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and Veilleux 2007). A number of bats species are known, or at least suspected, to be in decline across the U.S. (Racey and Entwistle 2003, Winhold and Kura 2005) at the same time that wind energy devel- opments are increasing (Kunz et al. 2007). Until very recently, U.S. wind turbines have mostly been land -based (USFWS 2003). The wildlife and habitat impacts from off -shore wind turbines differ from those of terrestrial turbines. There are two types of offshore wind turbines: bottom - mounted (installed on or in the seafloor) and floating (Deese and Schmitt 2010). Most existing offshore turbines are bottom - mounted in waters less than 50 feet deep, although a few have been placed in waters that are 150 feet deep. Although the specific impacts on wildlife and habitat will depend on the type and number of turbines, installation on the sea floor and increased ship traffic due to shifts in navigable waters have the potential to interfere with animal behav- ior, communication, physiology, and increase colli- sion risk (Nedwell et al. 2003). However, long -term research on the impacts of offshore wind on wildlife is limited, even from European countries (Sweden, Denmark, and Norway) that have more than ten offshore wind projects in operation (USFWS 2003). Recently published research on the impacts of offshore wind on marine habitat suggests that turbine founda- tions may function as artificial reefs and provide crit- ical habitat for local fish and crabs, and it may even be possible to increase or decrease the abundance of various species by altering the structural design of the foundation (Wilhelmsson 2009). However, the inefficiency of mortality surveys for carcasses at sea or onshore can make measuring the impact of offshore wind turbines on shorebirds, seabirds, and marine mammals more challenging (USFWS 2003). Recent developments in using high definition imag- ery technology for carcass surveys may improve our understanding of the impacts of offshore wind ener- gy on seabirds and marine mammals (Thaxter and Burton 2009). The potential for significant offshore turbine impacts on birds and mammals suggests that Photo: Cooper's Hawk, Alex 2heoharides, 2009 considerable research and monitoring will be needed (USFWS 2003). One of the biggest challenges in understanding the potential impact of turbines on wildlife is that the scale of wind production to date has been relatively small. As the demand for alternative energy increas- es, newly developed facilities with larger turbines may initiate or contribute to the decline of sensitive wildlife (USFWS 2003). However, each individual wind project poses a unique set of circumstances and should be evaluated on its own merits (Audu- bon 2010). Careful evaluation of proposed facilities will be essential to minimizing wildlife mortality and avoiding incompatible land uses. Significant wind potential exists in some of North Carolinas most sensitive biological regions. In the Southern Blue Ridge Ecoregion, for example, some of the highest areas of wind potential in the state ( "outstanding" and "superb ") overlap with, or are adjacent to, high priority biodiversity areas (Figure 4 -9). These areas will not only be sensitive to the construction and placement of the turbines them- selves, but once built, wind turbines may also signifi- cantly affect some of the critical species in greatest conservation need (SGCN) that migrate through or breed in these areas.