Abstract
This document is Appendix L-2 from the Final Environmental Assessment LEEDCo Project Icebreaker Lake Erie, City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This first annual status report is being provided by Western EcoSystems Technology Inc. (WEST) to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ODNR and Icebreaker Windpower Inc. (IWP) dated July 12, 2017. The MOU sets forth the avian and bat monitoring protocols, reporting requirements and other commitments of the parties in regard to construction and operation of the Icebreaker Wind Project (Project), a 20.7 megawatt offshore wind demonstration project proposed 8 to 10 miles (mi) off the shore of Cleveland, Ohio. This first annual report covers all activities undertaken by the WEST team related to items described in the MOU and associated Monitoring Plan (MP) during 2017. It encompasses the activity reported in the first two quarterly reports, submitted in September and December of 2017 pursuant to the MOU, and additional activities undertaken during December, 2017 and January, 2018. The report includes a comprehensive summary of all MOU-specified activity on the Project by the WEST team that has occurred through early February, 2018. This report summarizes, but does not fully recapitulate all of the detail contained within the previously submitted quarterly reports. Activities covered in the current report include bat acoustic monitoring surveys, conducted between March and November, 2017, ongoing aerial waterfowl and waterbird surveys initiated in mid-October, 2017, and ongoing research, meetings, and deliberations aimed at finalizing several components of the MP that were contemplated in the MOU. These include collection of baseline data using surveillance radar, exploration into emerging technologies for collision fatality monitoring in the offshore environment, and the completion of an initial draft of the Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy (BBCS) which includes committed impact avoidance and minimization measures, as well as an adaptive management plan for the Project.