Impacts to Tricolored Bats From Wind Facilities

Presentation Description: A final listing decision for tricolored bats is expected by September 2024. It will likely result in the species’ protection in the US. This bats are known to occur in 39 states, including areas of current and future wind development. We will review public data to explain what is known about the impacts of wind energy to tricolored bats. These data come from Renew, a WEST database containing the results of more than 600 fatality monitoring studies throughout the country. We will summarize where tricolored bat fatalities have been reported and when they are most likely to occur. We will also discuss what is known about the impacts of white-nose syndrome and turbine curtailment on fatality rates. We will highlight the implications of these findings for geographic areas for which compliance with the Endangered Species Act is likely to be most impactful.