www.windaction.org

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 [ Impact on Birds]

Wind farm’s effects on wildlife to be studied
March 19, 2013 by Bruce Erskine in Chronicle Herald

A proposed $15-million wind energy project in Pictou County can’t start spinning until the government gets more information on its potential impact on bats, birds and moose. Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau announced Tuesday that he needs more information about Watts Wind Energy Inc.’s McLellans Brook project.

Environmental Tribunal discusses acceptable kill rates of endangered bats
March 10, 2013 by Cheryl Anderson in Prince Island County Live

Dr Barclay had mentioned he did not agree with Ontario Bat Guidelines for Industrial Wind Turbine projects. When asked why, he answered that the allowable threshold of killing seven bats per year per turbine was inadequate. With the numbers of turbines growing exponentially in North America, the cumulative effects of such a high fatality rate, on top of the effects of white nose syndrome, will cause harm to the species at the population level.

Also filed under [ Impact on Bats]

Destructive wind
March 8, 2013 by Rick Conroy in Wellington Times

The MOE has already granted the developers of Ostrander Point the right to harm, harass and kill two endangered species-the Blanding's turtle and the whippoorwill. ...Now the MOE is being asked to look the other way as a developer industrializes the habitat of three endangered species.

Gilead project wind turbine appeal hearings begin
March 4, 2013 in County Live

"Gillespie's opening statement outlined the reasons for the PECFN appeal of the project approval. He noted Ostrander Point was recognized by local, provincial and national and international organizations as the worst site for wind turbines and that Ostrander Point is in the middle of the PEC South Shore Important Bird Area.

Also filed under [ Impact on Landscape]

Massive protest planned at Allen Gardens/Maple Leaf Gardens in Ontario, Jan 26
January 25, 2013 by Sherri Lange and Lorrie Gillis in Canada Free Press

Groups across Ontario are demanding that: Wind turbines that are offending must be removed, democracy must be returned, and an immediate moratorium must be placed on new projects, permitted and planned. Despite obvious and substantiated evidence that the Ministry knew of serious health complaints back to 2006, they continued to permit.

Also filed under [ Impact on People]

Natives protesting at wind turbine sites
January 16, 2013 by Monte Sonnenberg in Simcoe Reformer

As many as 30 natives in a convoy - some wearing traditional garb and waving native flags - interrupted work at several turbine and substation construction sites. ...Josie Hernandez, spokesperson for NextEra, confirmed that the protest was motivated in part by her company's removal of an eagle's nest near Fisherville two weeks ago.

Also filed under [ Impact on Landscape| Impact on People]

Ostrander Point decison to be appealed
January 4, 2013 by Rick Conroy in Wellington Times

If the Ministry bureaucrats-or the forces behind them-were hoping to catch residents, local government and other groups flat-footed, they failed. Council will decide later today whether it will take up the fight. Meanwhile, Prince Edward County Field Naturalists have stepped up to appeal the decision.

Also filed under [ Impact on People]

Approval of Ostrander Point is an outrage
December 23, 2012 by Garth Manning in County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy

Ostrander Point is Crown Land (owned by the people of Ontario) situated within the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area. Ontario allows wind turbines in IBAs; other countries such as Germany do not. The property, on a major bird and bat migration route and home to several endangered species, is arguably the worst location in the province for wind turbines.

Also filed under [ Impact on Landscape]

Nature Canada dismayed by decision to grant green light for Ostrander Point wind power facility
December 20, 2012 in Nature Canada

We strongly believe there are sound, science-based reasons for rejecting a wind power facility inside this Important Bird Area, and we intend to press for a reversal of this unfortunate decision during the current appeal period.

Also filed under [ Impact on Landscape]

Are birds and turbines on collision course?
October 10, 2012 by Paul Morden in Sarnia Observer

Commissioner Gord Miller's recent annual report says Ontario needs to be "smarter about where we place wind power facilities," adding there are shortcomings in the guidelines for evaluating and reducing turbines' harmful effects on birds, bats and their habitats.

Also filed under [ Impact on Birds]

Environmental commissioner blasts Ontario's avian mitigation efforts
October 3, 2012 in North American Windpower

Miller says there are "significant shortcomings" in Ontario's current siting guidelines that put birds and bats at risk. He notes that approximately 75% of documented bat fatalities at wind turbines in North America are migratory bats, yet the provincial guidelines lack any criteria for identifying and avoiding bat migratory stopover areas during the selection of wind power sites.

Report: Turbines hurt bird areas
October 2, 2012 by Bruce Bell in The Intelligencer

Gord Miller’s report said no new wind farms should be constructed in the province’s 70 designated Important Bird Areas (IBA). One of those IBAs is located on the south shore of the County. Miller said there are two areas in which the government needs to improve guidelines to enhance protection for both birds and bats.

Also filed under [ Impact on Birds]

Mainland moose get in the way of N.S. wind farm
August 14, 2012 by Joann Alberstat in Chronicle Herald

Shear Wind Inc., a Bedford wind developer, says it abandoned plans to seek provincial approval for a 50-megawatt project at Canaan Mountain, near Parrsboro, after government officials said a three-year moose-monitoring program would be needed.

Also filed under [ Impact on Landscape]

Bats & blades: More research needed on bat, wind farm fatalities
July 30, 2012 by Dan Haugen in Midwest Energy News

Laura Ellison is an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Fort Collins, Colorado, who has spent the last 20 years studying bats and other small mammals. Earlier this month she presented on the bat and wind farm issue at the North America Congress for Conservation Biology. "The newer, larger turbines seem to be worse for bats," Ellison said.

Also filed under [ Impact on Bats| USA]

New wind turbines could threaten migratory birds
April 27, 2012 in CBC News

"In an area where there could be hundreds of thousands of birds flying through in any one migrating period, this is a very bad place for wind turbines," said Waddell. "It really is a very important resting, feeding, just roosting spot."

Also filed under [ Impact on Birds]

Provincial Government works to disable environmental laws
April 17, 2012

New legislation hidden in the government’s Budget Bill 55 will allow the Minister to grant exemptions from existing provincial legislation protecting endangered species which prohibits anyone from harming, killing, or destroying the habitat of a threatened species.

Proposed Lake Ontario wind farm said to threaten wildlife
April 16, 2012 by Jennifer Kalish in EarthTechling

Members of Nature Canada worry that birds and bats will collide with turbine blades. They are also concerned that the development will fragment the unique wildlife habitat, threatening many endangered species such as the Whip-poor-will, Henslow's sparrow and the Rusty blackbird.

Wind project on Lake Ontario shore threatens endangered birds: Nature Canada
February 17, 2012 in The Canadian Press

The location of the project at Ostrander Point, on land owned by the province, is "one of the most significant sites for migrating birds in eastern Ontario," the national conservation group says. Every year tens of thousands of birds stop there.

Senate backs Runciman's call for wind-farm moratorium
November 30, 2011 by Office of Senator Bob Runciman

Senator Runciman noted that the region from the eastern tip of Wolfe Island to the western end of Prince Edward County is a crucial route for migratory birds and bats. He is concerned about plans for wind energy projects on Amherst Island west of Kingston and at Ostrander Point in Prince Edward County. Both projects are in the final stages of approval by the Ontario government.

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Impact on Wildlife and Canada