www.windaction.org

AP IMPACT: Wind farms get pass on eagle deaths
May 14, 2013 by Dina Cappiello in Huffington Post

"What it boils down to is this: If you electrocute an eagle, that is bad, but if you chop it to pieces, that is OK," said Tim Eicher, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement agent based in Cody, who helped prosecute the PacifiCorp power line case. By not enforcing the law, the administration provides little incentive for companies to build wind farms where there are fewer birds.

Also filed under [ USA]

Companies won't face charges in condor deaths
May 10, 2013 by Louis Sahagun in Los Angeles Times

In a decision swiftly condemned by conservationists and wildlife advocates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said operators of Terra-Gen Power's wind farm in the Tehachapi Mountains will not be prosecuted if their turbines accidentally kill a condor during the expected 30-year life span of the project.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants exceptions to a wind farm and a building project in harassing or killing the endangered birds.

Also filed under [ California]

Denmark: Eagle slaughter
May 5, 2013 in lokalavisen.dk

The slain young eagle was likely one of the six white-tailed eagles in a row, "said Pedersen, who follows bird migration in Skagen daily.

Also filed under [ Denmark]

Sage grouse need habitat and solitude
April 23, 2013 by Rocky Barker in Idaho Statesman

A new study led by a U.S. Geological Survey biologist reaches a simple conclusion: Do not disturb the sage grouse. Steve Knick's work shows that 99 percent of active leks, or breeding sites, are in areas with no more than 3 percent of the land disturbed by humans for uses such as roads, power lines, pipelines and communication towers.

Also filed under [ Idaho]

Eagle expert hired by wind industry locally pleads guilty to illegal Golden Eagle take and failing to file reports on birds he tracked
April 19, 2013 by Miriam Raftery in East County Magazine

"The lack of data is particularly troubling because it is just this sort of data from permit holders that permits the U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service to monitor the health of the eagle populations within the United States, the release notes. Despite lacking a permit, Bittner continued to capture and band 144 migratory birds in the region, including at least one female Golden Eagle.

Also filed under [ USA| California]

Wind farm won't buckle amid concern for birds
April 11, 2013 by Rebekah Kearn in Courthouse News Service

Center for Biological Diversity partnered with Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife to sue the Board of Supervisors in March 2012, claiming the impact report did not incorporate enough protections for endangered birds like the golden eagle and California condor. They also said the report did not consider a reasonable range of project alternatives, include enough mitigation measures, or adequately explain why the county rejected curtailment - shutting down turbines at certain times - as a way to reduce bird fatalities.

Also filed under [ California]

Eagle death at Nevada wind farm brings federal scrutiny
March 26, 2013 by Henry Brean in Las Vegas ReviewJournal

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting an investigation after a golden eagle was killed in late February at the Spring Valley Wind Farm, about 300 miles north of Las Vegas. ...the wind farm could face a fine of up to $200,000 because it does not hold a federal "take" permit that would allow the incidental death of a golden or bald eagle. Stafford said the matter is under investigation by the service's Office of Law Enforcement.

Also filed under [ Nevada]

Research documents Lesser Prairie Chickens
March 26, 2013 in Texas Tech University

"What people need to understand is that it's not just prairie chickens. It's really the inter-connectedness of these biotic communities," Boal said. "When we have indicators like a prairie chicken, and there's something going wrong, that's an indication of that biotic community as a whole. We need to think about, ‘what is the world we want to live in?'

Also filed under [ USA| Texas]

Anti-wind turbine group jumps to the defence of tundra swans and area rest stops they covet during migration
March 23, 2013 by John Miner in The London Free Press

"If we continue to allow industry to displace and destroy our habitat, we are really looking at an environmental disaster in the long run. It is not just the tundra swans, it is the geese, it is the eagles," said Muriel Allingham of the Middlesex Lambton Wind Action Group.

Also filed under [ Canada]

Eagle death prompts wind farm investigation
March 17, 2013 by Peter Gardett in AOL Energy

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the death of a golden eagle at a wind farm in Kern County, California, and is asking for local resident's help.

Also filed under [ USA| California]

Feds ask for help in wind turbine eagle deaths
March 13, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire

"Un-permitted take of eagles is the illegal take of eagles," Birchell said in the release. "We want power companies or any company involved in planning to build wind generation facilities in the Tehachapi range, where a significant golden eagle population exists, to contact the Service well in advance of construction and work with our biologists to develop conservation plans that will avoid take of eagles."

Also filed under [ USA| California]

Bald eagle toll a sticking point for Somerset County wind project
March 11, 2013 by Jeremy Cox in The Salisbury Times

Twenty bald eagles a year could be killed by the spinning blades a company wants to build in Somerset County to harness the power of wind for cheap energy, federal wildlife officials say. That's too much for Delmarva's eagle population to bear, said Sarah Nystrom, the Northeast region's bald and golden eagle coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Also filed under [ Maryland]

Eagles win reprieve as Minnesota PUC delays wind farm decision
March 1, 2013 by Josephine Marcotty in Star Tribune

PUC chair Beverly Heydinger listed several hurdles. It's not clear whether the project's new ownership changes its status as a community-based energy development ...New Era's contract with Xcel Energy to purchase power is in question, as is its construction timeline. Nor is it clear that it can build the project and abide by restrictions to protect eagles that could be required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Also filed under [ Minnesota]

Wind project kills eagle one month after startup
February 19, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire

North Sky River's developer NextEra and government agencies pushed forward with the project despite high wildlife mortality and the nearby Pine Tree wind project. The aim was to get North Sky River producing power by December 31 so that it could qualify for the federal Wind Production Tax Credit.

Also filed under [ California]

Leading Bird Group Wants New DOI Secretary To Review Possible Revised Rule Weakening Eagle Protections For Wind Industry
February 18, 2013 in American Bird Conservancy

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) called on the agency to suspend further consideration of a revised rule that would weaken protections provided to eagles pursuant to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, by allowing private companies to apply for an unprecedented 30-year permit to kill these iconic species.

Also filed under [ USA]

Industry works to avoid listing of prairie grouse
February 12, 2013 by Associated Press in The Daily Times

Oil, gas and wind energy producers are working to persuade federal wildlife officials not to enact protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a move that could force them to halt or significantly alter their operations to protect the species' dwindling grassland habitat.

Also filed under [ USA| Texas]

Birds at risk of collision in wind farms, says study
February 12, 2013 by Neha Madaan in The Times of India

Reduction in avian activity in the study area was noticed with the increase in the number of wind farms. Despite the small footprint of an individual wind turbine, the associated infrastructure development causes a wider habitat modification and destruction, resulting in a displacement effect for the birds," said Pande.

Also filed under [ Asia]

Potential whooping crane deaths demand EIS for North Dakota wind project, groups say
February 7, 2013 in The Chattanoogan

Seventy-six groups led by American Bird Conservancy (ABC), one of the nation's leading bird conservation organizations, have called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to fully analyze the environmental consequences of a proposed North Dakota wind farm to the endangered Whooping Crane. FWS is considering issuing the first-ever Incidental Take Permit (ITP) to a wind farm for the killing of endangered Whooping Cranes and threatened Piping Plovers.

Also filed under [ USA| North Dakota]

Energy industry awaits U.S. ruling on Prairie Chicken
January 13, 2013 by Kate Galbraith in New York Times

A major problem, biologists say, is that prairie chickens fear tall structures, where predators like hawks can perch and spot them. Wind turbines, transmission towers and drilling rigs are generally the tallest objects on the plains. The Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a hearing next month in Lubbock on the chicken's future, and the public can comment on the issue until March 11.

Also filed under [ USA]

Windfarm opponents angry at loss of birds of prey
December 22, 2012 in The Courier

Investigations suggest that both birds were fatally injured as a result of mid-air collisions with the turbine blades. A spokesman for the organisation said the deaths were "tragic" and would have an impact on the local breeding success of an already vulnerable species which is  "teetering on the brink of extinction".

Also filed under [ UK]

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Impact on Wildlife and Impact on Birds