Abstract
As the offshore wind (OSW) industry develops in the U.S. Atlantic, effective monitoring is needed to detect potential effects to wildlife. A Specialist Committee was convened by New York’s Offshore Wind Environmental Technical Working Group (E-TWG) and chaired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the goal of advancing recommendations for the effective detection and characterization of changes in the distributions and habitat use of marine birds in relation to OSW energy development.
The committee’s recommendations are specifically focused on:
- Marine birds and OSW development in the U.S. Atlantic, though many of the recommendations are broadly relevant to other geographies.
- Studies of changes in marine bird movement behavior, distributions, and habitat use, namely displacement, attraction, and macro-to meso-scale avoidance.
- Studies intended to detect effects from OSW development, not assess risk or characterize avian resources prior to construction.
- Informing project-specific monitoring, although many recommendations are also applicable to studies at larger scales.
While there are various potential effects from OSW development on marine birds, and all deserve dedicated research recommendations, understanding displacement-related effects is a key research priority. The deliberative process used to develop these recommendations brought together experts to reach consensus on the best available science to conduct studies of marine birds at OSW facilities. This Specialist Committee firmly recommends that:
- Statistically robust monitoring should be conducted at all OSW lease areas to detect and characterize changes in distributions and habitat use of marine birds, and
- This guidance form the basis for federal guidelines focused on how to conduct pre-and post-construction monitoring at individual OSW facilities in the U.S. Atlantic.
The guidance includes:
- General study design recommendations for all types of displacement, avoidance, and attraction studies;
- Recommendations for conducting observational surveys, a key method for displacement studies; and
- Recommendations for future guidance and research.
View the Guidance Document Summary here.
View the Guidance Document here.
Contents
Part I. Summary
S.1 General Recommendations
S.2 Detailed Recommendations for Observational Surveys
S.3 Future Directions
Part II. Introduction
1.0 Background and Purpose
1.1 Terminology
2.0 Rationale
3.0 Focus of Guidance
Part III. General Study Design Recommendations
4.0 Key Research Questions
4.1 Key Research Questions to Examine Displacement, Attraction, and Avoidance
4.2 Using Site-Specific Data to Inform Regional-Scale Questions
5.0 Identifying Focal Taxa
5.1 Understanding Exposure
5.2 Understanding Sensitivity and Uncertainty
5.3. Additional Considerations for Selection of Focal Taxa
6.0 Choosing Appropriate Methodologies
6.1 Selecting Study Methods
6.2 Considerations for Specific Methods
6.3 Summary: Choosing Appropriate Methods
7.0 Developing an Effective Study Design
7.1 Study Objectives
7.2 Study Design
7.3 Data Sharing and Coordination
8.0 Data Consistency and Transparency Recommendations
Part IV. Recommendations for Boat-based and Aerial Surveys
9.0 Connection Between Site Assessment Surveys and Pre-Construction Surveys to Detect Effects
10.0 Survey Design and Methodology Recommendations
10.1 Define Clear Study Goals
10.2 Use of Gradient Study Design
10.3 Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Coverage
10.4 Data Collection Methods
10.5 Review of Data
10.6 Data Analysis
10.7 Data Reporting
Part V. Recommendations for Future Guidance and Research
11.0 Next Steps for Guidance
12.0 Additional Guidance, Frameworks, and Research Needs
Part VI. Literature Cited
Part VII. Appendices
Appendix A. Guidance Development Methods
Appendix B. Glossary of Key Terminology
Appendix C. Literature Review: Macro- to Meso-Scale Changes in Marine Bird Distributions and Habitat Use
Appendix D. Assessment Rubric for Study Plans