In accordance with the project-specific Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy and Burrowing Owl Avoidance, Minimization, Mitigation, and Monitoring Plans, the San Diego Natural History Museum is assisting with post-construction annual bird and bat monitoring, and burrowing owl surveys for the Mount Signal 3 project, a 252-megawatt solar project in southern Imperial County.
Museum biologists are conducting mortality monitoring following standardized and resource-agency-approved sampling methods, and applying scientifically validated methods for calculating fatality rates, which will be adjusted for searcher efficiency, carcass removal rates, and proportion of area sampled. Burrowing owl survey methods are adhering to current accepted California Department of Fish and Wildlife protocols.
With in-house specialists, collection permits, and robust specimen collections for reference, museum staff are uniquely equipped to meet all species identification, documentation, and collection needs. Monitoring results will be provided to the Technical Advisory Group to inform adaptive management strategies and reduce future fatalities.
