M. DALE Strickland

• PhD, MS, BS
• CEO at Western EcoSystems Technology Inc.

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is experiencing range-wide population declines and was previously classified as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. While policies regulating anthropogenic development are important in the conservation of greater sage-grouse, additional programs to conserve and enhance gre...

Background/Question/Methods Wind energy represents a potential source of electricity that is renewable and non-fossil fuel based. In recent years, the growth of wind-energy capacity in the U.S. has been extremely rapid, increasing from 1,848 MW in 1998 to 31,109 MW in mid-2009. Over 27,000 MW of new wind energy generation capacity came on line wo...

The Platte River Endangered Species Partnership monitored whooping crane (Grus americana) habitat use along the Platte River between Chapman and Lexington, Nebraska during 11 migration seasons from 2001 to 2006. Daily aerial surveys took place in the morning from 21 March to 29 April in the spring and from 9 October to 10 November in the fall. Deco...

We introduce a Special Section of The Journal of Wildlife Management (JWM) that contains 9 papers describing in theory and in practice a wide range of applications of resource selection statistics, several of which have not been previously published. There is an intense interest in and widespread use of resource selection statistics in the study of...

We examined bat activity levels, species composition, and collision mortality at a large wind plant in southwest Minnesota from 15 June-15 September, 2001 and 2002. We found 151 bat casualties, most of which were hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus). We recorded 3,718 bat passes at bat foraging and roosting areas within 3.6 km of the wind plant (x̄ = 48/...

In 1994 a major wind power development project was initiated in southwest Minnesota that may eventually produce 425 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The wind plant currently consists of 3 phases that total 354 turbines capable of generating 236 MW. During a study conducted from 1996–1999 to assess effects of wind power development on wildlife, 184 ba...

Concepts.- Experimental Designs.- Sampling Strategies: Fundamentals.- Sampling Strategies: Applications.- Impact Assessment.- Inventory and Monitoring Studies.- A Practical Guide to Study Design.- Education in Design and Statistics for Students and Professionals.- Synthesis: Advances in Wildlife Research Design.

The goal of wildlife ecology research is to learn about wildlife populations and their use of habitats. The objective of this chapter is to provide a description of the fundamentals of sampling for wildlife and other ecological studies. We discuss a majority of sampling issues from the perspective of design-based observational studies where empiric...

In this chapter we apply the concepts developed previously in this book to the specific issue of determining the effects of environmental impacts on wildlife. Impact is a general term used to describe any change that perturbs the current system, whether it is planned or unplanned, human induced, or an act of nature. Thus, impacts include a 100-year...

We conduct wildlife studies in the pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, an understanding of what knowledge is and how it is acquired is foundational to wildlife science. Adequately addressing this topic is a daunting challenge for a single text because wildlife science is a synthetic discipline that encompasses aspects of a vast array of other academic...

We have now presented the philosophy and basic concepts of study design, experimental design, and sampling. These concepts provide the foundation for design and execution of studies. Once a general design is conceptualized, it needs to be applied. A conceptual study design, however, is not always an executable design. During the application of the...

There is a fear of statistics among the public, state and federal officials, and even among numerous scientists. The general feeling appears to be based on the convoluted manner in which “statistics” is presented in the media and by the cursory introduction to statistics that most people receive in college. Among the media, we often hear that “stat...

Our goal in this chapter is to provide guidance that will enhance the decisionmaking process throughout a given study. The often-stated axiom about “the best laid plans…” certainly applies to study design. The initial plan that any researcher, no matter how experienced, develops will undergo numerous changes throughout the duration of a study. As o...

This chapter covers the fundamentals of experimental design as applied to wildlife studies. Milliken and Johnson (1984) defined experimental design as the combination of a design structure, treatment structure, and the method of randomization. We discuss most of the common design and treatment structures currently used in wildlife science from the...

Inventory and monitoring are probably the most frequently conducted wildlife studies. Not only are they conducted in the pursuit of new knowledge (e.g., to describe the fauna or habitats [see Sect. 1.5 for definition of habitat and related terms] of a given area, or understand trends or changes of selected parameters), but also they are cornerstone...

In this chapter, we turn our attention to the concept of basic study design. We begin by discussing variable classification, focusing on the types of variables: explanatory, disturbing, controlling, and randomized. We then discuss how each of these variable types is integral to wildlife study design. We then detail the necessity of randomization an...

In this chapter, we first briefly summarize our ideas on how to improve the way we pursue wildlife field studies through study design. We hope that our ideas, developed through the pursuit of many types of studies conducted under many different logistic and funding constraints, will serve to continue the discussion on improving scientific knowledge...

Our purpose is to provide researchers, consultants, decision-makers, and other stakeholders with guidance to methods and metrics for investigating nocturnally active birds and bats in relation to utility-scale wind-energy development. The primary objectives of such studies are to 1) assess potential impacts on resident and migratory species, 2) qua...

At a time of growing concern over the rising costs and long-term environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy, wind energy has become an increasingly important sector of the electrical power industry, largely because it has been promoted as being emission-free and is supported by government subsidies and tax credits. However,...

We introduce a Special Section of The Journal of Wildlife Management (JWM) that contains 9 papers describing in theory and in practice a wide range of applications of resource selection statistics, several of which have not been previously published. There is an intense interest in and widespread use of resource selection statistics in the study of...

The primary objective of this study at the San Gorgonio Wind Resource Area was to estimate and compare bird utilization, fatality rates, and the risk index among factors including bird taxonomic groups, wind turbine and reference areas, wind turbine sizes and types, and geographic locations. The key questions addressed to meet this objective includ...

We examined bat activity levels, species composition, and collision mortality at a large wind plant in southwest Minnesota from 15 June-15 September, 2001 and 2002. We found 151 bat casualties, most of which were hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus). We recorded 3,718 bat passes at bat foraging and roosting areas within 3.6 km of the wind plant (x̄=48/de...

Observations of dead raptors at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area triggered concerns on the parts of regulatory agencies, environmental/conservation groups, wildlife resource agencies, and wind and electric utility industries about possible impacts to birds from wind energy development. Bird fatality rates observed at most wind projects are not...

To reduce the numbers of avian collisions with wind turbines, several measures have been employed with various levels of success. One hypothesis is that painting turbine blades to increase their visibility may reduce avian fatalities. This study examined the effects of painting wind turbine blades with UV-reflective paint on bird use and mortality...

In 1994 Xcel Energy initiated a wind-power development project in southwestern Minnesota that will eventually produce 425 megawatts (MW) of electricity. During our study the wind farm consisted of 3 phases of development totaling 354 turbines capable of generating 236 MW, depending on wind speed. We assessed effects of the wind farm on birds from 1...

Primarily due to concerns generated from observed raptor mortality at the Altamont Pass (CA) wind plant, one of the first commercial electricity generating wind plants in the U.S., new proposed wind projects both within and outside of California have received a great deal of scrutiny and environmental review. A large amount of baseline and operatio...

On 1 July 1997 the states of Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado and the U.S. Department of the Interior signed the "Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and Other Efforts Relating to Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River, Nebraska" (Cooperative Agreement). In the Cooperative Agreement, the four parties set forth a "Prop...

It has been estimated that from 100 million to well over 1 billion birds are killed annually in the United States due to collisions with human-made structures, including vehicles, buildings and windows, powerlines, communication towers, and wind turbines. Although wind energy is generally considered environmentally friendly (because it generates el...

Study designs will be study-specific. The feasibility of different study designs will be strongly influenced by characteristics of the different designs and by the available opportunities for applying the treatment (i.e., available treatment structures). Other, more practical considerations include characteristics of study subjects, study sites, th...

This report presents a literature review on avian-wind turbine interactions and the results of a one-year avian baseline study conducted in 1998 at the proposed Conservation and Renewable Energy System (CARES) wind development site in Klickitat County, Washington. Avian use of the site ranged from 1.11/survey in the winter to 5.69/survey in the spr...

Blood collected from song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) and American robins (Turdus migratorius) captured with mist nets in a lead-contaminated (assessment) area and nearby uncontaminated (reference) areas within the Coeur d'Alene Basin in northern Idaho was analyzed for δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity (ALAD) and hematocrit levels, and li...

Reductions in river flows associated with hydrologic changes from diversions may reduce water elevations and impact hydrology of riparian wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies currently do not have appropriate tools to evaluate effects of hydrologic changes on wetlands. We describe use of HEC-RAS modeling to predict...

This guidance document is a product of the Avian Subcommittee of the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC). The NWCC was formed to better understand and promote responsible, credible, and comparable avian/wind energy interaction studies. Bird mortality is a concern and wind power is a potential clean and green source of electricity, making st...

This paper defines and illustrates some statistical methods useful in assessing risk of avian collision with turbines and other potential windplant-related wildlife impacts. We use examples from monitoring studies we have developed for the SeaWest wind plant near Arlington, Wyoming (Johnson et al. 1998b), and the Buffalo Ridge Wind Plant near Lake...

We assessed river habitat selection of waterfowl wintering in the South Platte River below the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District treatment plant in Adams County, Colorado to determine potential impacts of proposed river channel modifications. Daily mean number of waterfowl was 711 per km of river over the study area, and 19 species of waterfowl...

The agencies responsible for the management of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) have formed an interagency organization called the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC). The Committee has developed guidelines for management of bears and bear habitat that are being applied in 4 of the 5 ecosystems where populations of bears still exist...

Sightings of Felis concolor reached highest densities in Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii forests and were correlated (albeit weakly) with mule deer Odocoileus hemionus and elk Cervus canadensis densities.-P.J.Jarvis