I wish I could write this story as a travel brochure for this gorgeous North American gem, but if the proposed prop-style wind farm is built here, right in the midst of migratory flyways and breeding grounds, there will be no reason to bring your birding glasses. Or your crab traps. ...Despite industry propaganda, bird mortality from such farms is alarmingly high, and worse, due to the placement of the farms, many of the casualties are endangered or protected species like Golden eagles.

Bats and wind turbines make a bad mix. In fact, bats have become an unexpected casualty in the burgeoning wind-power industry, with several thousand bats killed by turbines each year in North America. Now studies are being conducted at the future site of a Peace region wind farm in order to save bats from dropping dead near the whirling blades. ...Most of the wind-farm research has been focused on birds, and little is known about the effect on bats, although new studies are beginning to yield clues on how to minimize the impact of the wind farms on the tiny flying animals.

Following complaints from farmers, the U.S. Department of Energy is now planning its toughest environmental review of a proposed $120 million power transmission line between Great Falls and Lethbridge, Alberta.... Wind farm developers have said the line is critical to construction of their projects. To date, three companies have signed up to use capacity on the line to ship power from wind farms they're planning between Great Falls and the Canadian border.

Migratory birds and bats bludgeoned to death in flight. The movement of ungulates such as elk and threatened caribou disrupted. Wild wind-swept mountain tops -- the 'Beautiful' in B.C. -- despoiled by massive industrial infrastructure. Sound like green energy? These are among the concerns being raised over wind energy, even as the province's Environmental Assessment Office gives the green light to Dokie Wind Energy Inc. to build B.C.'s first wind farm near Chetwynd. "We still have concerns," confirmed Linda Sullivan, senior program officer for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, which has been working with B.C. officials. "Where there is wind, there are birds. There is a greater number of migratory birds in that particular area."

Alternative power is all the rage but even a magic bullet can draw blood. Dave Bidini visits Ontario's bucolic Wolfe Island, where an Alberta firm wants to build a $410-million wind farm, bigger than any now operating in Canada. Many residents are bitter - their home is a major stopover for species that migrate in the dark, 'when you can't see the birds getting chopped out of the sky'

Bats may never find wind farms as friendly as belfries, but a three-month study in northeast British Columbia is designed to make the power-generating turbines at least somewhat less deadly. Monitoring devices installed by AltaGas at the site of the proposed Bear Mountain Wind Farm have been recording data on the population and migratory routes of bats in the area since July. In later stages of development, the research is intended to help how the company can make its turbines to more bat-friendly.

The Quebec Environmental Public Hearing Board has rejected a $350-million wind power proposal from a Toronto company that wanted to build an expansive farm in the province’s northeastern region. The board, known by its French acronym, BAPE, gave the thumbs down to Skypower’s plans, which would include the construction of 114 windmills in four communities bordering the St Lawrence seaway, near Rivière-du-Loup. The board, which held several hearings on the project, concluded Thursday that the turbines would ruin a picturesque view, threaten the region’s natural and wildlife heritage and threaten the agricultural economy.

Baerwald, whose team checks for carcasses under turbines at the Summerview wind farm near Pincher Creek, Alta., every morning, says bats are one of the unforeseen casualties in the rush to harness wind power. Several thousand of the tiny flying mammals are killed by the turbines each year across North America, with some farms much more deadly than others. Industry officials say they are determined to reduce the death toll but concede it is not going to be easy since so little is known about the nocturnal creatures. ...The researchers dissected 75 corpses and report that 90 per cent died form internal hemorrhaging consistent with "barotrauma," tissue damage caused by rapid or excessive change in air pressure near the rotor blades.

New research shows that the study of bat mortality at wind turbines should be the primary ecological concern for developers. ...TransAlta has about 189 MW of wind farms operating in southern Alberta and another 162 MW under construction. By analyzing specimens found on one of TransAlta's farms, Robert Barclay, a biological sciences professor at the university, discovered that the vast majority of bats died not as a result of colliding into the turbines, but as a result of a sudden drop in air pressure in the airspace around the turbines - which destroys their lungs.

Two years after B.C. Premier Campbell announced a "historical land use agreement" that was intended to protect Canada's Great Bear Rainforest, it remains unlegislated. Although the land use agreement was supposed to establish new conservancy boundaries, new large scale industrial proposals are planned within these same areas-leaving the world renowned Great Bear Rainforest under threat once again. ...The Provincial Government and the Canadian Wildlife Service are conducting an environmental assessment for a massive wind farm, which will include a 150km high power transmission line that extends through four other Great Bear conservancies.

The 500 ducks that died in the Alberta oilsands pale in comparison to the thousands of birds killed by cats or by crashing into Toronto office towers or flying into windmills, says Conservative MP Brian Jean. ...At the committee, he questioned federal officials about "how do you balance" 500 ducks who died in an oilsands tailings pond with 6,000 killed annually on Toronto skyscrapers and 200,000 caught in wind turbines.

The need for proper setbacks in Chatham-Kent between wind turbines and homes and natural settings was voiced loudly Tuesday by Chatham businessman Harry Verhey. Verhey told Chatham Sunrise Rotary Club members - of which he is a member - that he isn't challenging the use of wind turbines, but is convinced there is an urgent need to determine setbacks that are right for the municipality. "The recent proliferation of industrial wind projects will have a negative impact on the community," he said. "The massive size of industrial wind turbines conflicts with the scale and character of the Chatham-Kent landscape." ...Verhey said ads run in local papers by the proponents of wind farms aren't enough - "for the most part the public is unaware of turbine developments and locations."

The County of Essex released a comprehensive report Wednesday that will guide the development of wind farms and other alternative energy projects in its seven municipalities and Pelee Island. The 191-page report by the Jones Consulting Group of Oakville calls for protection of residential areas, airports, tourist attractions, bird migration routes and nesting areas. It also calls on wind farms to avoid flood- prone areas and specialty crop lands . ...The specific impacts of a particular project on wildlife need to be assessed and ongoing monitoring done, Dougan's report said. "All development should proceed with caution."

When seals speak, Jack Terhune listens. The University of New Brunswick Saint John biology professor has travelled as far afield as the Antarctic to figure out exactly how the aquatic mammals communicate, and, once he's cracked that code, how noise from human activity is interfering with that. "Its not simply if there's noise, you'll have death and destruction," he says. "Just the amplitude of the noise may drive them out of the way and cause them to occupy a less optimal habitat." Terhune and other researchers worldwide are increasingly concerned about the effect of noise from offshore wind farms, increased Arctic shipping and seaside construction projects.

County council will be spending approximately $10,000 more on its wind power study but not all members were pleased with that stance. The extra $10,000 will assist in predominantly helping to further study the migration patterns of birds and bats to ensure they aren't impacted by proposed wind energy projects, an issue which arose during public meetings ...Amherstburg Mayor Wayne Hurst believed the money would be well spent. He believed that the county has to ensure they are doing as much as they can to make sure that due diligence is being met. Essex Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche believed "our research is too important not to spend the additional money." ..."These turbines will be here for years to come and site planning is extremely important. ..."We strongly believe buffer zones must be determined for the sensitive wildlife areas such as Point Pelee, Hillman Marsh and Holiday Beach. There are important long-term environmental and tourism impacts to consider for Essex County."

Local crab fishermen are concerned about the impact that the Naikun Wind Farm proposed for the Hecate Strait will have on their fishery, and want to hear more specifics from the company. “We only fish a fraction of Area A because the crab seem to like it where it is shallow. The Haida Energy Field is almost dead on the area that we crab…We have told Naikun that if they want to run towers in Hecate Strait then go for it, but don’t put it where the crabs are,” said Jeff Gould with the Area A Crab Association.

Nesting birds have developers Alberta Wind Energy Corporation back before the Municipal District's planning commission seeking to relocate three turbines on their proposed wind farm near the Oldman River Dam. Arthur Lee from the company says that a pair of nesting ferruginous hawks and prairie falcons have been spotted close to three of the proposed turbines. Alberta Sustainable Resources guidelines recommend that wind turbines are located at least 500 metres away from nest sites. As a result, Lee says that AWEC is looking for permission to relocate the turbines some 400 metres from their original sites.

Will wind energy farms with hundreds of turbine towers and blades reaching up more than 100 meters have an impact on this area's international reputation as a corridor for migrating birds and monarch butterflies? That could turn out to be the biggest question wind farm developers have to answer as they prepare to unveil local sites for their multimillion dollar projects.

Plans to build a wind turbine park for Digby Neck hit a snag this month when Nova Scotia's deputy minister of environment told an executive at Skypower Corp. in a letter that more information about the project is needed before an environmental assessment application is approved. Skypower Corp. of Toronto and Scotian Windfields of Dartmouth have jointly proposed a 30-megawatt wind farm on Digby Neck comprised of 20 wind turbines, each generating 1.5 megawatts of electricity.

A ban on wind energy projects within 200 metres of the Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River shoreline is among the many recommendations in the final draft of official plan changes proposed for the County of Essex. Bans would also protect national parks, conservation areas and a host of smaller natural areas, particularly those with endangered or threatened species. The recommendations by the Jones Consulting Group divide the county into four different management areas and requires that proponents show their wind farm proposals won't harm communities or the environment. New policies would protect "heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes." The visual impact of turbines, that could be 120 metres high, has to be weighed for the impact on scenic viewpoints and landscapes.