Rapid expansion of wind turbines and oil and gas fracking infrastructure has raised concerns over impacts on wildlife, especially birds. I combine citizen-science data from the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count with registries of all the turbines and shale oil and gas wells constructed in the United States between 2000 and 2020 to quantify the effects of turbine or shale well construction on local bird populations and biodiversity. In my talk, I will review the current scientific evidence on environmental impacts of wind and oil and gas infrastructure, describe the data and methods I use in my study, explain my results, and discuss options for reducing impacts of energy infrastructure on wildlife.
Erik Katovich is an Assistant Professor of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a post-doc at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Prior to his P