The USGS is leading a multi-disciplinary team with members from government, academia, non-profits, and industry, to generate science to inform resolution of wildlife-related issues that can impede development and operations of wind and solar energy facilities.
The Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative-- or RWSI--develops science-based tools to understand population-level and cumulative impacts for wildlife affected by renewable energy facilities. RWSI members gather, archive, and analyze tissue samples from birds and bats killed at renewable energy facilities across the country. These samples are used in genetic or isotopic analyses to identify the geographic origins of individuals. Effective conservation strategies for renewables require information on when individual fatalities become so numerous that they threaten the stability of bird and bat populations. RWSI provides that critical information.
Want to get involved?
With support from state and federal natural resource agencies, the renewable energy industry, and wildlife conservation organizations, the RWSI is expanding to a national scale. Here are a few ways to contribute:
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Owners, operators, and contractors at renewable energy facilities across the country can confidentially provide samples from wildlife found dead at their site.
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Managers, biologists, and permitting agents can encourage energy developers to provide samples.
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Scientists can use samples from the RWSI tissue archives to answer research questions that further Department of Interior, state, and other management priorities and our collective knowledge of the population effects of wildlife fatalities at wind and solar facilities.
-
Stakeholders can identify key research questions to guide future studies and generate information to inform conservation.
For an overview of our goals, methods, and products, view or download the Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative PDF handout.
Contact Dr. Todd Katzner for more information.
The publications below highlight how the approximately 80,000 samples currently archived have supported collaborative and novel population-level vulnerability assessments that inform management decisions.
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Vulnerability of avian populations to renewable energy production
Demographic and potential biological removal models identify raptor species sensitive to current and future wind energy
Assessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife
Limitations, lack of standardization, and recommended best practices in studies of renewable energy effects on birds and bats
Wind energy: An ecological challenge
Effect of heat and singeing on stable hydrogen isotope ratios of bird feathers and implications for their use in determining geographic origin
Application of isoscapes to determine geographic origin of terrestrial wildlife for conservation and management
Golden Eagle fatalities and the continental-scale consequences of local wind-energy generation
News releases related to RWSI publications
- Overview
The USGS is leading a multi-disciplinary team with members from government, academia, non-profits, and industry, to generate science to inform resolution of wildlife-related issues that can impede development and operations of wind and solar energy facilities.
The Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative-- or RWSI--develops science-based tools to understand population-level and cumulative impacts for wildlife affected by renewable energy facilities. RWSI members gather, archive, and analyze tissue samples from birds and bats killed at renewable energy facilities across the country. These samples are used in genetic or isotopic analyses to identify the geographic origins of individuals. Effective conservation strategies for renewables require information on when individual fatalities become so numerous that they threaten the stability of bird and bat populations. RWSI provides that critical information.
Want to get involved?
With support from state and federal natural resource agencies, the renewable energy industry, and wildlife conservation organizations, the RWSI is expanding to a national scale. Here are a few ways to contribute:
-
Owners, operators, and contractors at renewable energy facilities across the country can confidentially provide samples from wildlife found dead at their site.
-
Managers, biologists, and permitting agents can encourage energy developers to provide samples.
-
Scientists can use samples from the RWSI tissue archives to answer research questions that further Department of Interior, state, and other management priorities and our collective knowledge of the population effects of wildlife fatalities at wind and solar facilities.
-
Stakeholders can identify key research questions to guide future studies and generate information to inform conservation.
For an overview of our goals, methods, and products, view or download the Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative PDF handout.
Contact Dr. Todd Katzner for more information.
The RWSI receives tissue samples from birds and bats found dead at renewable energy facilities across the country. Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Boxes of bird feather samples archived at the RWSI sample repository node in Boise, Idaho. -
- Publications
The publications below highlight how the approximately 80,000 samples currently archived have supported collaborative and novel population-level vulnerability assessments that inform management decisions.
If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.
Vulnerability of avian populations to renewable energy production
Renewable energy production can kill individual birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed the vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA. Bayesian hierarchical models suggested that 48% of these species were vulnerable to population-level effects from added fatalities caused by renewables andAuthorsTara Conkling, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, Taber D Allison, James E. Diffendorfer, Thomas V Dietsch, A. Duerr, Amy L Fesnock, Rebecca R. Hernandez, S. R. Loss, David M. Nelson, Peter M. Sanzenbacher, Julie L. Yee, Todd E. KatznerDemographic and potential biological removal models identify raptor species sensitive to current and future wind energy
A central challenge in applied ecology is understanding the effect of anthropogenic fatalities on wildlife populations and predicting which populations may be particularly vulnerable and in greatest need of management attention. We used 3 approaches to investigate potential effects of fatalities from collisions with wind turbines on 14 raptor species for both current (106 GW) and anticipated futurAuthorsJames E. Diffendorfer, Jessica C. Stanton, Julie A. Beston, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Scott R. Loss, Todd E. Katzner, Douglas H. Johnson, Richard A. Erickson, Matthew D. Merrill, Margo D. CorumByEcosystems Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences CenterAssessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife
Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population‐level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count‐based manner (e.g., number of dead animals) that is difficult to translate intoAuthorsTodd E. Katzner, Melissa A. Braham, Tara Conkling, James E. Diffendorfer, Adam E. Duerr, Scott R. Loss, David M. Nelson, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, Julie L. YeeLimitations, lack of standardization, and recommended best practices in studies of renewable energy effects on birds and bats
Increasing global energy demand is fostering the development of renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, renewable energy facilities may adversely affect wildlife. Facility siting guidelines recommend or require project developers complete pre‐ and postconstruction wildlife surveys to predict risk and estimate effects of proposed projects. Despite this, there are no published sAuthorsTara Conkling, S. R. Loss, James E. Diffendorfer, A. Duerr, Todd E. KatznerWind energy: An ecological challenge
No abstract available.AuthorsTodd E. Katzner, David M. Nelson, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Adam E. Duerr, Caitlin J. Campbell, Douglas Leslie, Hanna B. Vander Zanden, Julie L. Yee, Maitreyi Sur, Manuela M. Huso, Melissa A. Braham, Michael L. Morrison, Scott R. Loss, Sharon Poessel, Tara Conkling, Tricia A. MillerEffect of heat and singeing on stable hydrogen isotope ratios of bird feathers and implications for their use in determining geographic origin
RationaleStable hydrogen isotope (δ2H) ratios of animal tissues are useful for assessing movement and geographic origin of mobile organisms. However, it is uncertain whether heat and singeing affects feather δ2H values and thus subsequent geographic assignments. This is relevant for birds of conservation interest that are burned and killed at concentrating solar‐energy facilities that reflect sunlAuthorsHannah B. Vander Zanden, Abigail Reid, Todd E. Katzner, David M. NelsonApplication of isoscapes to determine geographic origin of terrestrial wildlife for conservation and management
Accounting for migration and connectivity of mobile species across the annual cycle can present challenges for conservation and management efforts. The use of stable isotope approaches to examine the movements and ecology of wildlife has been widespread over the past two decades. Hydrogen stable isotope (δ2H) composition, in particular, has been frequently used to provide insight into the origin oAuthorsHanna B. Vander Zanden, David M. Nelson, Michael B. Wunder, Tara Conkling, Todd E. KatznerGolden Eagle fatalities and the continental-scale consequences of local wind-energy generation
Renewable energy production is expanding rapidly despite mostly unknown environmental effects on wildlife and habitats. We used genetic and stable isotope data collected from Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) killed at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) in California in demographic models to test hypotheses about the geographic extent and demographic consequences of fatalities caused byAuthorsTodd E. Katzner, David M. Nelson, Melissa A. Braham, Jacqueline M. Doyle, Nadia B. Fernandez, Adam E. Duerr, Peter H. Bloom, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, Tricia A. Miller, Renee C. E. Culver, Loan Braswell, J. Andrew DeWoody - News
News releases related to RWSI publications