Article Author:
Associated Press
Matthew Brown
Cody, Wyoming (AP) — The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change has led to some of the most spectacular wind farms in the western United States. is in conflict with saving one of the . A predator - the golden eagle - as the species teeters on the brink of decline.
The epicenter of the conflict is Wyoming, home to soaring golden eagles with seven-foot (2-meter) wings and a favored site for wind farms. As wind turbines proliferate, scientists say crash deaths could, at best, reduce golden eagle numbers, which are thought to be stable.
But climate change looms as a potentially greater threat. An analysis by the National Audubon Society predicts that rising temperatures will reduce the breeding range of golden eagles by more than 40% in the second half of this century.
Golden eagles are therefore doubly vulnerable to a changing climate and wind energy being promoted as a solution to a warming world.
"Wyoming has some of the best golden eagle populations, but that doesn't mean it's not endangered," says the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyoming. Conservation Officer Brian Bedrosian said. “As wind power development increases across the United States, the risk increases.”
Turbine blades hundreds of feet long are one of the myriad threats to golden eagles, which are They are routinely shot, poisoned with lead, run over by cars, and electrocuted on power lines.
The tenuous status of the golden eagle contrasts with the conservation success of the bald eagle, a bird whose numbers have quadrupled since 2009. About 40,000 golden eagles require much greater range to survive and tend to get into trouble with humans.
Federal officials will reduce turbine deaths while avoiding slowing the growth of wind power as an alternative to carbon-emitting fossil fuels, a key part of President Joe Biden's climate policy. I've been trying
In April, a Florida-based utility ruled in federal court in Wyoming to protect wildlife after its wind turbines killed more than 100 of his golden eagles in eight states. pleaded guilty to criminal offences. This is his third time in his decade that a major wind farm company has been convicted of killing an eagle.
Despite the death toll, scientists like Bedrosyan say more turbines are needed to combat climate change. He and his colleague Charles Preston are finding ways wind companies can reduce or offset eagle deaths. For example, building buildings in areas less frequently visited by birds, improving habitat elsewhere, or modifying telephone poles to make them less dangerous when eagles land.
"We're taking payments from Peter to Paul, but I think this is the start and the way to go," said Preston. "It's a social issue. Is there room for them and us? Not just for the Golden Eagle. They're like a window into the big picture."
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Hanging from a rope 30 feet (9 meters) above the ground and a canvas bag around his neck, Bedrosyan turned his back to a golden eagle's nest on a cliff ledge. Northwest Wyoming. As an adult eagle circled in the distance, scientists awkwardly grabbed a young one in the nest, slid a leather hood over its head, and placed the bird in a bag.
Six-week-old birds were unloaded and carefully extracted by Preston. Tie ties around his feet as a precaution against nails longer than an inch.
"The important thing is to remember to cut the zip ties afterwards," Bedrosyan said.
The eagle stepped on the scale — about 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms). Bedrosian took blood from the wing to test for lead exposure, and Preston attached numbered metal bands to each leg to identify whether the eagle had been recaptured or found dead. Fixed.
Golden eagles do not mate until they are about five years old and produce about one chick every two years, so the death of an adult eagle has a huge impact on the population, Bedrosian said. Stated.
According to federal estimates, illegal shooting is the leading cause of death, killing about 700 golden eagles each year. Collisions with cars, wind turbines and power lines kill more than 600 people each year. About 500 people are electrocuted and over 400 are poisoned each year.
"Wind mortality was unthinkable for golden eagles 10 years ago," Bedrosyan said. "I don't want to pick the wind alone. …But that's the additive nature of all these things, some are on the rise. Vehicle strikes are on the rise. Climate change is on the rise. The wind is strong.
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Federal officials to reveal number of eagles reportedly killed at wind farms as classified law enforcement information there is no. A recent criminal indictment against a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, one of his largest renewable energy providers in the US, provided a glimpse of the extent of the problem.
The company pleaded guilty to three counts of his violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and at least he had to pay over $8 million in fines and damages after killing 150 eagles. was ordered. , California, New Mexico, North Dakota, Colorado, Michigan, Arizona, Illinois.
Government officials said the mortality rate was likely high as some turbines killed multiple eagles and carcasses were not always found. .
Prosecutors said the company's failure to take steps to protect the eagles or to obtain a permit to kill the birds gave it an edge over competitors who took such steps. said that he could stand Tax credit for wind power.
The company remained defiant after the plea bargain. NextEra President Rebecca Kujawa said bird-turbine collisions were inevitable accidents and should not be criminalized.
Utilities Duke Energy and Pacificcorp previously pleaded guilty to similar charges in Wyoming. North Carolina-based Duke Energy has been fined $1 million after two of his wind projects for the company killed 14 golden eagles and her 149 birds in 2013. He was sentenced to compensation and five years of probation.
A year later, Oregon-based PacifiCorp reported that 38 golden eagle carcasses and 336 other protected birds were found at his two sites. He was fined $2.5 million and sentenced to five years' probation.
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According to US Geological Survey data, the number of wind turbines nationwide has more than doubled over the past decade to nearly 72,000. Montana, California, Washington, Oregon.
In a recent study, USGS scientists found that if wind energy is expected to increase by 2040, the golden eagle population could nearly halve in 10 years due to increased turbine-related mortality. concluded that it could decrease to
However, the fact that the population as a whole has not declined in recent years suggests uncertainty in projections. Lead author Jay Diffendorfer said:
Federal wildlife authorities are urging wind farm companies to enroll in a licensing program that allows them to kill eagles if the deaths are offset.
Companies with a permit can pay utility bills to retrofit poles, so they can be spaced far enough apart for eagles to be easily electrocuted. Typically, for every 11 poles he modifies, he avoids one eagle death per year.
Last year, 34 permits were issued across the country, allowing companies to 'capture' her 170 golden eagles. That means many birds can be killed by turbines or lost due to impacts on nests and habitats.
Companies are responsible for avoiding at least one eagle death elsewhere for each loss. Brian Milsap, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's eagle program, says using conservative estimates of overestimating potential deaths could even mean benefits for eagles in the long run.
"It sounds vulgar, but it's realistic. Eagles will be killed accidentally at wind farms," he said. "We need to reduce other things that enable wind energy development."
Agency officials would not disclose which companies have permits. A review of public records in the Associated Press indicates that they are mostly wind farms.
Federal authorities collect golden eagle mortality data through an online reporting system used by government agencies, businesses, scientists, tribes and private groups.
Fish and Wildlife Service officials declined to release the data because it could be used in future law enforcement cases.
Bedrosian and Preston's census nest is about 60 miles (96 km) from the nearest wind farm. It's his 114 turbines that Pacificcorp began operating near the Wyoming-Montana border about two years ago.
On-site personnel can scan the sky with binoculars for eagles and turn off turbines if birds approach.
"Golden eagles tend to be more abundant in prairie areas where the wind blows the best," said Travis Brown, a biologist at Pacific Corp."It's like a race for wind resources because birds use wind resources for locomotion."
10 PacifiCorp wind farms allow accidental killing of eagles The company said it has obtained permits and has two more applications pending.
Company representatives declined to disclose how many eagles had died under federal authorization. They say Pacificcorp is building a "bank" of modified utility poles to offset eagle deaths and wants to try new approaches, such as painting turbine blades to make them more visible and easier to avoid. I was.
"We work as hard as we can to proactively avoid and minimize [deaths], and those we can't do are mitigated on the back end," said Brown. I was.
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The Health Sciences Division of the Associated Press is supported by the Science Education Division of Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.