COTTAGE GROVE, WI.  Natural Resources Consulting, Inc. (NRC) was recently awarded a grant to continue the evaluation of the potential impacts of wind energy development on migrating birds and bats in the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.  The project was initiated in Spring 2009 with funding from Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy “Environmental and Economic Research and Development (EERD) Program.”  NRC led stakeholders from the wind energy industry, natural resource agencies, conservation groups, and research community in a series of workshops to consider migratory patterns and standardized methods to evaluate the potential impacts of wind energy facilities on migrating birds and bats.

The recent grant award, also through Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy EERD Program, will allow NRC to implement stakeholder recommendations and complete the next phase of the evaluation.  For the second phase of this project, NRC will develop a regional mapping effort to provide decision support for project siting and to help guide new research efforts.  NRC will also confer with regional bird and bat species experts to interpret the map(s) and identify features influencing migratory bird and bat density, distribution, and movements to help elucidate behavioral patterns and habitat use of migratory birds and bats within the region. 

 

The specific objectives of the next phase of this initiative are to 1) maintain the Upper Mississippi River Basin Driftless Area Wind / Wildlife Stakeholder Group, 2) organize a bird and bat technical advisory committee, and 3) compile, organize, manage, and distribute geographic information system (GIS) spatial data layers that identify bird and bat concentration areas, significant natural resource areas (e.g., state parks, wildlife areas), infrastructure (e.g., transmission lines, transportation), wind resource areas, land cover, and other applicable layers.

 

Marilyn Rubner, Chair of the Driftless Area Initiative, stated “Our support for this project is based on the contribution of this work to our shared goals for building stronger cooperation and collaboration among stakeholders, developing critical information to guide economic development and environmental management, and benefits this work will produce for renewable energy development and the protection of key wildlife species, habitats, and life-cycles.”
  

Funding through Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy EERD Program supports the understanding of environmental and economic impacts of energy use. 

 

To read the summary report from 2009 please visit Focus on Energy's website, or contact Brian Bub at (608) 839-2037.