Abstract
The Black Oak / Getty Wind Farm (the Projects) ABPP provides strategy on mitigating risks to birds and bats during the construction and operation phases of the Projects. As part of these Projects’ due diligence, this ABPP is created as documentation of reasonable and prudent measures instituted to prevent or minimize avian and bat mortality. Specifically, this document describes a program that identifies monitoring and mitigation protocols for impacts to affected species while considering the content of:
- ABPP white paper developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS 2010a);
- Suggested Practices for Avian Protection On Power Lines: The State of the Art in 2006 (Appendix C Avian Protection Plan Guidelines) Edison Electric Institute, Avian Power Line Interaction Committee;
- Avian Surveys for the Paynesville Wind Resource Area, Stearns County, Minnesota, Hamer Environmental, 2010;
- Acoustic Bat Studies for the Paynesville-Zion Wind Resource Area Stearns County, MN, Hamer Environmental, 2010;
- Avian Monitoring Studies at the Buffalo Ridge, Minnesota Wind Resource Area: Results of a 4- year study. Johnson et al. 2000;
- Bat Interactions with Wind Turbines at the Buffalo Ridge, Minnesota Wind Resource area: An Assessment of Bat Activity, Species Composition, and Collision Mortality, EPRI, Palo Alto, CA and Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, MN: 2003;
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Draft Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines: Recommendations on measures to avoid, minimize, and compensate for effects to fish, wildlife, and their habitats. Draft September 13, 2011; and
- Summary of Post-Construction Monitoring at Wind Projects Relevant to Minnesota, Identification of Data Gaps, and Recommendations for Further Research Regarding Wind-Energy Development in Minnesota; Prepared for State of Minnesota Department of Commerce. Poulton, 2010.