Building turbines in some of the best places to harvest wind in Ohio could put millions of birds and bats -- some protected by state and federal law -- at risk. That's why the state is asking companies to sign voluntary agreements to study the risk before and after wind farms are built. And if the companies follow the rules, neither Ohio nor the feds will shut down turbines, even if thousands of animals are killed. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources recently sent agreements to 10 developers, and hired a wildlife biologist last week to draft rules that the companies would have to follow to limit harm. ...The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said it expects to join in the state's voluntary agreement as well. "We would agree to work cooperatively with (companies) and not necessarily pursue court action if wildlife species are taken," said Megan Seymour, a wildlife biologist at the agency's Ohio field office.

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Impact on Wildlife Ohio

More than $1 million could be spent in the coming months pursuing offshore wind power in Lake Erie, even though the region just lost out on a bid to have East Toledo host the nation's first testing laboratory for offshore wind turbine blades. A $250,000 wildlife study, funded by a grant the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority obtained from U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), recently began along the western Lake Erie shoreline. The goal of that study is to get the region's clean energy and wildlife proponents on the same page over the risks posed to birds and bats. The next phase would involve putting two or three wind turbines along the western Lake Erie shoreline as early as the summer of 2008 to see just how lethal the devices might be. Sites have not been selected, but they likely would be between Toledo and Lorain, Ohio.

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General Zoning/Planning Ohio

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources opposes open lake wind turbines such as the ones that an energy task force has urged Cuyahoga County commissioners build on Lake Erie, a state wildlife biologist said. Mark Shieldcastle, who spoke to the Greater Akron Audubon Society on Tuesday night at the Sand Run Metro Park in Summit County, said it would be nearly impossible to monitor the mortality rates of migratory birds killed by open water turbines. “We’re trying to get land-based studies first,” said Shieldcastle, a wildlife biologist with the Crane Creek Wildlife Research Station between Sandusky and Toledo. “There are a lot more ramifications and challenges to look at the risks to birds in open water. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General Zoning/Planning Ohio

HURON, Ohio - Lake Erie could become the "Saudi Arabia of wind" power, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said yesterday. But no more wind turbines should be built along the lake shoreline until all potential impacts on wildlife have been studied in depth, Miss Kaptur added. The same goes for entertaining any proposals to install them in the open waters of the Great Lakes, she added

Impact on Birds Impact on Wildlife General Ohio

As wildlife advocates demand more studies of avian mortality from wind turbines, the federal government has blocked plans for several wind farms in Wisconsin and other parts of the Midwest on the grounds that the giant turbines could interfere with military radar.

Impact on Wildlife Safety General Ohio