I am a Wildlife Biologist at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Science and Products
Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative
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.
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.
Demographic model inputs and code, catchment area population estimates, and counterfactual (CIU) estimates for population growth for 23 focal bird species.
Renewable energy production can kill birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA.
San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area Repower Data (2018-2019)
Variation in avian and bat mortality as a function of turbine size was investigated in the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area near Palm Springs, CA. Five sites were monitored for carcasses by dog-handler teams every 3 days from May 2018 to April 2019. The data consist of six tables used for analyses on mortality rates including: specifications on selected wind turbines (including energy capacity
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.
Illegal shooting is now a leading cause of death of birds along power lines in the western USA
Human actions, both legal and illegal, affect wildlife in many ways. Inaccurate diagnosis of cause of death undermines law enforcement, management, threat assessment, and mitigation. We found 410 dead birds collected along 196 km of power lines in four western USA states during 2019 – 2022. We necropsied these carcasses to test conventional wisdom suggesting that electrocution is the leading cause
Authors
Eve C. Thomason, Natalie J.S. Turley, James R. Belthoff, Tara Conkling, Todd E. Katzner
Limited rigor in studies of raptor mortality and mitigation at wind power facilities
Wind power is an expanding source of renewable energy. However, there are ecological challenges related to wind energy generation, including collisions of wildlife with turbines. Lack of rigor, and variation in study design, together limit efforts to understand the broad-scale effects of wind power infrastructure on wildlife populations. It is not clear, however, whether these types of limitations
Authors
Tara Conkling, Christopher J. W. McClure, Sandra Cuadros, S. R. Loss, Todd E. Katzner
Open-source intelligence for conservation biology
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) evolved in spy agencies but now is rapidly changing many fields of study, from anthropology to zoology. Despite the fact that OSINT occasionally is used in conservation biology, there is little recognition that some tools and frameworks used by conservation professionals are drawn from this well-established field. The history and conceptual foundations of OSINT ste
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Eve C. Thomason, Karrin Huhmann, Tara Conkling, Camille B. Concepcion, Vincent Slabe, Sharon Poessel
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 and
Authors
Tara 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. Katzner
Relative energy production determines effect of repowering on wildlife mortality at wind energy facilities
Reduction in wildlife mortality is often cited as a potential advantage to repowering wind facilities, that is, replacing smaller, lower capacity, closely spaced turbines, with larger, higher capacity ones, more widely spaced. Wildlife mortality rates, however, are affected by more than just size and spacing of turbines, varying with turbine operation, seasonal and daily weather and habitat, all o
Authors
Manuela Huso, Tara Conkling, Daniel Dalthorp, Melanie J Davis, Heath Smith, Amy Fesnock-Parker, Todd E. Katzner
Learning from real-world experience to understand renewable energy impacts to wildlife
The project team sought to use real-world data to understand adverse effects to wildlife
of renewable energy production that is critical to meeting California’s climate and clean
energy goals. The project had three main components. First, a systematic literature
review studied 20 peer-reviewed publications and 612 reports from other nonreviewed
sources from 231 wind and solar facilities in North A
Authors
Tara J Conkling, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, Sharon Poessel, Scott R. Loss, Taber D Allison, James E. Diffendorfer, Adam E. Duerr, David M. Nelson, Julie L Yee, Todd E. Katzner
Assessing 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 into
Authors
Todd 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. Yee
Limitations, 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 s
Authors
Tara Conkling, S. R. Loss, James E. Diffendorfer, A. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner
Wind energy: An ecological challenge
No abstract available.
Authors
Todd 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. Miller
Application 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 o
Authors
Hanna B. Vander Zanden, David M. Nelson, Michael B. Wunder, Tara Conkling, Todd E. Katzner
Science and Products
- Science
Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative
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. - Data
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.
Demographic model inputs and code, catchment area population estimates, and counterfactual (CIU) estimates for population growth for 23 focal bird species.
Renewable energy production can kill birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA.San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area Repower Data (2018-2019)
Variation in avian and bat mortality as a function of turbine size was investigated in the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Resource Area near Palm Springs, CA. Five sites were monitored for carcasses by dog-handler teams every 3 days from May 2018 to April 2019. The data consist of six tables used for analyses on mortality rates including: specifications on selected wind turbines (including energy capacity - Publications
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.
Illegal shooting is now a leading cause of death of birds along power lines in the western USA
Human actions, both legal and illegal, affect wildlife in many ways. Inaccurate diagnosis of cause of death undermines law enforcement, management, threat assessment, and mitigation. We found 410 dead birds collected along 196 km of power lines in four western USA states during 2019 – 2022. We necropsied these carcasses to test conventional wisdom suggesting that electrocution is the leading causeAuthorsEve C. Thomason, Natalie J.S. Turley, James R. Belthoff, Tara Conkling, Todd E. KatznerLimited rigor in studies of raptor mortality and mitigation at wind power facilities
Wind power is an expanding source of renewable energy. However, there are ecological challenges related to wind energy generation, including collisions of wildlife with turbines. Lack of rigor, and variation in study design, together limit efforts to understand the broad-scale effects of wind power infrastructure on wildlife populations. It is not clear, however, whether these types of limitationsAuthorsTara Conkling, Christopher J. W. McClure, Sandra Cuadros, S. R. Loss, Todd E. KatznerOpen-source intelligence for conservation biology
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) evolved in spy agencies but now is rapidly changing many fields of study, from anthropology to zoology. Despite the fact that OSINT occasionally is used in conservation biology, there is little recognition that some tools and frameworks used by conservation professionals are drawn from this well-established field. The history and conceptual foundations of OSINT steAuthorsTodd E. Katzner, Eve C. Thomason, Karrin Huhmann, Tara Conkling, Camille B. Concepcion, Vincent Slabe, Sharon PoesselVulnerability 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. KatznerRelative energy production determines effect of repowering on wildlife mortality at wind energy facilities
Reduction in wildlife mortality is often cited as a potential advantage to repowering wind facilities, that is, replacing smaller, lower capacity, closely spaced turbines, with larger, higher capacity ones, more widely spaced. Wildlife mortality rates, however, are affected by more than just size and spacing of turbines, varying with turbine operation, seasonal and daily weather and habitat, all oAuthorsManuela Huso, Tara Conkling, Daniel Dalthorp, Melanie J Davis, Heath Smith, Amy Fesnock-Parker, Todd E. KatznerLearning from real-world experience to understand renewable energy impacts to wildlife
The project team sought to use real-world data to understand adverse effects to wildlife of renewable energy production that is critical to meeting California’s climate and clean energy goals. The project had three main components. First, a systematic literature review studied 20 peer-reviewed publications and 612 reports from other nonreviewed sources from 231 wind and solar facilities in North AAuthorsTara J Conkling, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, Sharon Poessel, Scott R. Loss, Taber D Allison, James E. Diffendorfer, Adam E. Duerr, David M. Nelson, Julie L Yee, Todd E. KatznerAssessing 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. MillerApplication 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. Katzner - News