# Presentation: 376961

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**Organized by:**
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 			U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem Team 		Great Lakes National Program Office
- Illinois Natural History Survey 			U.S. Geological Survey
**Hilton Toledo and Dana Conference Center, Toledo, Ohio**
**Lucas Auditorium**
**June 27-29, 2006**

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

***Welcome to the First Ever Conference ***
***Dedicated to Addressing***
***Wildlife Issues of Wind Energy Development***
*A Great Lakes Focus – But applicable anywhere*
*To provide good information – to allow good, sustainable decisions*

## GREAT LAKES BASIN ECOSYSTEM TEAM WILDLIFE AND WIND ENERGY INITIATIVE

- DECEMBER 2004 GLBET MEETING
- Shedd Aquarium Chicago
*“ ... **is ****anyone ****... working with wind energy?”*
- Bob Russell – Great Lakes Migratory Birds Team Update

## GREAT LAKES BASIN ECOSYSTEM TEAM WILDLIFE AND WIND ENERGY INITIATIVE

**1. NEDA MINE ASSESSMENT – NIAGARA ESCARPMENT**
*FIRST EVER* - THREE TECHNOLOGIES USED SYNERGISTICALLY
- One of Largest Bat Hibernaculums in the Midwest
- Adjacent Wind Energy Facility Proposed
**2.  ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT A CONFERENCE**

## GREAT LAKES BASIN ECOSYSTEM TEAM WILDLIFE AND WIND ENERGY INITIATIVE

- March 2005:  GLBET – GLNPO ACTION TEAM INITIATED THE FORMATION OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR OUR WILDLIFE AND WIND ENERGY INITIATIVE.
*The title of **“Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind Power:  A Focus on the Great Lakes”** was chosen for our initiative and planned conference.*

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

_**GAO REPORT – SEPTEMBER 2005**_
**“****IMPACTS ON WILDLIFE AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR REGULATING DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTING WILDLIFE”**
*Regulating wind power facilities is largely the responsibility of state and local governments.  However, regulatory agency officials do not always have experience or expertise to address environmental and wildlife impacts from wind power.*
- _THE ONLY RECOMMENDATION_:
*“**GAO recommends that the FWS provide state and local regulatory agencies with information on the potential wildlife impacts from wind power and the resources available to make decisions about where wind power development should be approved.”*

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

_**Conference Expectations:  **_
***Not to discuss the merits of wind power, but through this unique and first ever conference dedicated to addressing wildlife issues associated with wind power, focus on:***
***To collaboratively identify and advance the means to:***
*• **Better coordinate and communicate on wildlife issues, establish network of experts, practitioners, and decision makers*
*•  **Develop consistent and consensus guidance, techniques, and approaches*
*•  **Developing consistent research and management approaches*
*•  **Develop “low risk areas to wildlife” geospatial data layers and maps*
*•  **Determine a “call to action”, your recommendations for the next steps, the way**	**forward*

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

***	******The Path Forward . . .***
- Resource Tools in your Conference Folder are draft, to begin the dialogue and build on.
- They are to be enhanced with your input here at the conference, and after.
- Post-conference:  Your input will be sought to update and improve the Resource Tools in the Conference folders.   A Conference CD with proceedings, presentations, abstracts, and the updated resource tools will be provided to you, and posted on our web site:  _[http://www.fws.gov/midwest/greatlakes/windpower.htm](http://www.fws.gov/midwest/greatlakes/windpower.htm)_
- There will be a follow-up Workshop to this conference entitled:  ***“Continuing the Dialogue and Next Steps Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind Power in the Great Lakes Basin Workshop”**** *at the November 2006 State of the Great Lakes Ecosystem Conference in Milwaukee (note SOLEC* *Fact Sheet with this Workshop information in this folder).

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

***Towards Wildlife Friendly Wildlife Steering,  Agenda  & Other Sub-Committees, and Steering Committee Advisory Panel***
**16 MONTHS OF CHALLENGES - HARD WORK**
**BENEFIT OF ONLY ONE FACE-TO-FACE MEETING**
**December 2005 at Maumee Bay State Park**
**Took on as **_***additional duties***_** to regular assigned duties**

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**STEERING COMMITTEE & SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRS **
- Al Manville, USFWS R9, Co-Chair Research & Information Priorities SC
- Alex Hoar, USFWS R5, Co-Chair Agenda Committee, Speaker Coordinator
- Chrissy McConaghy, GLNPO, Chair Research & Information Priorities
- Karen Rodriguez, GLNPO Habitat Program Manager
- Leakhena Au, USFWS R3, Neda Mine Assessment Project Officer, Chair Assessment SC
- Linda Jacobs, GLNPO, Chair Information Management SC
- Marci Caplis, USFWS R5, Conference Facilitator
- Marcia Damato, GLNPO Neda Mine Assessment Project Manager
- Megan Seymour, USFWS R3, Co-Chair Agenda SC, Co-Chair Assessment SC
- Rachel Levin, USFWS R3, Chair Outreach SC, Conference Web Site Manager
- Ron Larkin, Illinois Natural History Survey, Co-Chair Research & Info Priorities SC
- Rich Greenwood, USFWS-GLNPO, GLBET Team Leader, Chair Steering Committee

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**STEERING COMMITTEE ADVISORY PANEL**
- Beth Hinchey, Sea Grant-GLNPO; Bob Russell, USFWS R3 Wind Power Coordinator; Brian Millsap, USFWS R9; Burr Fisher, USFWS R3; Dan O’Riordan, GLNPO Lake Erie Program Manager; Dave Stout, USFWS R9; David Riddell, Wisconsin DNR; Eileen Kirsch, USGS Upper Midwest Science Center; James Miller, US Forest Service; Janet Ruth, USGS General Radar Collaborative Group Chair; John Curnutt, US Forest Service; Kristen Nelson, US Forest Service; Lyn MacLean, USFWS R3; Patricia J Heglund, USGS and USFWS NWRs; Paul Cryan, USGS Reston; Richard S Sojda, USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center; Rick F Kearney, USGS Reston; Steve Schlobohm, US Forest Service; Scott Johnston, USFWS R5; Steve J. Lewis, USFWS R3; Tim Sullivan, USFWS R5

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**Dan O’Riordan, GLNPO Lake Erie Program Manager, Lake Erie LaMP U.S. Co-Chair**
**	****Karen Rodriguez, GLNPO Habitat and Ecosystems Program Manager**
**	****	****Gary Gulezian, GLNPO Director**

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

*Since June 9, 2006 – the last 18 days...*
*We have been most fortunate to have  *Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) *as our Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind Power Conference Consultants.  *
*Kate Schalk, Laurie Stamatatos, Katherine Moore, Erin Pittorino, and Lauren Lariviere, Chris Lamie*
***Thank you!***

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

*“**Why is this important conference being held**?  **The conference is in response to the only recommendation the Government Accountability Office (GAO) made in its 2005 report *
***We hope the day after the conference will be a bit different than the day before and that this conference will help shape the future******.”****  **-- Alex Hoar, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind Power: A Focus on the Great Lakes Steering Committee (Note GAO Wind Power Fact Sheet in your conference folder)*

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

***Rich Greenwood Wind Energy ***
***Retirement Fund Investments***

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**The Honorable Marcy Kaptor, U.S. Congresswoman,**
**9****th**** District**
- Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, represents Northern Ohio's _[Ninth Congressional District](http://www.kaptur.house.gov/Library/District.aspx)_, which includes Toledo and the surrounding counties.  Congresswoman Kaptur is currently serving her twelfth term in the U.S. House of Representatives and is the senior-most Democratic woman in Congress.  Congresswoman Kaptur fought vigorously to win a seat on the _[House Appropriations Committee](http://appropriations.house.gov/)_. She has secured subcommittees on Agriculture, the leading industry in her state, and Defense. Kaptur is the first Democratic women to serve on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. In her legislative career, she has also served on the Budget; Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs; Veterans Affairs Committees, and on Veterans Affairs-Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies (Environmental Protection, Veterans, and NASA and the National Science Foundation), Foreign Operations, and Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittees, which have allowed her to pursue her strong interests in economic growth and new technology, community rebuilding, and veterans.
- In 1968, Kaptur earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from the University of Wisconsin. She received her Masters' Degree in urban planning from the **University of Michigan**. In 1993, Congresswoman Kaptur was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Toledo in recognition of her "effective representation of the community," of the University and of Northwest Ohio.

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**MARK CONTI, DIRECTOR, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, CLEVELAND OFFICE**
**The CLEVELAND OFFICE is part of a Regional Office, Region 5, located in Chicago, Illinois. This Regional Office services Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota.**
**The Cleveland Office has employees working in four programs:**
** ****Resource Management Division (12 EPA employees plus 1 SEE employee) **
** ****Emergency Response Section (4 employees) **
** ****Emergency Enforcement and Support Section (1 employee) **
** ****Brownfields and Early Action Section (2 employees) **

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

**ROBYN THORSON**
**REGIONAL DIRECTOR, U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE - REGION 3**
- Robyn Thorson is Regional Director of the Midwest Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The region includes field offices in 8 states whose staffs work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and the critical habitat that sustains them.
- Robyn's 20-year federal career has included work in four regions of the Service and two separate appointments in the Washington Office. She also worked for the U.S. Geological Survey. She was an attorney for the State of Washington before starting her federal career and maintains her license to practice law in the State of Washington

**Great Lakes-Big Rivers***Region 3 *

## Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind PowerA Focus on the Great Lakes

***MARCI CAPLIS***
***Deputy Assistant Regional Director, U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service, Region 5***
***Towards Wildlife Friendly Wind Power Steering Committee – Conference Facilitator****** ***