Our understanding of wind/wildlife interactions in the United States has evolved over the last 40 years. This presentation will present a short chronology of the wind industry’s evolution of wind/wildlife interactions from the 1980’s to the present time and will show the progression from 1) recognizing a potential problem to 2) developing studies to evaluate the potential impacts to 3) developing avoidance and minimization measures. This presentation will focus on the wind industry’s involvement in avoiding or minimizing impacts to wildlife and will highlight how the industry has addressed impacts to birds, raptors, grouse, and bats. This presentation will also highlight the practical challenges of working within an operational wind energy facility and how to ensure that you are asking the right questions to successfully complete a wind industry-based research project.
Results/Conclusions
The wind industry is actively particpating in evalauting wildlife risk and conducting research to evaluate avoidance and minimization options.