Abstract
The Biglow Canyon Wind Farm is located in the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion (CPE) of the Pacific Northwest. The facility is located in the rolling hills near the town of Wasco, 140 miles east of Portland, Oregon. The John Day River corridor borders the project to the east and the Columbia River gorge borders the north. Phase I of the wind project consists of 76 1.65-MW wind turbines for a total nameplate capacity of 125.4 MW. As part of conditions under the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm Site Certificate with the State of Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC), the certificate holder, Portland General Electric (PGE) is required to implement a two-year (24-month) operational (post-construction) monitoring study for each phase of the facility to evaluate impacts to bird and bat species. Data were collected according to a monitoring protocol developed in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The protocol for this monitoring study includes bird and bat carcass surveys at turbines (Fatality Monitoring) as well as bird use surveys (Avian Use and Behavior). The first year of monitoring surveys was conducted on the site between January and December 2008.