FSEC staff seeks approval for Horse Heaven post-construction bird and bat monitoring plan

FSEC staff reported that Horse Heaven Wind Farm LLC submitted a post-construction bird and bat fatality monitoring plan intended to satisfy a Wild-1 mitigation requirement in the site certification agreement. The plan would require monitoring for a minimum of three years, adaptive management strategies during sensitive migration periods and consultation with a technical advisory committee, FSEC staff and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife after each monitoring period.

The council asked whether legal or court actions might affect timing; staff said they could not predict legal timelines but reiterated that the monitoring plan and adaptive-management protocols were intended to provide near-term wildlife protections while the project operates. The council did not take an action vote during the meeting; staff requested any written follow-up questions be submitted to FSEC.