Wind Wildlife Research Meeting VII

I. Sector Updates

• Updates on non-research activities underway in the US
• Recently completed Oregon guidelines and the ongoing Washington guidelines update process; brief review of cumulative impacts research and related recommendations in appendix to the Oregon guidelines – Suzanne Leta Liou, Renewable Northwest Project
• Overview and update on American Wind Wildlife Institute – Ron Helinski, American Wind Wildlife Institute
• Update on US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Wind Turbine Guidelines Federal Advisory Committee – Dave Stout, US Fish & Wildlife Service
• Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies activities and the status of wind in states – Celia Greenman, Colorado Division of Wildlife
• Western Governors Association wildlife initiatives associated with Western Renewable Energy Zones efforts – Carl Zichella, Sierra Club

II. Fatality Impacts to Birds & Bats

• Updating summaries of avian and bat mortalities from wind energy facilities – Wally Erickson, Western EcoSystem Technology, Inc.
• Big Horn Wind Power Project Fatality Monitoring Results, Comparison to Pre-Construction Avian Use Estimates and working with a TAC – Scott Downes, Northwest Wildlife Consultants, Inc.
• Estimating Avian & Bat Mortality and Identifying Spatial and Temporal distribution of avian and bat mortality at a utility-scale wind energy development – Amanda Miller, Tetra Tech
• Development of predictive models for estimating numbers of bird fatalities resulting from collisions with meteorological towers and wind turbines at wind energy developments – Jonathan Plissner, ABR, Inc
• Estimating Survey Effort Required for Precise Estimates of Bat Activity at a Wind Energy Facility in Southern California – Ted Weller, U.S. Forest Service
• Spatial Patterns of Nocturnal Bird Migration in the Central Appalachians – Deanna Dawson, U.S. Geological Survey
• Comparing the accuracy and precision of three different estimators of bird and bat fatality and examining the influence of searcher efficiency, average carcass persistence and search interval on these – Manuela Huso, Oregon State University

III. Cumulative Impacts and Impacts to Wildlife Habitat and Behavior

• Refining the Protocol for a Rapid Assessment Methodology for Wind Development, and Developing a Matrix/Key to Integrate Pre- and Post-construction Monitoring for Commercial Wind Projects Based on Risk – Al Manville, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• The Influence of Ridge Top Habitat Manipulations on Bat Activity & Species Composition at a Proposed Wind Facility in South-Central Pennsylvania – Michael R. Schirmacher, Bat Conservation International
• Determining where, in eastern North America, there is the greatest potential for conflict between Golden Eagles and wind power development – Charles Maisonneuve, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune; and Tricia Miller, Pennsylvania State University and Carnegie Museum of Natural History
• Displacement Effects of Wind Developments on Grassland Birds in the Northern Great Plains – Jill Shaffer, U.S. Geological Survey
• Prairie grouse display ground and nest distribution and population trends relative to wind generator complexes in northwestern Minnesota and the sandhills of Nebraska – John E. Toepfer, Society of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus, Ltd.
• Impact of wind turbines on the migration of raptors in Baie-des Sables, Quebec – Michael Ross, McGill University
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken Conservation and Wind Development in the Texas Panhandle – Jon T. McRoberts, Texas Tech University
• Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and available habitat data to evaluate the potential of a proposed wind power project area to serve as stop-over habitat for migrating cranes – Karl Kosciuch, Tetra Tech EC, Inc.

IV. Mitigation Techniques and Technology

• Minimizing Avian Collisions Via Strategic Use of Federal Aviation Administration Obstruction Lighting Systems – Joelle Gehring, Michigan State University
• Reducing Bat Fatalities at Wind Energy Facilities by Changing Turbine Cut-in Speed – Ed Arnett, Bat Conservation International
• Wildlife Mitigation Tools of Wind Power Generation Impact in Birds & Bat Collisions in Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico – Rafael Villegas-Patraca, Institute of Ecology
• NEXRAD: A Resource for Evaluating Bird Migration; Using NEXRAD for Mapping Bird Migration Corridors to Mitigate Some Effects of Wind Energy Development – Manuel Suarez, U.S. Geological Survey and Richard Sojda, U.S. Geological Survey

Late-breaking Research

• Flight behavior of birds and bats approaching mountains in Vermont – Ron Larkin, Illinois Natural History Survey