New York State
Environmental Technical Working Group
E-TWG Activities
Development of Guidance for Pre- and Post-Construction Monitoring to Detect Changes in Marine Bird Distributions and Habitat Use Related to Offshore Wind Energy Development
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As the offshore wind industry develops in the U.S. Atlantic, effective monitoring is needed to detect potential effects to wildlife. A Specialist Committee was convened by the Environmental Technical Working Group (E-TWG) to advance recommendations for the effective detection and characterization of changes in marine bird distributions and habitat use in relation to offshore wind development. The Committee was chaired by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These recommendations are intended to complement BOEM's existing avian survey guidelines for site characterization.
The Committee developed two guidance documents: 1) Guidance for Pre- and Post-Construction Monitoring to Detect Changes in Marine Bird Distributions and Haibtat Use Related to Offshore Wind Development and 2) Recommendations or Evaluating the Use of Existing Baseline Observational Survey Data for Birds in Offshore Wind Site Characterization Processes for the U.S. Atlantic.
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​Guidance for Pre- and Post-Construction Monitoring to Detect Changes in Marine Bird Distributions and Habitat Use Related to Offshore Wind Development​​​​​
This 100-page document includes 1) general study design recommendations for all types of displacement, avoidance, and attraction studies; 2) recommendations for conducting observational surveys, a key method for displacement studies; and 3) recommendations for future guidance and research.​​​​​
You can also view each section of the document by clicking the links below:
Recommendations for Evaluating the Use of Existing Baseline Observational Survey Data for Birds in Offshore Wind Site Characterization Processes for the U.S. Atlantic
​​​This 15-page document builds on the existing BOEM guidelines for site characterization, and while not the primary focus of the Committee, there was a recognized need for more detailed guidance on when existing avian observational survey data are sufficient for site characterization purposes.
Public Feedback Process and Committee Membership
During the development of the above products, the Committee initiated a series of opportunities for wider stakeholder community to provide input.
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October-November 2023: Feedback on Draft Guidance
A public webinar was held on October 16, 2023 (recording and slides below) to provide an overview of the recommendations followed by an opportunity for public input, open until November 13, 2023.
There was an opportunity for stakeholder community input on the draft guidance developed by the committee. To kick off the public feedback period, the committee held a public webinar on October 16, 2023 (recording below).
Avian Displacement Committee Membership
The avian displacement committee was chaired by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Committee member affiliations included the British Trust for Ornithology, CSS, Inc. under contract to NOAA NCCOS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Orsted, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Biodiversity Research Institute, Terra Mar Applied Sciences, LLC under contract to National Audubon Society, AECOM, Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc., Normandeau, The Nature Conservancy, HiDef Aerial Surveying, TotalEnergies, and Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute. Committee meetings were also attended by bird/bat science staff from the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative. The committee was moderated by NYSERDA, with technical support provided by the Biodiversity Research Institute.
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If you are interested in receiving more information about public feedback opportunities, please sign up for the E-TWG mailing list or email Julia Gulka.
Photo credits: Dogfish shark © Boris Pamikov - shutterstock;Razorbill © Ray Hennessy; Gulls © Maria Maliy; Wind turbines © Nicholas Doherty