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Xcel Energy/USFWS

A-vian Protection Memorandum Of Understanding

Semi-Annual Report

January 31, 2005

Covering July 1, 2004 through December 31, 2004 Reporting Period

On April 19, 2002, Xcel Energy and the USFWS (Service) entered into a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) to establish procedures and policies to be employed by the Company's

operating companies and the Service in dealing with migratory birds that may be present, injured or

killed on the Company's property during the period of this MOU.

As part of the agreement, Xcel Energy agreed to file a report three months and two weeks after the

date of the execution of this MOU to the Service compiling the information described above in the

MOU, which occurred during the initial three-month period. The Company submitted the first

report on August 2,2002. One report is submitted on behalf of all the operating companies that

signed the MOU every six months. Since some of the special use permits recently acquired by

several of the Xcel operating companies haveJanuary 31, 2004 reporting dates, we have moved up

the reporting date slightly to accommodate both submittal date requirements. We will now provide

reports that coverJanuary 1 through June 30 andJuly 1 through December 31. The reports will be

filed within 30 days of the last day of the reporting period.

1. Status of the Development and Implementation of an Avian Protection Plan (APP)

EDM International, Inc. issued the final draft APP for Xcel Energy operating companies Public

Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) and Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power Company (CLFP). The

Company submitted the plan to the USFWS staff on April 30, 2004. USFW'S Staff gave verbal

approval of the APP on June 29,2004 and written approval on October 28,2004. (Note: CLFP was

sold to Black Hills Corporation on January 21, 2005. Black Hills Corp. will do the future reporting

for CLFP).

As reported previously, Xcel Energy has begun developing APP's for its operating companies

Northern States Power - Wisconsin (NSPW), Northern States Power - Minnesota (NSPM), and

Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS) this year. USFWS staff has been consulted on the

approach for the APPs and we have contracted with EDM International, Inc. again to develop the

plans.

We expect that the plans will be complete at the end of 2006 or early 2007. As stated in previous

reports, regardless of the completion date of the APP's, Xcel Energy will continue to manage issues'

that arise with electrocutions and collisions that occur as the APP's are developed.

Xcel Energy has implemented a training program for all electric delivery field personnel that may

encounter birds. This training program has been underway for almost a year. We are updating the

plan this year and are beginning to audit our various offices to determine where we may have gaps in

training and awareness for our employees. Xcel Energy is in compliance with Section 4.A. of the

other MOUs.
Xcel Energy/USFWS

Avian Protection Memorandum Of Understanding

Semi-Annual Report

January 30, 2005

2. Status of Special Purpose Permits

Xcel Energy has special purpose permits for all 6f the operating companies:

* CLFP (Permit MB793891-0)

• NSPM (Permit M3074020-0)

* NSPW (Permit MB074019-0)

* PSCo (Permit MB702651-1)

• SPS (Permit MB082993-0)

3. Summary of Avian Injuries

'p erengC Desrati,6W' Date .. C m ts' - ' '

c~-ii

NSPM Trumpeter Swan 10-24-04 Two dead swans were reported near Rogers. Another injured swan

was present when the site was checked the following day. The injured

bird was taken to Wildlife Rehab in Roseville. The wing was

amputated and the bird, once recovered, was sent to Iowans captive

breeding program.

NSPM Green Herons (2) 7-14-04 Tree trimmning crew was removing branches from areas around

distribution line in Plymouth, MN. A heron nest was on a branch

removed and two of the young died and two were injured and taken

to the %Trldlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville MN. USFWS

contacted on 7-14-04. Xcel Energy reporting measures worked welt

Tree trimming crew had taken training. Future training should

include all trimming crews and highlight need to look for nests.

SPS Great Homed Owl 07-07-04 An injured Great Homed Owl was taken to the South Plains Wildlife

Rehabilitation Center in Lubbock The owl had severely tangled itself

in barbed wire at Jones Stations and injured its wing and was probably

euthanized

SPS Great Blue Heron 12-09-04 Plant Environmentalist took Great Blue Heron at Jones Station to the

South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Lubbock. The bird was

injured by colliding with a power line west of the south lime pond and

had to be euthnized by rehab personnel.

4. Summary of Avian Deaths

The following table summarizes avian deaths that have occurred between July 1 and December 31,

2004. As noted in the introduction section, we are changing our reporting period to correspond

with our special purpose permit reporting requirements.

Optirat Desctipton i 2' Date : .- Com mnents :

'g,- 'm.meit-j,,- ' ' f.- .- 'i'' ..-- M

NSPM 2 Canada Geese 7-27-04 In response to an outage reported in Rogers line crew found two dead

Canada Geese lying below line near new Kohl's Store. The next day

no carcasses could be found. Flappers were installed on the line.

NSPM Red-tailed Hawk 7-27-04 Young red-tail was electrocuted on a pole in Belle Plaine MN. No

,_ retrofit measures taken at this time. It is unclear how bird was

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Xcel Energy/USFWS

Avian Protection Memorandum Of Understanding

Semi-Annual Report

January 30, 2005

30pe-tn'",,PDesc'tionI"! nit. 0,4:.,$.. '0,, f,+. .,.-l. -

. electrocuted. Will assess the pole during the development of APP.

NSPM Trumpeter swan 9-28-04 A neighbor reported a swan colliding with a line near Rogers. In

response to a reported outage the crew responded but found nO dead

birds present No action taken.

NSPM Peregrine Falcons 10-5-04 During the biannual inspection of the combustion turbine stack at

Black Dog three dead peregrine and one dead pigeon were found. All

birds had been dead for some time and were badly desiccated. Two of

the birds were banded males from the 2004 nesting at the facility.

The other was an unbanded immature female.

NSPM Trumpeter Swans 10-24-04 Crews responding to outage call reported two dead swans under line.

The following day carcasses were scavenged. An injured swan was

also present at that time. See above for notes on injured bird.

Measures are undertway to mark the lines.

NSPM Cooper's Hawk 12-16-04 Hawk was found inside 13'h floor of the Sherco Plant entangled in

light wiring.

NSPW Great Blue Heron 7-7-04 Body of Great Blue Heron found in Coulee substation, La Crosse

Wisconsin. No outage had been reported and carcass was too

decomposed to determine cause of death. DNR and USFWS

contacted. Site will be monitored for possible issues.

NSPM Green Herons (2) 7-14-04 Tree trimming crew was removing branches from areas around

distribution line in Plymouth, MN. A heron nest was on a branch

removed and two of the young died and two were injured and taken

to the Wrildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville MN. USFWS

contacted on 7-14-04.

SPS Harris Hawk 08-25-04 Received an email from Delivan Roper of USFP' based out of

Albuquerque informing Xcel Energy of a Harris Hawk electrocution in

Loving, New Mexico. The hawk was injured, retrieved by a

rehabilitator, but eventually euthanized due to the extent of its injuries.

Retrofits were completed on four structures in the immediate area on

- 08-26. The modifications included a single transformer structure, a 3-

phase capacitor bank structure, and 2 three-phase transformer bank

structures, at a cost of $1004.82 structure.

SPS Sandhill Crane 09-08-04 Xcel Energy reported a Sandhill Crane electrocution near Elkhart,

Kansas. The actual location was 3 miles west of Kansas HYW 27 on

County Road D. No outage occurred during the incident The

structure is currently being evaluated for retrofit.

SPS Red Tailed Hawk 09-23-04 The electrocution occurred on a OCR structure, specifically OCR 130-3.

The OCR is on circuit 1320, a 13.2kV' circuit out of Spring Creek

Substation, located cast of Borger, Texas in Hutchinson County. The

hawk appears to have tried landing on one of the jumpers going down

from the primary conductors to the OCR, as one of its claws was wrapped

around the jumper, before it was knocked off the equipment The incident

resulted in a 12-hour outage. The structure is currently being evmiuated for

retrofit.

SPS Turkey Vtulture 10-07-04 The Turkey Vulture was electrocuted on a transformer pole in Idalou,

Texas. The electrocution resulted in a 1 hour and 3 minute outage.

The structure is currently being evaluated for retrofit.

SPS Ferruginous Hawk 11-15-04 Hawk- was discovered electrocuted during an outage. The

electrocution occurred east of Hwy 119 and Hwy 281 on the side of

Sunray, Texas, by the railroad tracks. Specifically, the OCR 302-2 was

damaged and will need repair. Installing bushing & cable insulation

covers at a cost of $1200 modified the structure.

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Xcel Energy/USFWS

Avian Protection Memorandum Of Understanding

Sermi-Annual Report

January 30, 2005

Opera'tin' - *iDescinption; ' ''-', Dafte - Com fo '- nets~ieal.<''; -f; s|<',i'''- "iS'sP

tC ,mpany i;, -

SPS Great Homed Owls (2) 11-17-04 Owls were discovered electrocuted on one of Xcel EncrEys distribution

lines during a one-hour outage. The owls were on an 8 crossanm on a pole

that had a distribution tramsformer on it. The circuit involved was 13.2 KV

circuit #1416, which originates at Industrial Substation, just west of Borger.

The birds had to be removed forn the crossarn, so that dectric service

could be restored to customers affected by the outages. The structure is

currently being evaluated for retrofit

SPS Red Tailed Hawk 12-01-04 Hawk was discovered electrocuted at a transformer bank during a one-hour

outage in Moore County. The structure is currently being evaluated for

retrofit.

CLF&P 2 Hawks 8-30-04 Two hawks were electrocuted on a transformer pole outside of the

Hilltop Substation. No outage was reported. The transformer was

retrofitted.

PSCo American Crow 9-12-04 The crow was electrocuted on a transformer pole at 318 E. la St. in

Parachute Colorado. This resulted in a 116-minute outage. The

transformer had a cap on the transformer bushing. This cap was

replaced with a cover to provide greater animal protection.

PSCo Great Homed Owl 10-11-04 The owl was found at the base of a capacitor bank in the Weld

Substation. No outage was reported. An investigation was performed

and no action will be taken at this time. The entire capacitor bank

would need to be retrofitted. The technology to perform such a task

is not known. If this area becomes a problem for avian electrocution,

a new investigation will be performed.

PSCo - Barn Owl 10-01-04 The owl was found electrocuted at the base of a transformer pole near the intersection of Weld County Roads 33 and 40. No outage was

reported The transformer is scheduled to be retrofitted.

PSCo Red-Tailed Hawk 10-22-04 The hawk was found electrocuted at the base of a transformer pole

along 4h Ave near the town of Timnath, Colorado. No outage was

__reported. The structure is scheduled to be retrofitted.

PSCo Great Homed Owl 10-29-04 The owl was found at the base of a tangent structure at 515 Lincoln St.

in Sterling, Colorado. This resulted in a 50-minute outage. The

structure is scheduled to be retrofitted

'" I .

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5. Summary of Migratory Bird Nest Removals

A. Active Migratory Bird Nests Non-Emergency Removals

None have been reported.

B. Active Nests Of Non-Endangered/Threatened. Non-eagle Migratory Birds-Emergency

Removals

None have been reported

C. Inactive Nests of Non-listed. Non-eagle Migratory Birds -Emergency Removal

With the new FWS policy (Memorandum (MBPM-2) issued April 15 2003) for removal of inactive

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Xcel Energv/USFWS

Avian Protection Memorandum Of Understanding

Semi-Annual Report

January 30, 2005

nests of non-listed, non-eagle migratory birds, Xcel Energy will no longer report these activities in

this report. We will continue to work with the appropriate state agencies as necessary.

D. Endangered/Threatened Migratory Bird Nest Removals

No removals for this reporting period.

6. Eagle Permits

No requests have been filed.

7. Summary of Record-Keeping Procedures

Each contact for the operating companies is coordinating contacts and reports. Once the special

purpose permits are acquired, final procedures will be completed. All biannual reports submitted to

USFWS are kept on a shared folder for the Company.

8. Next Report Date

The next report wil be submitted to the Service within 30 days followingJune 30,2005.

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