Assessing the effects of onshore windfarms on aerial wildlife: an industry/CWS/academic consortium

该提案旨在获得基础设施和正在进行的研究费用，以启动对不列颠哥伦比亚省拟议风电场周围鸟类和蝙蝠运动的施工前和施工后研究。2006年，不列颠哥伦比亚省的第一个风能提案与BC Hydro签订了电力购买协议，并将于2009年投入运营。2007年，该省东北部地区的其他一些地点目前正在进行环境评估，以供批准。然而，不列颠哥伦比亚省独特的地形和动物群使得很难推断其他风力发电场对空中野生动物的影响，这可能会阻碍这种清洁能源的开发。该中心是UNBC，哥伦比亚大学和加拿大野生动物管理局（CWS）和行业合作伙伴的研究人员之间的合资企业，专注于开发技术和进行现场研究，以更好地了解空中野生动物（鸟类和蝙蝠）如何利用拟议风电场周围的空域和栖息地。这些信息将用于减少风电场直接（碰撞）和间接（栖息地丧失、物种从重要饲养区迁移、回避行为）影响的可能性。我们的目标是对受影响野生动物的运动行为进行详细分析，考虑到与景观和天气模式有关的迁移时间，距离和高度等因素。这将与详细研究拟议风电场地区作为觅食区、中途停留点和迁徙物种繁殖栖息地的重要性相结合。

The proposal is to gain infrastructure and ongoing research costs to initiate pre-construction and post-construction research on birds and bat movement around proposed wind farm sites in BC. In 2006, the first wind energy proposals in British Columbia secured power-purchase agreements with BC Hydro, and will be operational by 2009. In 2007, a number of additional sites in the northeastern region of the province are currently undertaking environmental assessments for approval. BC's unique topography and fauna, however, make extrapolation of the effects of other wind farms on aerial wildlife difficult, and this could impede developing this clean energy source. The Centre is a joint venture between researchers at UNBC, Acadia University, and the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and industry partners that focuses on developing technologies and conducting on-site research to better understand how aerial wildlife (birds and bats) utilize the airspace and habitat around proposed wind farm sites. This information will be used to reduce the potential for direct (collisions) and indirect (habitat loss, displacement of species from important feeding areas, avoidance behavior) impacts of wind farms. Our goal is to conduct detailed analysis of the movement behaviour of affected wildlife, considering factors such as migrational timing, distance and height of migrants in relation to both landscape and weather patterns. This will be combined with detailed study of the importance of proposed wind farm areas as foraging areas, stop-over points and breeding habitat for migratory species.