The project today released the "Annual Report for the Maple Ridge Wind Power Project, Post-construction Bird and Bat Fatality Study - 2006" prepared by the consulting firm Curry and Kerlinger (May, 2007). The study concluded that "bird and bat fatalities found at the Maple Ridge turbines were within the range of fatalities found during late summer and fall migration at turbines in the United States."

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General New York

News of a recently released consultants' study that found 123 birds and 326 bats dead - during a five-month period last year beneath approximately 50 turbines on the Tug Hill Plateau - has him worried the impact may be even more severe on birds and bats than the study found. "It's not a good thing for avian life," Newhart said, adding he'd previously contacted Cornell University's ornithology department to check on impact turbines have. "I'm going to send this information out to Cornell to see if that engages them.

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Impact on Wildlife Impact on People General New York

While generating megawatts of electricity, windmills on the Tug Hill Plateau in northern New York are also killing hundreds of bats and birds, according to a recent study. The Adirondack Council repeated concerns that wind turbine parks have been proposed in a virtual ring around the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park, saying the threat to migratory birds needs to be better studied before towers are built. "It's hard to justify this kind of bird and bat slaughter for the amount of electricity we're generating here," council spokesman John Sheehan said.

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he Otsego County Board of Representatives recently endorsed a proposal by the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society to study the flight paths of golden eagles in the area. The Audubon Society wants to chart where these birds of prey fly to make sure that wind turbines are not erected in their paths, according to member Tom Salo, of Burlington. Federal money for this type of project has been sent to New York state, and the Audubon Society would like to apply for a state grant to do the work locally. More than 200 golden eagles, as well as many red-tail hawks, have been seen in the Franklin Mountain area, Salo said. "A significant portion of the golden eagle population migrates along the ridges,'' Salo said recently.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General New York

While daily bird kill may appear minimal, the cumulative effect over the next 20-25 years, the life span of towers, will be devastating to bird populations and their genetic pool.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General New York

Two Chautauqua County residents are the first dual recipients of the Nature Sanctuary Society of Western New York’s ‘‘Conservationist of the Year Award.’’ The presentation to Leonard DeFrancisco of Falconer and Gil Randell of Mayville was made at the society’s annual banquet in recognition of their work in preventing construction of a wind energy project across a major North American bird migration route. The two men are principals in the Ripley Hawk Watch project that has gathered considerable information for more than 20 years regarding the northward migration of birds, bats and some insect species along the ridges bordering the Lake Erie shore.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General New York

The nation's first offshore wind farm is being proposed for the waters off Orient Point, in hopes of powering 4,000 homes with alternative energy. But while local officials applaud the benefits of this new technology, some worry about its proposed location in the path of endangered migratory birds.

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"It's a difficult bird to study because it's distributed across a fragmented range of mountaintops which we sometimes refer to as 'sky islands.' We estimate the total population to be between 20,000 and 40,000 birds," Rimmer said. The bird's habitat faces potential threats from ski area development, communications tower construction, wind energy projects, acid rain, mercury and global warming.

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Thousands of birds nest around, or migrate through, the Lake Erie shoreline near Buffalo. Just how many of them would be killed by spinning windmill blades was the dominant concern at a meeting Thursday night on the area's potential to generate wind energy.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife New York

What this basically means, he said, is that a final project application and plan cannot be submitted to the Adirondack Park Agency until the research is done and the company knows exactly where windmills would need to go and why.

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This is where the Buffalo Harbor Development Commission, the Niagara Greenway Commission and Higgins' waterfront planning come into play. It is essential that the NRIBA designation is understood and addressed by all planning agencies and decisions. It is critical that the threats to the area are understood and addressed. Appropriate development that recognizes both the fragility of the area and the global conservation consequences related to its stewardship and development should become a baseline indicator from which all planning grows. Editor's Note: With at least five test towers already standing, wind developers in concert with local advocates are attempting to install hundreds of industrial wind turbines in the Niagara region. The threat to this fragile area is real. Both of the photos included in the text are available in the NWW photo library as Birdland on the Niagara 1 & 2.

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JOHNSBURG, N.Y. -- The views in the Adirondack mountains have inspired paintings, poetry, and songs for more than a century. Now, a debate over a proposed wind turbine project in the Adirondacks has divided conservationists over just how pristine those famous views should be.

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Impact on Views New York