www.windaction.orgfacts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impactsWindactionhttp://www.windaction.org/articles/c36+98?theme=atomXarayar2006-06-12T02:16:27ZWind industry still awaits first eagle-take permit under BGEPA.382602013-05-03T10:47:34Z2013-05-03T10:47:34ZNAW has learned that West Butte Wind Power LLC has withdrawn its permit application enabling the developer to "take" golden eagles at a proposed wind project in central Oregon. ...the developer withdrew its take permit request in March due to the difficulty in finding a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project.Oregon wind farm may get OK to kill Golden Eagles; But only a few, and environmentalists aren't fighting.340132012-01-07T14:18:46Z2012-01-07T14:18:46ZNext fall, developers hope to break ground on a wind farm big enough to provide electricity for all of Central Oregon. But the whirring blades of wind turbines can kill the federally protected golden eagle --.and now a controversial proposal says that's okay, to a limited extent.Protecting sage grouse habitats .302312010-12-04T18:47:10Z2010-12-04T18:47:10ZA new map illustrating key sage grouse breeding habitat across the West is designed to help land managers make decisions about where to allow developments like wind power facilities or transmission lines, and where to focus conservation efforts.
"The goal now is to lend some consistency to the whole program, so that we can benefit the sage grouse and its habitat."
Council approves zoning for two wind turbines .302712010-12-02T04:08:40Z2010-12-02T04:08:40ZKaufman is editor of the Kaufman Field Guide Series, a series of books on birds and national history sold all over North America.
"I moved to this area from Arizona because the bird migration here is so spectacular. ...He said radar studies are needed to get a sense of bird movements before the turbines are installed.
Agency aims to protect eagles from wind farms.299142010-11-13T11:59:14Z2010-11-13T11:59:14ZExisting wind farms are being reviewed and pending projects are under scrutiny for their potential bird impacts, with four seeing particular attention.
The issue is the latest sign of increasing tension between wind development and rural concerns in Oregon.
Protected eagle halts Eastern Oregon wind farms.293292010-09-30T17:59:45Z2010-09-30T17:59:45ZLast week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that the Oregon Department of Energy allow wind turbines no closer than 6 miles to a golden eagle nest. The letter concerned the Summit Ridge wind farm in Wasco County, being developed by LotusWorks of Vancouver, Wash. Nest could nix wind plan; Wildlife Service asks for turbine-free nest area.274922010-09-24T18:49:49Z2010-09-24T18:49:49ZâThe service believes the project, including all turbines, transmission and roads, and associated facilities has the potential to result in injury and mortality of individual eagles and potential loss of nest sites over the life of the project,â wrote Nancy Gilbert, USFWS field supervisor, in the Sept. 20 report.Wind turbines killing thousands of birds in Northwest.282522010-07-13T22:03:46Z2010-07-13T22:03:46ZA recent study in Klickitat County, Washington indicates 6,500 birds and 3,000 bats are killed annually in the two states-though the number of deaths in the two states may be much higher. ...an untold number of birds are devoured by vultures or coyotes before they're included in the count.Green power collides with Endangered Species Act .226102009-08-10T11:14:36Z2009-08-10T11:14:36ZGreen power, green jobs, renewable energy collide with the Endangered Species Act in a proposed wind farm in Southwest Washington. The project calling for between 48-60 megawatts of power is proposed for 3,359 acres of Washington Department of Natural Resources land northwest of Naselle, Washington. ...The DNR has the power to stop the project if it deems the project endangers Murrelets.Wind farms' impact on sage grouse part of stimulus study.214102009-06-01T11:59:56Z2009-06-01T11:59:56ZThe Bureau of Land Management is using some stimulus money to study the effect of wind farms on a dwindling sage grouse population in Central Oregon.
BLM spokesman Michael Campbell said the agency hopes to lessen or eliminate any impact.
The agency would hire people to tag sage grouse in areas where wind farms are proposed and track the birds' movements to figure out where turbines could be located. Contracts have not yet been awarded.
Can wind-power project fly high in Central Oregon?.194832009-01-12T15:55:22Z2009-01-12T15:55:22ZBig plans east of Bend may come down to a small bird, the sage grouse. Central Oregon's first commercial wind farm could be up and running as soon as next year, unless it runs into environmental or other obstacles its backers cannot overcome.
The $220 million project would be built on private land 30 miles east of Bend. However, the project is facing some scrutiny over it's impact on the wildlife habitat.
Wind farm would be area's first; Proposed project facing scrutiny over sage grouse habitat.194452009-01-10T16:57:54Z2009-01-10T16:57:54ZA 10,000-acre ranch that stretches into both Crook and Deschutes counties could be the site for Central Oregon's first commercial wind farm. ...But some environmental and wildlife groups point out it could also further threaten sage grouse and harm other animals.
"Our point of view is we want to support renewable energy products. But just because it's renewable energy doesn't mean there aren't impacts," said Brent Fenty, executive director of the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association.
Group forming to battle windmill farm project.125012007-11-04T14:48:24Z2007-11-04T14:48:24ZThe wide open spaces and natural terrain and wildlife of Southeastern Washington are fading, and some residents would like the encroaching effects of urbanization toned down, such as a proposed project that would place 35 to 50 turbines on Rattlesnake Mountain.
More than 30 people showed up Saturday at the Richland Community Center for a meeting to oppose a proposed windmill farm at the base of the mountain. ...Rick Leaumont, chairman of the Audubon Society's conservation committee, agreed that urgency in protesting the project is necessary because about 238 bird species have been documented in the area, and would be effected by the windmills.
"Wildlife needs some kind of solitude, a place that is theirs," Leaumont said. "Any location on the mountain would be a problem."
Every kilowatt has its price; Wind farms may kill birds; wave energy needs study.124892007-11-03T23:02:35Z2007-11-03T23:02:35ZWind farms apparently aren't quite as harmless and "green" as promoters like to say. It appears they may present a threat to eagles and hawks, especially along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington.
This should be no great surprise. There is nothing that man can do that does not exact some sort of price on the rest of nature. The trick is finding the lowest price. ...But when it comes to birds, the price gets much steeper. It is feared that with hundreds or even thousands of these windmills close together, they could start exacting a heavy toll on large birds that live in those regions as their native habitat.
Wind Farms Blow Debate Into The Columbia Gorge.124412007-10-30T23:59:45Z2007-10-30T23:59:45ZA proposed wind farm on Seven Mile Hill near the tiny town of Mosier, Oregon is the centerpiece of the trouble that stems from development near a protected scenic area. The Cascade Wind Project, proposed by UPC Wind Partners, has thus far drawn serious opposition from not only residents of Mosier, but throughout the Gorge and beyond. The farm would be built just outside the Scenic Area boundary, and the 389-foot-high turbines of the 40 towers would be clearly visible from many areas in the Gorge, including Interstate 84 and McCall Point Trail.
"This proposal is a slap in the face of the protection rights that everybody in the Gorge has had to live up to for the past twenty years," says Mike Rockwell, a real estate agent who lives in Mosier. "It's simply not a wise location."Wind Turbines Are Threat To Habitat Of Local Birds, Studies Show.124352007-10-30T10:35:37Z2007-10-30T10:35:37ZBy December 2007, more than 1,500 turbines will be churning out electricity in the Columbia River Gorge. Scientists are also concerned that since the turbines are nearing along the ridge of the gorge, canyons and shrub-covered rangeland, the natural habitats of the birds could be at risk. ...Wildlife biologists in Oregon and Washington state say the turbines are taking toll on raptors and other birds and it may limit expansion of clean wind energy.
Wind farms generate bird worries; As more turbines churn in gorge, wildlife biologists fear blades threaten raptor numbers.124152007-10-29T11:14:19Z2007-10-29T11:14:19ZThe rapid expansion of wind energy farms in the Columbia River Gorge's shrub steppes could put hawks, eagles and other raptors on a collision course with fields of giant turbines and their 150-foot blades. ...Nationwide, collisions kill about 2.3 birds of all varieties per turbine per year, studies show. But birders say those numbers are meaningless because the totals make no distinction between abundant and rare species. Golden eagles and ferruginous hawks -- a threatened species in Washington -- already are few in number, said Michael Denny of the Blue Mountain Audubon Society, and even a few fatalities could prove devastating.
"We'll have certain species in sharp local decline," Denny said.
US FWS Comments on Summit Ridge Wind project.294202010-09-20T03:00:49Z2010-09-20T03:00:49ZThis important report prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bend Field Office was submitted to the Energy Facility Siting Officer of the Oregon Department of Energy in reference to the proposed Summit Ridge Wind project. The project to be located in Wasco County Oregon, will include up to 87 wind turbines for a total generating capacity of approximately 200 megawatts. While much of the project site is agricultural land used for dry land winter wheat production, the proposed facility would be built on land one to four miles west of the Deschutes River Canyon extending from river mile 7 on the north end of the project boundary to river mile 31 on the south end. The Service expresses its concern regarding short and long-term Project impacts to migratory birds including bald and golden eagles and bats. Golden eagles, large stick nests, and bald eagles were recently documented in the project vicinity.Double standard exists for energy companies.233402009-09-27T18:28:26Z2009-09-27T18:28:26ZSo why are wind companies not being prosecuted for killing birds? Rob Lee, now retired, was one of the Fish and Wildlife Service's lead law-enforcement investigators on the problem of bird kills in Western oil fields. Lee said that he doesn't expect to see any prosecutions because the wind industry is politically correct. This suggests a double standard. In protecting America's wildlife, federal law-enforcement officials are turning their backs on the harm done by "green" energy.Northwest wind power a threat to raptors.219192009-07-05T12:20:59Z2009-07-05T12:20:59ZIt is well known that raptors commonly fly at an altitude that puts them at particular risk for collision with wind power blades.
Proper siting was touted as the key to green wind power. So why is wind power being sited in an Audubon Important Bird Area, and why is that Important Bird Area slated for border to border wind power development? The answer is simple. Instead of proper planning, Northwest wind power is being allowed to develop wherever infrastructure is available and politicians are agreeable.