New York State
Environmental Technical Working Group
Side Meetings
State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy
Meetings will be taking place on Monday, July 15th, and during the afternoon of Thursday, July 18th. Side meetings are open to all workshop attendees, unless otherwise noted. Information including meeting summaries and registration links can be found below.
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Monday, July 15th
Workshop on Compensatory Mitigation for Offshore Wind
Organizers: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
Register for the meeting here
This workshop broadly pertains to compensatory mitigation requirements for endangered species of birds resulting from offshore wind development. Primary attention will be provided to Atlantic Wind Energy Areas where the only COPs have thus far been approved with compensatory mitigation requirements for birds. The workshop is targeted towards Federal agencies, Tribes, States, offshore wind developers, environmental market experts, environmental NGOs and other interested parties.
Meeting Description: Link | Time: 9 am- 5 pm | Room: Stony Brook Union
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Thursday, July 18th
Untangling the Marine Food Web: Bridging Knowledge Gaps to Better Understand Forage Taxa in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
Organizers: Rutgers University
Register for the meeting here
The meeting will feature three presentations on forage taxa (zooplankton, invertebrates and forage fish) followed by three breakout groups to discuss the knowledge gaps and research priorities for each. All diverse experts and stakeholders (fishermen, industry, management, academics) are invited to join the discussion.
Meeting Description: Link | Time: 1:30 pm-3:30 pm | Room: SAC 302
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Floating Offshore Wind Technology, Fisheries Interactions, Limitations, and Opportunities for a Path Forward
Organizers: Tetra Tech
Register for the meeting here
The side meeting will be broken into two sessions with the goal of putting the engineers, federal agencies, environmental experts, and a west coast developer in the same room as the stakeholders and fishermen that depend on these waters. Sessions will present the engineering constraints that determine OSW structures and give stakeholders the opportunity to discuss how best to engage with the environmental community. This dialogue allows the engineers to ask the audience what to consider for coexistence.
Meeting Description: Link | Time: 1:30 pm-4:30 pm | Room: SAC 303
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Collison Risk Modelling Working Group
Organizers: Biodiversity Research Institute, The Biodiversity Consultancy, USFWS
Register for the meeting here (for either virtual or in-person attendance)
Avian collisions are currently seen as a key consenting risk for offshore wind farms, putting in jeopardy efforts to mitigate climate change through reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Collision risk is typically assessed prior to the construction of a wind farm using a Collision Risk Model (CRM). However, there is substantial uncertainty surrounding the inputs to these models and the accuracy of their predictions. A global CRM working group was formed at the 2023 Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts (CWW) with the goal of sharing information about avian collision risk models (CRMs) amongst practitioners and developing best practices and approaches for uses of CRMs. The first meeting of this CRM Expert Working Group will be held at the 2024 State of the Science. As part of this meeting, the working group will formalize the group’s goals, identify potential funding sources, and begin to develop terms of reference and immediate action items identified during the CWW workshop, such as a decision tree to help practitioners determine when and where different types of CRMs might be usefully implemented.
Meeting Description: Link | Time: 1:30 pm-5:30 pm | Room: SAC 306
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​Offshore Wind and Wildlife Technology - Mini TechSurge
Register for the meeting here
Organizers: The Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind
This meeting will consist of 1) a mini tech surge in the form of a roundtable discussion with short presentations and moderated questions with goals to: facilitate collaboration; drive innovation in offshore wind technology​; and Generate Actionable Technology Recommendations and 2) a tech cafe, taking place during the State of the Science poster session which will include desktop demonstrations showcasing a range of tools and technologies offered by both technology service providers and others.
Meeting Description: Link | Agenda: Link | Length: Mini TechSurge - 1:30-5:30 PM; Tech Cafe- 5:30-8:30 PM | Room: Ballroom B
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**Please note the following meetings are closed to the public. If you are attending one of these meetings and have questions please reach out to the organizers directly.**
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Project WOW External Advisory Board Meeting
Organizers: Duke University, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
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Surfclam Stock Enhancement: Who, What, When, and Where Next?
Organizers: Responsible Offshore Science Alliance
Photo credits: Banner offshore wind farm © Nicholas Doherty;