View the Full Meeting Agenda!
Meeting add-ons are public and available for in-person attendees to add during and/or after registration.
The WWRM agenda is crafted from the Call for Proposals and Call for Abstracts.
Loading…
Lunch and Learns
These REWI-led opportunities take place during the Networking Lunch and are included in Meeting registration costs. Join these exciting opportunities to learn about and inform REWI’s wind-wildlife work!
Post-construction data pooling & insights: Leveraging AWWIC collaboration for greater results | Wednesday, October 28
The recently released American Wind Wildlife Information Center (AWWIC) 3rd Edition Bat and Bird Technical Reports provide updated representations of species composition, timing, and magnitude of collisions with land-based wind energy turbines for bats and birds, respectively. The report authors will demonstrate how the reports can be used to address common questions about collision monitoring results and methods. They will also lead a discussion about the implications of the updated resources and how new and remaining questions can be addressed in future versions of the reports.
REWI Feedback Session: Assessing the value of research to affect wind-wildlife management outcomes | Thursday, October 29
The Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI) is formulating an updated research plan for its Wind-Wildlife Research Program. From February through September 2026, REWI held 21 listening sessions with various stakeholder groups interested in reducing the challenges to accelerating wind energy to mitigate climate change while conserving wildlife and ecosystems. Based on the challenges and solutions introduced by stakeholders during these listening sessions, REWI has drafted a list of priority research topics to tackle over the next several years. This lunch and learn will walk participants through this draft list of priority research topics and engage participants in a series of activities intended to assess the value of each research topic. Through these exercises, participants have the opportunity to inform the direction of REWI’s Wind-wildlife Research Program. Participants will also gain a better understanding from each other of the community’s perceived challenges in developing environmentally responsible wind energy projects as well as the benefits for developers, decision makers, and wildlife in addressing certain knowledge gaps.
Note: Participants should bring a device (laptop and/or mobile device) to complete a feedback assessment.
For those not attending the WWRM, there are two virtual feedback sessions. Click here to register for the virtual session on November 12, or click here to register for the virtual session on November 17.
Add-On Opportunities
Make the most of your in-person attendance by adding on workshops and/or field trips.
Already registered? You can add workshops and/or field trips on to existing registrations! Add on to yours clicking here, selecting “Already registered?” and entering your email and confirmation number to edit your registration.
Pre-Meeting Workshops
Workshops are externally coordinated events taking place at the WWRM venue on Tuesday, October 27. Workshops are only available for in-person attendees and can be added to your meeting registration for a flat fee of $50. All times listed are local (MT).
Risk minimization technologies and permitting: Scoping a pathway from commercial readiness to broad deployment | REWI 8:00AM-5:00PM
Organized by the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI)
8:00AM-5:00PM Tuesday, October 27
Technology solutions exist to minimize and monitor wildlife collisions with wind turbines, ranging in stages of development from conceptual to commercially available. However, Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI), National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) (National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at the time), and Consensus Building Institute (CBI) led a cross-stakeholder workshop in April 2022 that identified several barriers that impede broad application of available risk minimization and monitoring strategies within the current U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) regulatory framework. Workshop leaders recommended a national framework for evaluating, accepting, and implementing risk minimization technologies to promote conservation and reduce uncertainty. This workshop will launch the development of a multi-sector working group to flesh out the critical components of a framework. Through facilitated discussions and breakout sessions, participants will help chart a path forward for a working group to develop a national framework. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the challenges and help produce an outline for concrete next steps.
Study design for renewable energy research with conservation detection dog teams | WEST 8:00AM-12:00PM
Organized by Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. (WEST)
8:00AM-12:00PM Tuesday, October 27
WEST’s Detection Dog Practice Group will lead a workshop exploring the application of conservation detection dog teams (CDDTs) for the conservation and management of wildlife in the context of renewable energy research. Learn about the foundational techniques used for training and evaluating a CDDT. Participate in hands-on/demonstrated learning opportunities to better understand the differences between CDDT (olfactory-based) surveys and visual surveys. Gain knowledge to assess the suitability of CDDTs for meeting a project’s needs, as well as analytical methods for evaluating detection probability.
Operationalizing the use of thermal cameras for monitoring bat activity and developing smart curtailment strategies: Considerations for operators and wildlife agencies | WEST 1:00PM-5:00PM
Organized by Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. (WEST)
1:00PM-5:00PM Tuesday, October 27
Thermal cameras have been used for decades to answer research questions about how bats interact with wind turbines—but they are no longer just experimental, research-only tools. Improved performance and lower costs now make thermal cameras a practical, affordable way to monitor bat activity at wind turbines, with key advantages over acoustic detectors. Over the past five years, Western EcoSystems Technology (WEST) and Wildlife Imaging Systems (WIS) have used thermal cameras to monitor bats and develop smart-curtailment algorithms. In this workshop, we will share field-proven lessons from operational deployments. Attendees will learn about best practices for field deployment, study-design considerations, relative cost expectations, how thermal and acoustic monitoring differ, and where thermal cameras can add the most value to projects. Join us to learn how to use thermal camera data to move beyond traditional monitoring approaches and make more informed, actionable decisions.
Landscape intelligence on the plateau: Participatory windward stewardship for wind-raptor landscapes at Babbitt Ranches | Babbitt Ranches 3:00PM-5:00PM
Organized by Babbitt Ranches
3:00PM-5:00PM Tuesday, October 27
This workshop introduces “Windward Insight,” a participatory stewardship approach for wind-wildlife landscapes that pairs continuous, long-view ecological observation with active engagement among landowners, developers, government, NGOs, and researchers. Conventional approaches often rely on static assumptions and uniform setbacks and struggle to capture how raptors actually use dynamic plateau landscapes. Babbitt Ranches, Landsward Foundation, and regional partners will showcase Windward Insight developed through more than fifteen years of stewardship and through the creation and operation of the SP Crater Golden Eagle Conservation Complex and the broader CO Bar Complex spanning nine nest sites. The workshop will describe this history and focus on the current application of Windward Insight. Participants will explore core concepts including the “Landscape Intelligence Framework,” “Ecological Insight Zones (EIZs),” and “Future Impact Awareness Values (FIAVs).” This workshop will benefit wind developers, land managers, agency staff, NGOs, and researchers advancing participatory wind-wildlife stewardship grounded in long-term observation, analysis, and cross-sector collaboration. advertising and virtual meeting platform.
Post-Meeting Field Trips
Field trips are externally coordinated events taking place Friday, October 30. Field trips are only available for in-person attendees and can be added to your meeting registration for a flat fee of $75. All times listed are local (MT).
Please Note: Field trip time is subject to slight fluctuation. Please make any travel plans with this in mind.
High desert thrashers and bosque migrants | ECT 7:30AM-1:30PM
Organized by Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. (ECT)
7:30AM-1:30PM Friday, October 30
Explore Albuquerque’s high-desert scrub, grasslands and bosque habitats—the ribbon of towering cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande—on this guided birding field trip led by ECT’s bird experts. The Rinconada Canyon will offer an excellent introduction to the birds of Albuquerque’s West Mesa, particularly thrashers and sparrows, including the spectacular Crissal Thrasher, which occurs in Bernalillo County at the northern edge of its New Mexico range. The tour will then move into the preserved bosque habitat and riparian zone, one of the Southwest’s most vital migratory bird highways, where we will target fall migrants alongside resident species. Another main species target of the bosque will be Common Black Hawk. Expert-led discussion will cover why these habitats matter ecologically, what makes certain species vulnerable, and the impact of restoration efforts. High-powered spotting scopes will be provided for shared viewing throughout the trip, but participants are welcome to bring their own binoculars/visual aids. This is a hands-on opportunity to build field identification skills and deepen understanding of bird conservation in the desert Southwest and the importance of habitat diversity.
Please note: Field trip time is subject to slight fluctuation. Please make any travel plans with this in mind. Transportation and lunch will be provided.
Pattern Energy’s sandhill crane conservation in the Middle Rio Grande | Multiple Organizers 7:30AM-1:30PM
Organized by Pattern Energy, The Conservation Fund, GeoSystems Analysis, Inc., and the New Mexico Department of Wildlife
7:30AM-1:30 PM Friday, October 30
Take a trip along the Middle Rio Grande to learn how Pattern Energy developed a voluntary conservation and biodiversity mitigation project targeted at converting approximately 1,100 acres of farmland to wildlife habitat, including for sandhill cranes, as part of the SunZia Wind and Transmission Project. The tour begins at SunZia’s crossing of the Rio Grande, where Pattern is using thermal videography and satellite telemetry to monitor sandhill crane movement. Next, we will visit the New Mexico Department of Wildlife’s Bernardo Wildlife Management Area, part of the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Management Complex, where former agricultural lands have been converted into functional habitat. We will then travel south of Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge to Indian Hill Farms for a light field lunch and an overview of conversion efforts supporting bird populations, with a focus on sandhill cranes. This field trip highlights how site-specific conservation actions align with broader regional habitat needs within the Middle Rio Grande Valley (MRGV). Late October is an ideal time for birdwatching, as fall migration brings large numbers of cranes and other waterbirds that depend on wetlands, agricultural fields, and riparian areas, to the MRGV.
Please note: Field trip time is subject to slight fluctuation. Please make any travel plans with this in mind. Transportation, light snacks, and lunch will be provided.
Sign Up to Sponsor the WWRM
REWI is excited to announce new sponsorship opportunities in 2026 to tailor your organization’s Meeting support for maximum impact and visibility. Sponsorship opportunities start at just $1,000 and range from Item to full Meeting Sponsor Packages.
Loading…