Wind energy development represents significant challenges and opportunities in contemporary wildlife management. Such challenges include the large size and extensive placement of turbines that may represent potential hazards to birds and bats. However, the associated infrastructure required to support an array of turbines—such as roads and transmission lines—represents an even larger potential threat to wildlife than the turbines themselves because such infrastructure can result in extensive habitat fragmentation and can provide avenues for invasion by exotic species. There are numerous conceptual research opportunities that pertain to issues such as identifying the best and worst placement of sites for turbines that will minimize impacts on birds and bats. Unfortunately, to date very little research of this type has appeared in the peer‐reviewed scientific literature; much of it exists in the form of unpublished reports and other forms of gray literature. In this paper, we summarize what is known about the potential impacts of wind farms on wildlife and identify a 3‐part hierarchical approach to use the scientific method to assess these impacts. The Lower Gulf Coast (LGC) of Texas, USA, is a region currently identified as having a potentially negative impact on migratory birds and bats, with respect to wind farm development. This area is also a region of vast importance to wildlife from the standpoint of native diversity, nature tourism, and opportunities for recreational hunting. We thus use some of the emergent issues related to wind farm development in the LGC—such as siting turbines on cropland sites as opposed to on native rangelands—to illustrate the kinds of challenges and opportunities that wildlife managers must face as we balance our demand for sustainable energy with the need to conserve and sustain bird migration routes and corridors, native vertebrates, and the habitats that support them.

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The helicopter and net gun is a technique used to capture white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and is useful in a variety of habitat types and at various population densities with the ability to be highly selective. During capture, deer may sustain injuries or even die as a result of capture and handling, and may also be prone to capture myopathy. Therefore, our objectives were to determine 1) type and frequency of injuries sustained during the helicopter and net‐gun capture, and 2) the effects of capture on survival of radiocollared deer. We captured 3,350 white‐tailed deer from 1998 to 2005 using a net gun fired from a helicopter on 5 southern Texas, USA, ranches. Additionally, we captured 51 yearling males and 49 mature (≥4 yr of age) males and fitted them with radiocollars to monitor their survival. We recorded injuries and mortalities during capture and ranked the seriousness of injuries on a scale from 0 to 4. We recorded 281 injuries (8.4%) and as a result of capture, at least 206 deer had broken antlers (6.1%), 55 were injured (1.6%), and 20 were direct mortalities (0.6%). The most common antler injury was broken antler tines and the most common body injury was broken legs. Postcapture mortality rates were low (1%) for this capture method. Based on capture‐related injuries, mortalities, and postcapture survival, we found the helicopter and net gun to be a safe capture technique compared to other capture techniques, particularly when conditions are favorable.

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations in southwestern rangelands are influenced by precipitation; populations increase during relatively wet periods and decrease during drought. Understanding the demographic responses of bobwhites to fluctuations in precipitation might provide a basis for identifying mechanisms responsible for the phenomenon. We compared 10 population variables (bobwhite survival, nesting‐season length, nest success, hen success, percent hens nesting and renesting, nesting rate, percent juveniles in fall harvest sample (Nov‐Feb), clutch size, and egg hatchability) between a dry (Sep 2000–Aug 2001; 51 cm precipitation) and wet period (Sep 2002–Aug 2003; 93 cm precipitation) in Brooks County, Texas. We monitored radiomarked bob‐whites on 3 sites during the dry (n=263 bobwhites) and wet period (n=191 bobwhites) to obtain estimates of survival and reproductive effort. Bobwhite survival curves differed between the dry period (0.30±0.04; ŜS±SE, n=102 bobwhites) and wet period (0.60± 0.06; n=71 bobwhites; P ≤ 0.001) during fall‐winter (Sep‐Feb). A lower proportion of hens nested during the dry period (95% CI: 52.6±22.5 %; n=19 hens) compared to the wet period (100%; n=15 hens). Of hens that nested, the dry period exhibited a lower nesting rate (95% CI: 1.2±0.3 nests/hen) compared to the wet period (95% CI: 2.3±0.5 nests/hen). The dry period also experienced a shorter nesting season (69 days) compared to wet period (159 days). Lastly, percent juveniles (Nov‐Feb) was lower during the dry period (95% CI: 69.3±0.3 %; n=740 harvested bobwhites) compared to wet period (95% CI: 78.3±2.1%; n=1,415 harvested bobwhites). Our field study highlights 4 demographic variables (i.e., survival, percentage of hens nesting, nesting rate, and nesting‐season length) that warrant further research to identify causal factors responsible for the boom‐and‐bust phenomenon in bobwhites. Further, our data suggest that drought negatively impacts bobwhite reproductive effort such that harvest should be reduced or ceased during drought (e.g., <50 cm annual precipitation).