Commercial Wind Energy Development in the Northeast United States

Abstract:  Commercial wind energy development is expanding rapidly in the United States, and while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generally supports the development of clean and renewable energy technologies, wind energy facilities do have the potential to adversely affect wildlife and their supporting habitats.  This session will provide an overview of the Service’s regulatory authorities, discuss some of the wildlife issues specific to the northeast, and present some potential strategies for assessing and mitigating the risks of this emerging technology to federal “trust resources”.

Bio:

Keith Hastie is the Regional Energy Coordinator for the Northeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, headquartered in Hadley, Massachusetts.  In this capacity since 2008, he works with scientists and managers in the Service, other agencies, industry, and various stakeholder groups to understand and address the effects of energy development, primarily coal, natural gas, and wind, to fish and wildlife resources.  Prior to this, he served for ten years as a contaminants biologist in the Service’s Athens, Georgia, field office.  Keith has an MS in Environmental Science from Indiana University, Bloomington and a BS in Natural Resource Management from the University of West Florida.

 

 

Date: 
Thursday, March 15, 2012 - 12:30pm
Location: 
Kellogg Rm. E-Lab 2, UMass Amherst
Year: 
2012
Semester: