The New Mexico Wind & Wildlife Collaborative (NMWWC) is an informal collaborative effort between the renewable energy industry and the conservation community to constructively and proactively address wildlife resource concerns related to renewable energy development in New Mexico.

We believe that renewable energy development is appropriate and desired in New Mexico. However, we also acknowledge that with any development there may be issues related to wildlife and the conservation of our natural resources. The NMWWC has developed reasonable Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have been agreed upon by participating members from industry, agencies, landowners, academics and the conservation community. These Best Management Practices are intended to help guide the placement of renewable energy development facilities and the transmission of that energy so wildlife resource concerns may be avoided, minimized or mitigated.

Learn more about the NMWWC and how this tool was developed...

Downloads

On this page you will find a list of recommended files to download for further study and analysis.

Selected Priority Resource Concerns

Click on the following links to download the zip file for each priority resource concern you selected. The zip files contain the PDF of the Best Management Practices document as well as the preamble and user guide. For the resources that had a map on the previous page, the map and supporting GIS shapefiles are also included.

The use of these BMPs is voluntary; they are not legally binding or regulatory in nature. The BMPs are not themselves law; prospective project developers must comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

Background Partners in states throughout the Southern Great Plains worked together to develop a science-based site selection and mitigation framework that describes avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation actions appropriate to a range of environmental impacts that have a nexus with renewable energy development. The collaborative organization working in each state reached consensus on a set of species and ecosystems/habitats that may be impacted by wind development and drafted best conservation practices for them. Final determinations on species and habitats to include in the framework were made based on the scientific merits of the nexus between renewable energy and the species or ecosystems of concern.