By Caitlin Bell
Ecology and wildlife conservation is an issue
with almost any construction project, and renewable energy projects are no
exception. This is particularly true of wind energy farms, which are often
located in remote, ecology rich areas. Bird management and conservation is a
necessary consideration for any wind energy developer. Nesting birds on turbine
grounds or to-be turbine grounds are of particular concern, often creating
project delays before construction even begins.
Fortunately, new approaches are helping renewable energy project proponents to streamline agency consultation, and reduce the risk of project delays resulting from nesting birds at construction sites. Since 2005, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has recommended that site planners voluntarily develop Avian Protection Plans to reduce an electrical transmission project’s impact on birds—particularly bald and golden eagles—during building and operation.
Although originally specific to transmission projects, USFWS now recommends Avian Protection Plans be developed for any large-scale energy project, including for wind and solar power farms. These plans serve to outline design standards, training programs, permit compliance, as well as reporting and monitoring programs that collectively reduce the risk of avian mortality during site construction and operation.
Avian Protection Plans also act as a tangible way to document compliance with federal and state wildlife regulations, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
Avian safety
Recently, the USFWS and other wildlife agencies have recommended the addition of Nesting Bird Management Plans (NBMP) to augment Avian Protection Plans. Or, implemented as stand-alone documents, to describe measures that will be taken to reduce the impacts to birds protected under the MBTA during the construction and operation of a project.
Nesting birds have been highlighted as a resource of increased concern on many large transmission, wind, and solar projects. The supplementation of a NBMP is intended to detail protective measures for special status and non-special status bird species. Increasingly, project proponents and compliance agencies are spending a large amount of effort and resources on nesting bird protections during project implementation.
To help simplify the process, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), federal and state resource agencies—such as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), USFWS, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Forest Service (USFS)—and several California utilities have initiated discussions concerning the development of NBMPs in a standardized, consistent fashion.
NBMPs allow project owners and operators to “operationalize” the requirements of a bird-specific applicant proposed, and mitigate the measures listed in a project’s environmental document. No regulatory mechanism exists to authorize incidental take of a common bird species the way an Incidental Take Permit allows for a listed species under the federal and California Endangered Species Acts.
Fortunately, new approaches are helping renewable energy project proponents to streamline agency consultation, and reduce the risk of project delays resulting from nesting birds at construction sites. Since 2005, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has recommended that site planners voluntarily develop Avian Protection Plans to reduce an electrical transmission project’s impact on birds—particularly bald and golden eagles—during building and operation.
Although originally specific to transmission projects, USFWS now recommends Avian Protection Plans be developed for any large-scale energy project, including for wind and solar power farms. These plans serve to outline design standards, training programs, permit compliance, as well as reporting and monitoring programs that collectively reduce the risk of avian mortality during site construction and operation.
Avian Protection Plans also act as a tangible way to document compliance with federal and state wildlife regulations, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
Avian safety
Recently, the USFWS and other wildlife agencies have recommended the addition of Nesting Bird Management Plans (NBMP) to augment Avian Protection Plans. Or, implemented as stand-alone documents, to describe measures that will be taken to reduce the impacts to birds protected under the MBTA during the construction and operation of a project.
Nesting birds have been highlighted as a resource of increased concern on many large transmission, wind, and solar projects. The supplementation of a NBMP is intended to detail protective measures for special status and non-special status bird species. Increasingly, project proponents and compliance agencies are spending a large amount of effort and resources on nesting bird protections during project implementation.
To help simplify the process, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), federal and state resource agencies—such as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), USFWS, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Forest Service (USFS)—and several California utilities have initiated discussions concerning the development of NBMPs in a standardized, consistent fashion.
NBMPs allow project owners and operators to “operationalize” the requirements of a bird-specific applicant proposed, and mitigate the measures listed in a project’s environmental document. No regulatory mechanism exists to authorize incidental take of a common bird species the way an Incidental Take Permit allows for a listed species under the federal and California Endangered Species Acts.
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