Assessing Project Related Impacts to Migratory Birds

1. Assessing Project Related Impacts to Migratory Birds

2. The Fish and Wildlife Service has a mandate and a trust responsibility to maintain healthy bird populations for the benefit of the American people

3. Why Birds Birds are indicators of ecosystem health • Occupy a diverse range of niches • Cost effective to monitor and track large changes to natural system • Management for birds protect many taxa

4. Birds are important indicators of our environmental health

5. Birds are important to people • Pest control • Pollinators • Recreation • 48 million American “Birders” • $82 billion in total industry output

6. Steps to Assessing Project Effects Identify Action Pre-construction Assessments Risk Assessment Identify Conservation Measures Post-construction Assessments Reporting

7. Identify the Action • Project Activities • Area of Influence • Timeline

8. Pre-construction AssessmentsPreliminary Site Assessment • Broad scale evaluation – landscape scale • Look for site(s) with least environmental risk • Use existing public or readily available data to identify • Large blocks of intact/undisturbed habitat • Areas of high value to wildlife (e.g., Important Bird Areas) • Communicate early with appropriate Agencies

9. Pre-construction AssessmentsGoals • Identify Species within Area of Influence • Including temporal and spatial distribution and abundance • Identify type and quality of habitat within the project area • Identify project-related stressors

10. Pre-construction AssessmentsAssessment of Effects • Implement appropriate survey methodology • Includes appropriate technique and duration and intensity of surveys • Determine if MBTA, BGEPA, ESA applies • Informs the appropriate consultation to undertake

11. Group Discussion Decisions What is the biggest decision to be made during the pre-construction site assessment?

12. Risk Assessments • Evaluating potential effects resulting from project related stressors on the species and habitats identified during pre-construction assessments • Identify Direct and Indirect effects • Attempt to quantify: • Projected short- and long-term effects (direct and indirect) • Resulting effects from habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation

13. Direct Effects • An effect that occurs at the same time and place • Includes: mortality (take) and displacement • Examples: • Take of adults/nests during construction/habitat removal actions • Electrocutions & Collisions • Displacement due to habitat loss/disturbance EL Kershner

14. Indirect Effects • An effect that occurs later in time than the action • Can be hard to tease out from other perturbations • Examples to consider: • Fragmentation • Avoidance • Barriers • Lighting • Noise

15. Cumulative Effects • Renewable Energy Development • Communication Towers • Buildings/Structures • Cats • Other industries • Other land uses

16. Goal of Assessments AVOID, MINIMIZE, and COMPENSATE any effects of development

17. Identify Conservation Measures • Also called BMPs or Mitigation Measures • Can be general or species/activity specific • Implemented during pre-construction, construction, and operation phases

18. Avoidance – Project Siting • Use disturbed lands to maximum extent practicable • Minimize area of disturbance • Minimize fragmentation of intact habitat blocks • Avoid important migratory corridors or wintering areas • Avoid features that attract birds (e.g., wetlands)

19. Seasonal Avoidance Avoid disturbing activities during the nesting season • Nesting season varies by species and area • Contact local Migratory Birds Office or Ecological Services Field Office • Clear vegetation a year prior to construction If activities cannot avoid nesting season: • Provide justification • Survey project area prior to construction • Establish work avoidance buffers

20. Minimization - Project Design • Minimize lighting – motion sensors • Minimize noise effects • Minimize available perches and nesting structures that might attract birds • Avoid use of guy wires on towers & other structures or clearly mark lines

21. MinimizationWork Buffers • Distances will vary • Species tolerance • Habitat type • Work type (e.g., prolonged loud noise, short duration) • Work with FWS on appropriate distances • Avoidance buffer should be based on level of disturbance to a nesting bird • Flushing distance where bird remains off nest? • Biologist present during activities to ensure nest protection

22. Additional Measures • Prevent release of non-native plants • Minimize wildfire potential • Erosion Control • Minimize operational road traffic • Nest Management plan • Prepare HAZMAT plan • Use of APLIC Guidelines for overhead utilities

23. Compensation - Habitat Restoration • Minimize effects to bird habitat thru restoration • On-site restoration for temporary disturbances • Off-site restoration for permanent disturbances • Use tools such as Habitat Equivalency Analysis

24. Post-Construction Monitoring • Essential to validate pre-construction assessments • Generally, monitoring takes two forms • Fatality monitoring • Monitoring of other effects

25. Post-ConstructionFatality Monitoring • Conducted when risk of mortality is possible or uncertain • Evaluate all components of a project • Evaluate temporal and spatial patterns of mortality

26. Post-ConstructionMonitoring of Other Effects • Evaluating effects from habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation • Spatial and temporal distribution/abundance changes • Demographic effects resulting from alteration of habitat • Reduced survival, productivity, etc

27. Post-Construction Assessment • Compare pre- and post-construction data • Were pre-construction assessments accurate? • Did Conservation Measures Avoid or Minimize effects (Effectiveness Monitoring)? • Are there additional/new measures that could further reduce effects?

28. Reporting It is essential that project proponents report findings • Share non-proprietary data (species info) • Documented mortality • Conservation Measure effectiveness

29. Essential To Success • Adaptive Management • Flexible decision making process when faced with uncertainty • Allows adjustments as • information is gathered • Ideal for development • of conservation measures

30. Group Discussion Conservation Measures How should project proponents use Adaptive Management when implementing conservation measures?

31. Bird Conservation Plans • Negative impacts projected to birds and/or quality habitats • Uncertainty of project effects to birds and/or habitats • Project is sited in sensitive habitat or important bird use area • Presence of birds of conservation concern

32. Bird Conservation Plans Plans are a tool… • That provide an efficient mechanism for developers to document the decision making process • Outline steps taken to avoid, minimize, and compensate impacts • Demonstrates a developers “good faith” in striving to conserve birds