A Methodology to Assess the National and Regional Impacts of U.S. Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats (original) (raw)
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The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a methodology to assess the impacts of wind energy development on wildlife; it is a probabilistic, quantitative assessment methodology that can communicate to decision makers and the public the magnitude of these effects on species populations. The methodology is currently applicable to birds and bats, focuses primarily on the effects of collisions, and can be applied to any species that breeds in, migrates through, or otherwise uses any part of the United States. The methodology is intended to assess species at the national scale and is fundamentally different from existing methods focusing on impacts at individual facilities. Publicly available fatality information, population estimates, species range maps, turbine location data, biological characteristics, and generic population models are used to generate both a ranked list of species based on relative risk as well as quantitative measures of the magnitude of the effect on species’ population trend and size. Three metrics are combined to determine direct and indirect relative risk to populations. A generic population model is used to estimate the expected change in population trend and includes additive mortality from collisions with wind turbines. Lastly, the methodology uses observed fatalities and an estimate of potential biological removal to assess the risk of a decline in population size. Data for six bird species have been processed through the entire methodology as a test case, and the results are presented in this report. Components of the methodology are based on simplifying assumptions and require information that, for many species, may be sparse or unreliable. These assumptions are presented in the report and should be carefully considered when using output from the methodology. In addition, this methodology can be used to recommend species for more intensive demographic modeling or highlight those species that may not require any additional protection because effects of wind energy development on their populations are projected to be small. Preliminary methodology to assess the national and regional impact of U.S. wind energy development on birds and bats. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277664802\_Preliminary\_methodology\_to\_assess\_the\_national\_and\_regional\_impact\_of\_U.S.\_wind\_energy\_development\_on\_birds\_and\_bats [accessed Aug 3, 2015].
Impacts to wildlife of wind energy siting and operation in the United States
2019
Electricity from wind energy is a major contributor to the strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use and thus reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Wind energy, like all power sources, can have adverse impacts on wildlife. After nearly 25 years of focused research, these impacts are much better understood, although uncertainty remains. In this report, we summarize positive impacts of replacing fossil fuels with wind energy, while describing what we have learned and what remains uncertain about negative ecological impacts of the construction and operation of land-based and offshore wind energy on wildlife and wildlife habitat in the U.S. Finally, we propose research on ways to minimize these impacts. TO SUMMARIZE : 1 Environmental and other benefits of wind energy include near-zero greenhouse gas emissions, reductions of other common air pollutants, and little or no water use associated with producing electricity from wind energy. Various scenarios for meeting U.S. carbon emission reduction goals indicate that a four-to five-fold expansion of land-based wind energy from the current 97 gigawatts (GW) by the year 2050 is needed to minimize temperature increases and reduce the risk of climate change to people and wildlife. 2 Collision fatalities of birds and bats are the most visible and measurable impacts of wind energy production. Current estimates suggest most bird species, especially songbirds, are at low risk of population-level impacts. Raptors as a group appear more vulnerable to collisions. Population-level impacts on migratory tree bats are a concern, and better information on population sizes is needed to evaluate potential impacts to these species. Although recorded fatalities of cave-dwelling bat species are typically low at most wind energy facilities, additional mortality from collisions is a concern given major declines in these species due to white-nose syndrome (WNS). Assessments of regional and cumulative fatality impacts for birds and bats have been hampered by the lack of data from areas with a high proportion of the nation's installed wind energy capacity. Efforts to expand data accessibility from all regions are underway, and this greater access to data along with improvements in statistical estimators should lead to improved impact assessments. The wind energy industry, state and federal agencies, conservation groups, academia, and scientific organizations have collaborated for nearly 25 years to conduct the research needed to improve our understanding of risk to wildlife and to avoid and minimize that risk. Efforts to reduce the uncertainty about wildlife risk must keep up with COVER PHOTOS: a) Golden eagle b) Judith Gap Wind Energy Center in Montana c) Mexican free-tailed bats exiting Bracken Bat Cave in Texas d) Greater sage-grouse.
Journal of Wildlife Management, 2007
Front Cover--Three species of migratory tree bats most often killed by utility-scale wind turbines in North America--silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans (upper left), eastern red bat, Lasiurus borealis (lower left), and hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus (upper right)--flying in the vicinity of the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center, Tucker County, West Virginia. Images of bats by Merlin D. Tuttle, wind turbines by Edward B. Arnett, and cover design by Jason Huerta, Bat Conservation International.
Understanding Wind Energy Impacts on Bats and Testing Reduction Strategies in South Texas
2019
with U.S. Geologic Survey for their support and technical expertise. I thank my wonderful technicians, crew leaders, and volunteers for their work on this project, namely Ms. Amanda Jones who stuck with me through thick and thin. In addition, I want to thank my lab mates for putting up with me during all the times I couldn't find something in the lab, and for moral support. Your kindness and compassion towards were much appreciated. I further thank my amazing committee for their support, advice, and limitless reviews. Drs. Cris Hein and Amanda Hale were instrumental in the success of this project. I thank Drs. Thomas "Randy" Simpson and Ivan Castro who served as my academic mentors during graduate school and helped mold me into the biologist I am today. I also wish to acknowledge the numerous funding sources and scholarship donors for supporting this project and my academic pursuits. Finally, I thank my amazing husband, Chad Weaver, and my children, Gage and Ashley, for enduring this journey with me. I could not have finished this degree without your understanding, love, and support. I only hope that I can someday repay you. vi
Ecological impacts of wind energy development on bats: questions, research needs, and hypotheses
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2007
al le e S St tr ri ic ck kl la an nd d 3 3 , , R Ro ob be er rt t W W T Th hr re es sh he er r 6 6 , , a an nd d M Me er rl li in n D D T Tu ut tt tl le e 2 2 At a time of growing concern over the rising costs and long-term environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy, wind energy has become an increasingly important sector of the electrical power industry, largely because it has been promoted as being emission-free and is supported by government subsidies and tax credits. However, large numbers of bats are killed at utility-scale wind energy facilities, especially along forested ridgetops in the eastern United States. These fatalities raise important concerns about cumulative impacts of proposed wind energy development on bat populations. This paper summarizes evidence of bat fatalities at wind energy facilities in the US, makes projections of cumulative fatalities of bats in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands, identifies research needs, and proposes hypotheses to better inform researchers, developers, decision makers, and other stakeholders, and to help minimize adverse effects of wind energy development.
Wind Energy Development: Methods for Assessing Risks to Birds and Bats Pre-Construction
Human–Wildlife Interactions, 2016
Wind power generation is rapidly expanding. Although wind power is a low-carbon source of energy, it can impact negatively birds and bats, either directly through fatality or indirectly by displacement or habitat loss. Pre-construction risk assessment at wind facilities within the United States is usually required only on public lands. When conducted, it generally involves a 3-tier process, with each step leading to more detailed and rigorous surveys. Preliminary site assessment (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tier 1) is usually conducted remotely and involves evaluation of existing databases and published materials. If potentially at-risk wildlife are present and the developer wishes to continue the development process, then on-site surveys are conducted (Tier 2) to verify the presence of those species and to assess site-speci c features (e.g., topography, land cover) that may in uence risk from turbines. The next step in the process (Tier 3) involves quantitative or scienti c stu...
2003
The NWTC does not support a large diversity or abundance of bat species (possibly six species of bats use the site), but an area on the northwest side of the site, with trees close to a rocky outcrop, provides foraging and perhaps roosting habitat. • We found no raptor carcasses during our 12-month survey of the NWTC, except one American kestrel that had died before the study started. Bird mortality associated with the site appears to be minor. Approximate annual bird mortality attributable to the NWTC was 24 individuals, all songbirds (Passeriformes). Most of these deaths were probably the result of collisions with support wires for the meteorological towers rather than the turbines themselves. We found no evidence of bat fatalities at the site. vi
Wind Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation: Challenges and Opportunities
Journal of Wildlife Management, 2007
Wind energy development represents significant challenges and opportunities in contemporary wildlife management. Such challenges include the large size and extensive placement of turbines that may represent potential hazards to birds and bats. However, the associated infrastructure required to support an array of turbines-such as roads and transmission lines-represents an even larger potential threat to wildlife than the turbines themselves because such infrastructure can result in extensive habitat fragmentation and can provide avenues for invasion by exotic species. There are numerous conceptual research opportunities that pertain to issues such as identifying the best and worst placement of sites for turbines that will minimize impacts on birds and bats. Unfortunately, to date very little research of this type has appeared in the peer-reviewed scientific literature; much of it exists in the form of unpublished reports and other forms of gray literature. In this paper, we summarize what is known about the potential impacts of wind farms on wildlife and identify a 3-part hierarchical approach to use the scientific method to assess these impacts. The Lower Gulf Coast (LGC) of Texas, USA, is a region currently identified as having a potentially negative impact on migratory birds and bats, with respect to wind farm development. This area is also a region of vast importance to wildlife from the standpoint of native diversity, nature tourism, and opportunities for recreational hunting. We thus use some of the emergent issues related to wind farm development in the LGC-such as siting turbines on cropland sites as opposed to on native rangelands-to illustrate the kinds of challenges and opportunities that wildlife managers must face as we balance our demand for sustainable energy with the need to conserve and sustain bird migration routes and corridors, native vertebrates, and the habitats that support them.
Impacts of wind energy developments on wildlife: a southern hemisphere perspective
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