Landscape Classification System

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Landscape Classification System Environmental
Macro-Siting GIS

• Mark Lotts
• James Madison University Office of the Virginia
  Wind Energy Collaborative

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Virginia Wind Resource Map
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VWEC Environmental Working Group

• Participating Organizations- TNC, VSO, Scenic VA,
  VA Forest Watch, Sierra Club, VIMS, VWC others.
• Participating Agencies- DCR, DEQ, USFS, VMRC,
  VOF, VA Game Fish.
• Convened April 2003, operating within VWEC.
• Focus on GIS and Land Classification System only.
• GIS data and accompanying paper for public
  consumption April 2005.
• Truly cooperative venture, spirit of grassroots
  coalition building educational. (No budget, all
  volunteer.)
• VWEC principals have provided assistance when
  requested, but the principals have not influenced
  our deliberations or conclusions.

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Virginia Wind Resource Map
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Objectives

• To incorporate environmental factors into the
  macro-site selection process, in order to
  minimize environmental impacts from utility-scale
  wind development.
• To increase awareness of real and potential
  adverse environmental impacts for areas with
  Class 3 and above wind resources.
• To highlight areas and topics for which regional
  and site-specific assessments are needed to
  understand the actual adverse environmental
  effects of utility-scale wind project development.

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Use Conflict Descriptions

• Legal/Regulatory
• Environmental
• Aesthetic

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Unsuitable - Mapped

• The category Unsuitable Mapped is defined as
  areas of known geographic extent that are
  unsuitable for utility-scale wind development due
  to adverse impacts to biological and/or
  recreational resources, or to a direct conflict
  with legal mandates regarding the management of
  the site.

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Unsuitable - Mapped

• National Park Service Appalachian National
  Scenic Trail and 5-mile buffer zone
• National Park Service Blue Ridge Parkway
• National Park Service Shenandoah National Park
  (SNP)
• U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Areas
• U.S. Forest Service National Scenic Areas
• U.S. Forest Service Special Biologic Areas
  (SBAs)
• U.S. Forest Service Inventoried Roadless Areas
  (IRAs)
• U.S. Forest Service Research Natural Areas
  (RNAs)
• U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Study Areas
• U.S. Forest Service Inventoried Old Growth
  Forest
• Virginia Department of Conservation Recreation,
  Division of Natural Heritage State Parks and
  Natural Area Preserves
• Virginia Outdoor Foundation (VOF) Easements
• U.S. Fish Wildlife Service National Wildlife
  Refuges
• The Nature Conservancy Preserves
• Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

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Unsuitable Mapped Western Ridges
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Unsuitable Mapped - Coastal
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Flagged (Grey areas)Potentially Significant
Use Conflict

• This category is defined as those areas known to
  support Sensitive Resources or those areas
  necessitating formal Administrative Review that
  will require the developer to consult with the
  appropriate State and/or Federal agency and
  conduct a site assessment.

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Flagged (Grey areas)Potentially Significant
Use Conflict

• National Park Service Appalachian National
  Scenic Trail and 5 to 10-mile buffer zone
• The Nature Conservancy Ecoregional Portfolio
  Sites
• Virginia Department of Conservation Recreation,
  Division of Natural Heritage Heritage Sites
• U.S. Forest Service Candidate Wilderness Areas
• U.S. Forest Service Uninventoried Roadless
  Areas
• U.S. Forest Service Remaining National Forest
  Lands
• Virginia Department of Game Inland Fisheries
  Wildlife Management Areas
• Virginia Department of Game Inland Fisheries
  Cold Water Streams Survey Trout Habitat
• Virginia Department of Forestry State Forests

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Flagged Western Ridges
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Flagged - Coastal
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Virginia State Cooperation Commission CodeVWEC
begins to address

• Natural Heritage, TE Species (DCR)
• Scenic Resources (AT, Blue Ridge Pkwy)
• Recreation, Forest Resources, Parks (USFS, DCR)

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Contact

• Mark Lotts
• James Madison University Office of the Virginia
  Wind Energy Collaborative
• http//vwec.cisat.jmu.edu
• [phone]
• lottsme_at_jmu.edu