsylvania Game Commission Wind Energy Voluntary Cooperation Agreement

• AFWA List of Existing Wind Power Siting Guidelines

• NREL Avian Site

• NREL Avian Publications Catalog

• Environment Canada
  Environment Canada is completing guidelines for environmental assessment (EA) of wind turbine projects in relation to birds. The guidelines are posted on the Environment Canada website www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/eval/index_e.cfm. A background document is also available for download here in French and English. For more information, contact: Melanie Cousineau, Environment Canada: melanie.cousineau@ec.gc.ca, phone (418) 640-2909.

  • Wind Turbines and Birds: A Background Review for Environmental Assessment - French Version

• Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative
  After reviewing data collected during a groundbreaking research effort, the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC), a government-conservation-industry partnership, reports substantial bat kills at two wind farms in the mid-Atlantic region between August 1 and September 13 of 2004. The report summarizes the first year’s research on potential causes and solutions. The research included the most detailed studies ever performed on bat fatality at wind sites and provides a foundation for further efforts aimed at better understanding why bats are being killed and how to minimize future fatalities.

• Wind Energy and Birds/Bats Workshop Proceedings
  Proceedings of a comprehensive two-day workshop on wind energy, birds, and bats co-sponsored by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) in Washington, D.C., May, 2004. An excellent summary of current research and knowledge on the topic.