Criterion Wind

About the Program
Exelon Corporation's Criterion Power Partners (CPP) conserves 100 acres of land in Izaak Walton Forest in West Virginia as part of a mitigation strategy for CPP's 117-acre, 28-turbine wind facility in Garrett County, Maryland. CPP developed a habitat conservation plan for the federally endangered Indiana bat in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014 to implement and assess strategies for minimizing and mitigating harm to bat populations on the wind farm. CPP additionally entered a 20-year conservation agreement with the Mountaineer Chapter of the Izaak Walton League to continue protection of the forest, which is home to seven known species of bats including the Indiana bat.

Practices and Impacts

• The team visits the site each year to record any damage, graffiti, trash or signs of white-nose syndrome at the cave entrances. Otherwise, access is restricted during hibernation season, and the area is gated and and marked with educational signage to prevent disruption.
• The team works with partners to collect biennial surveys of the bat populations in the Izaak Walton Forest. Species observed include big brown bat, little brown bat, Indiana bat, eastern small footed bat, northern long-eared bat, tri-colored bat and Virginia big-eared bat.
• The team conducts annual vegetation surveys of the surrounding forest including trees, shrubs and ground cover and documents native plants and nonnative invasives.
• CPP continues to provide relevant monitoring data to USFWS and the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources.