VIA MULTI-SECTOR, TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION, AND IN CONSULTATION WITH WIND ENERGY STAKEHOLDERS, WE WILL DEVELOP A STRUCTURED FRAMEWORK FOR COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY ON WILDLIFE AND HABITATS, ACROSS A RANGE OF SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALES. THE PROJECT GOALS ARE FRAMED AROUND DEFINED MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION QUESTIONS AND AIM TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTS OF OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON WILDLIFE AND HABITATS, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE; TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS FOR THESE EFFECTS; TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN SHORT-AND LONG-TERM EFFECTS, AS WELL AS THEIR CUMULATIVE OR POPULATION-LEVEL RAMIFICATIONS; AND TO FURTHER DEVELOP AND VALIDATE METHODS FOR EXAMINING AND ASSESSING THESE EFFECTS. WE WILL DO THIS THROUGH STRATEGIC MONITORING AND INTEGRATED RESEARCH, SYNCHRONIZED WITH PLANNED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, THAT WILL ENABLE STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES AND WIND ENERGY DEVELOPERS TO INTEGRATE LOCAL-SCALE INFORMATION WITH EXISTING REGIONAL AND ECOSYSTEM-LEVEL SCIENTIFIC DATA TO INTER ALIA REDUCE UNCERTAINTY IN IMPACT ASSESSMENTS AT BOTH THE INDIVIDUAL AND POPULATION LEVELS.