Compensatory Mitigation Webinar 1: Regulatory Landscape

Webinar 1 – Compensatory Mitigation: Regulatory Landscape

Wednesday, September 13th, 3:00PM – 4:00PM (EST)

The initial webinar focused on the regulatory mechanisms that determine requirements for compensation. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) both require compensatory mitigation for individual species if adverse impacts occur at wind energy facilities. Experts presented U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state-specific policies and regulations, including recent policy updates for compensatory mitigation under the ESA, that influence the implementation of compensation measures. Some examples of on-the-ground implementation were also provided, including one for California Condor.   

Moderator: 

• Dr. Shilo K. Felton (Senior Scientist and Wind Program Lead, Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute)
  • Shilo Felton is a Senior Scientist supporting REWI’s work in developing science, tools, and strategies for wind siting and operations that minimize impacts on wildlife and wildlife habitats. She has over ten years of experience in wildlife conservation science, working with USFWS, NPS, San Diego Zoo, Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife, MassAudubon, the Town of Harwich, and most recently with the National Audubon Society, providing scientific expertise toward its renewable energy engagement. Shilo served as a Climate Science Fellow for the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Center and as a Research Assistant for the USGS Cooperative Research Unit, where she led a project investigating the implications of management decisions for American Oystercatcher populations, in partnership with National Park Service. 

Speakers: 

• Shauna Everett (Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office)
  • Shauna is a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Oregon. She has worked on many aspects of the Endangered Species Act over the last 20 years, with current focus on Pacific Northwest forest management and ESA section 10 conservation programs. Related to mitigation, Shauna provides policy and technical assistance on environmental market programs throughout the region including conservation and wetland mitigation banks as a member of the Oregon IRT. Shauna has worked on several national policies, co-authored white papers and a book chapter on compensatory mitigation, and has taught national conservation banking training courses for over a decade. She holds an M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Oklahoma State University and a B.S in Zoology from the University of Arkansas. 

View Shauna’s Presentation

• Matthew Stuber (Pacific Region Eagle Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Birds)
  • Matt has worked on eagle management for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over a decade helping to craft regulation and policy under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Matt also provides technical assistance to applicants, permittees, and any other entities that have questions about minimizing the impacts of their activities, especially renewable energy activities, on eagles. 

View Matthew’s Presentation

• Peter Sanzenbacher (Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Mojave Desert Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office)
  • Peter is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist working in the southern California desert for the Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office. He has a Masters degree in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University and spent over a decade as a Senior Scientist with ABR, Inc., – Environmental Research and Services where he conducted wildlife studies throughout the United States for numerous agencies and industries, including the renewable energy sector. Since joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2016 Peter’s work has focused on recovery and regulatory activities for a diversity of listed species ranging from the desert tortoise to the California condor. Peter is also wicked proud that he was born and raised in Maine. 

View Peter’s Presentation

• Katrina Smith (Senior Environmental Scientist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife)
  • Katrina is a Senior Environmental Scientist supporting the implementation of the California Endangered Species Act, writing status reviews for terrestrial wildlife species petitioned for listing as threatened or endangered. She also leverages bat biology expertise to assist CDFW with other needs relevant to at-risk species, serving on a Technical Advisory Committee in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, as co-chair of the California Bat Working Group, and as a California representative of the Western Bat Working Group. She holds 12 years of federal and state government experience, a M.S. in Natural Resources: Wildlife from Humboldt State University, and a B.S. in Ecology and Environmental Biology from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.   

View Katrina’s Presentation