Alternative Energy Draft EA - NASA Visitor Center at Wallops Flight ...

Affected Environment
The Saxis Wildlife Management Area and the Saxis Waterfowl Management Area and
Refuge, owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia, is located on the western side of the
eastern shore of Virginia, approximately 12.9 kilometers (8 miles) west of Wallops Island
on Pocomoke Sound.
The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve, which includes 14 of 18 islands along
the entire Virginia coast to the south of Wallops Island.
The CNWR units located approximately 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) northeast of Wallops
Island, on Assawoman Island, and within the Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge.
The Assateague National Seashore, which is located approximately 16.6 kilometers (10
miles) northeast of Wallops Island.
The Pocomoke State Forest in Maryland is located approximately 17.6 kilometers (11 miles)
northwest of Wallops Island.
Avian Study at Wallops Island, 2008–2009
NASA conducted an avian field pre-construction study between October 1, 2008, and October 1,
2009 (Appendix A). The overall objective of this study was to assess the potential risk to birds
from operation of the two proposed 2.0 MW wind turbines. 1 The specific objectives of the field
study were:
Perform a pre-construction inventory of resident avian species and habitat in the vicinity
of the proposed turbine sites.
Identify pre-construction migratory, nesting, and winter avian use (abundance and
behavior) of the project site, including use of migration stopover, resting, or feeding areas
in the vicinity of the development site.
Assess potential risk from wind turbine operation to avian species, primarily through
monitoring of avian fatality at existing tall structures on Wallops Island.
To specifically address these objectives, the field study included diurnal avian surveys and
fatality searches near existing towers in the general vicinity of the proposed wind turbines.
Searcher efficiency and carcass removal tests were also incorporated into the fatality surveys.
Radar surveillance was not a component of the avian study.
Methods
Avian Field Observations
The avian field observations included two components: 1) avian observations conducted once
per week at two point count locations (“Avian Survey Observation Points” on Figure 12)
throughout the 52-week study duration; and 2) avian observations for a period of 15 minutes at
least twice per week during migration seasons (September 1–October 31 and April 15–June 15)
at the same observation sites.
1 The potential risk to birds from the five proposed 2.4 kW wind turbines was not assessed as part of this study. See
Section 4.3.3 for a qualitative assessment.
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