New York State
Environmental Technical Working Group
Specialist Committees
Frequently Asked Questions: Wildlife & Offshore Wind
Background and Goals
In 2023, the Environmental Technical Working Group (E-TWG) for the State of New York recognized a need to develop communications materials to aid in the dissemination of scientifically accurate, readily understandable information related to the impacts and interactions of offshore wind development with marine wildlife along the U.S. Atlantic coast. To address this need, two Specialist Committees focused on whales (2023-present) and birds (2024-present) were formed to develop responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) as a resource for stakeholders who communicate directly with the general public and receive questions related to wildlife and offshore wind. The E-TWG's FAQ resources are intended to provide scientifically accurate answers, in varying levels of detail, to address common questions. End users should feel free to use or adapt the information in FAQ resources as they see fit.​​​​
FAQ Development Process
FAQ responses are developed using a multi-stage review process with input from E-TWG scientific support staff, Specialist Committee members, external experts in relevant fields, and the E-TWG (Figure 1). These Specialist Committees include representatives from environmental nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, state agencies, and offshore wind energy developers, and receives scientific technical support from the Biodiversity Research Institute. External reviewers of Committee products encompass scientific experts on relevant topics. Note: FAQ resources may include technical information that is not appropriate for a general audience. The Committees aim to create scientifically accurate resources, but users may still need to help translating content for specific audiences. A Glossary of Terms is available for each FAQ document to aid in this process.
FAQ Document Structure
FAQ documents group topics into broad themes and provide responses to specific questions in multiple levels of detail:
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1) Key takeaways summarized in bulleted format,
2) Broad Answers: Brief paragraph responses with additional details or context, when necessary, and
3) Detailed Answers: Extended responses with associated citations to formal, peer-reviewed sources and grey literature aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and relevant context when appropriate.
In many cases, FAQ responses have a “For More Information” section referring readers to other materials targeting a general audience, including web pages, videos, and popular media. The documents also provide a glossary of key and/or technical terms to support stakeholder content sharing with general audiences, as well as a list of all references cited.
Photo credits: Offshore windfarm © Chuyuss - shutterstock;