WindAction | Proposed Apex and EDF wind farms whooping crane habitat assessment

Proposed Apex and EDF wind farms whooping crane habitat assessment

Blair Wildlife Consulting - Jennifer Blair - April 10, 2020

Apex Clean Energy and EDF Renewables have each proposed large wind energy facilities to be situated in Clay County, Texas. The project locations fall squarely within the Whooping Crane migratory corridor and are recognized as stop-over habitat for the birds. Wildlife biologist, Jennifer Blair of Blair Wildlife Consulting, prepared this assessment of the likely impacts to Whooping Crane if the projects are constructed. The report also provides a useful summary of the extent to which wind energy development has been allowed to penetrate the limited migration corridor of Whooping Cranes. A short excerpt of the Blair report is provided below. The full report can be downloaded from this page.

Excerpt

The location of the proposed APEX & EDF wind farms occurs within one of the last remaining largely undeveloped areas within this portion of north central Texas. The construction of the wind turbines, access roads, and distribution and transmission lines, if built, would further reduce the already limited stopover habitats in this area or the migration corridor. Wind development would likely displace the migrating cranes that utilize this area, requiring them to continue further north in search of suitable stopover habitat (possibly to the stopover areas north of Oklahoma City), as wind developments have already been constructed within the 50% core migration corridor to the north, east, and west. Furthermore, there are at least an additional ten wind sites currently proposed between the stopover areas within the proposed APEX & EDF wind farm sites and Oklahoma City, that, if constructed, would interconnect with the existing wind facilities further extending the hazards already faced.