The Steuben County Industrial Development Agency (IDA), as lead agency in the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, is considering potential impacts from construction of 53 wind energy turbines which would generate approximately 79 megawatts of power. Turbine structures are anticipated to be approximately 389 feet tall from the ground to the highest blade tip. Structures such as a substation, 4.8 miles of buried cable, an unspecified amount of overhead transmission lines, and 3.4 miles of access roads must also be built in the 33,000 acre project area. This project is situated at the southern end of the Finger Lakes, near the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Hi Tor Wildlife Management Area, the Hi Tor Bird Conservation Area, and generally along a north-south oriented ridge.

Wildlife expert Dan Boone presented these slides at the 38th North American Symposium on Bat Research held in Scranton, PA in October 2008. Mr. Boone's presentation focused on the trade-offs of wind energy development in Eastern US balancing the benefits of this energy resource against the environmental risks, particularly to bats. Note that slides # 27, 32 and 33 of the presentation provide graphs which quantitatively estimate the potential impacts on bats and forest habitat resulting from the projected intensity of wind energy development within the eastern US states which comprise the bulk of the Appalachian mountain region. The summary slide from the presentation is listed below. The full presentation can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) sent two letters October 12, 2005 to David Perry, Executive Vice President of Chautauqua Windpower LLC, severely critical of the draft Avian Risk Assessment (ARA) completed by Chautauqua Windpower and its consultants for the proposed wind power development in the Towns of Ripley and Westfield, Chautauqua County, New York. The shorter of the two letters focuses on the ARA’s attention to migrating and resident American Bald Eagles; the longer of the two letters consists of a broader evaluation of the ARA and its attention to all resident and migrating birds. The pdf file below is a brief summary of the USFWS letters criticizing the risk assessment. The full text of the two USFWS letters is available via the link below.

This letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers details the deficiencies in Noble Environmental Power's application to build a 99-megawatt wind energy facility in Coos County, New Hampshire. The US Environmental Protection Agency makes a powerful case for why a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be undertaken in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

This letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers details the deficiencies in Noble Environmental Power's application to build a 99-megawatt wind energy facility in Coos County, New Hampshire. The US Fish and Wildlife Service makes a powerful case for why a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be undertaken in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

US Fish and Wildlife Service responded to Gamesa Energy USA in regard to whether an “Incidental take” permit could be granted for the Shaffer Mountain wind project proposed for Somerset County, PA. An “Incidental take” permit allows for the destruction of federally listed species. A subset of the letter is included on this page. The full letter, in PDF format, can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

This 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.

In this strongly worded letter sent to Heritage Sustainable Energy, the US Fish and Wildlife Service advises Heritage to table its plans to erect a commercial wind energy facility on the Garden Peninsula because of the high potential for avian mortalities and violations of Federal wildlife laws.

The attached pdf file contains a letter written by Steve Anschutz, Nebraska Field Supervisor of the USF&WS, to Rockford Plettner, Environmental Specialist Water/Natural Resources of Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The letter responds to a NPPD request for input regarding the possible construction of a wind farm south of Ainsworth, Brown County, Nebraska. The letter's comments are provided as technical assistance and predevelopment consultation....

Iberdrola has proposed a wind energy facility to be erected on national forest lands in the Green Mountain National Forest located in Vermont. The Forest Service released the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in September 2008. The full DEIS can be accessed at http://www.windaction.org/documents/17983. The US Fish and Wildlife Service submitted comments on the DEIS. These comments can be downloaded by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.