Searchlight Wind Energy Project Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy

Duke Energy Renewables and its subsidiary companies, including Searchlight Wind Energy LLC, are committed to siting, constructing, operating, and decommissioning their facilities in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. This environmental responsibility includes conserving and minimizing impacts to natural resources, including avian and bat species and the habitats they use. This Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy (BBCS) has been prepared according to Duke Energy Renewables programmatic approach and the USFWS wind energy land-based guidelines (USFWS 2012); and is considered to be a living document that will be updated periodically as new information becomes available and subsequent ―Tiers‖ as outlined in the Wind Energy Guidelines are completed. This approach allows new information on risk, monitoring, or adaptive management to be incorporated so that the BBCS is accurate and uses the best information for decision making.