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<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>BCN</span></font></st1:PersonName><font size=4><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'> friends:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>In the current issue of Bird Calls, the newsletter of the Bird
Conservation Alliance, there were 2 articles that I thought would interest
local bird conservationists. Both deal with the overall theme of our
future energy needs. I believe you’ll find them of interest.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Donnie Dann<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Highland Park/Lake County<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>donniebird@yahoo.com</span></font></st1:PersonName><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p><a name=mountaintop></a><strong><b><font size=2 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Organizations
Call for Halt to Devastating Mountaintop Mining Proposal</span></font></b></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>In
June, 60 organizations, including many members of the Bird Conservation Alliance,
signed onto a letter opposing a massive mountaintop removal-valley fill coal
mine in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">West Virginia</st1:place></st1:State>.
ABC coordinated the effort in collaboration with the Appalachian Center for the
Environment, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and others. The letter
requested that the Army Corps of Engineers deny a Clean Water Act permit
application for the proposed Spruce No. 1 mine near Blair, WV. The operation
would allow the destruction of 2,278 acres of mostly mature deciduous forest,
and the filling in of nearly six miles of stream valley with removed rock and
soil. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Mountaintop
removal-valley fill coal mining is perhaps the most shocking land abuse
occurring in the country today. The process involves removing the tops of
mountains and dumping them into surrounding valleys. Mountaintop removal mining
operations are predicted to destroy 380,000 acres of forest and degrade
riparian habitat along more than 2,200 miles of streams by 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>The
effects on a wide array of aquatic and terrestrial organisms and water quality
are devastating, as are the impacts on an entire suite of priority birds,
including the Louisiana Waterthrush, Yellow-throated Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher,
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Worm-eating</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Kentucky</st1:State></st1:place>, and Cerulean Warblers. Some 80% of
the global population of the Cerulean Warbler breeds within the Appalachian
region that is subject to mountaintop removal coal mining activities. Over
137,000 breeding Ceruleans are likely to be impacted by these coal operations
over the next decade. This mine alone is predicted to result in a loss of
breeding territory for more than 800 birds.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Although
the Army Corps of Engineers has been known to rubber-stamp such applications in
the past, there is a glimmer of hope following a recent decision. Under
pressure from a federal court suit, and facing a hearing to justify issuance of
four permits for new or expanded mountaintop removal activities, the Corps
announced the suspension of all four permits and blocked further operations at
the mines. This calls into question plans for other large operations, including
the Spruce No. 1 mine. Contact: Gerald Winegrad, <gwwabc@comcast.net>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><a name=editorial></a><em><b><i><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:bold'>Bird Calls
Editorial by ABC’s Dr. <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Michael Fry</st1:PersonName></span></font></i></b></em><b><span
style='font-weight:bold'><br>
<strong><b><font face=Verdana><span style='font-family:Verdana'>Wind Power:
Working Toward Bird-Friendly Green Energy </span></font></b></strong></span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>ABC
believes that wind energy is a valuable, non-polluting, renewable power source,
capable of reducing our reliance on fossil-fuel burning power-plants that
damage the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and other
environmental hazards. Wind farms, however, kill birds and bats, thereby
raising concerns of a different kind. We all want clean, renewable energy, but
we cannot sacrifice large numbers of birds and still consider wind power
“green.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>But
how many dead birds is too many dead birds? Can we accept the loss of any birds
as a fair price of business? One answer may lie in mitigation. As well as
making every effort to minimize bird kills, every wind farm operator must be
prepared to mitigate for any birds that are unavoidably killed in turbine
collisions. The largest and most contentious wind farm in the country, at <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Altamont</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Pass</st1:PlaceType>
in central <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>,
may ironically prove to be a good example of a bird-friendly solution. <st1:place
w:st="on">Altamont</st1:place>’s 7,000 turbines have killed thousands of
raptors over the past 36 years, including an estimated 1,000 Golden Eagles.
Political pressure forced FWS to turn a blind eye to this illegal killing, but
environmental groups sued in 2003 to stop the mortality or shut down the farm.
The California Attorney General stepped in to negotiate a settlement with one
operator that may set a precedent in other similar cases. <st1:place w:st="on">Buena
Vista</st1:place> will not only remove the oldest and most dangerous turbines,
install newer, more bird-friendly machines in safer areas, and shut down
turbines for part of the year if kills continue, but they have also agreed to
compensate for bird kills by purchasing conservation easements that protect and
enhance raptor populations disturbed by the ongoing projects.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>In
2006, Congress acted to provide tax incentives to create additional wind farms,
and the industry is on a rapid expansion track. New projects are under intense
scrutiny by the environmental community, particularly those proposed for
sensitive areas. But as fast as we can build wind farms, our energy consumption
is increasing. What this means is that even if every planned wind farm is built
on schedule, we will still not be able to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel
and nuclear power plants. Ultimately, consumption reduction is the key to
halting our ‘energy crisis’ and global warming fears.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>In
spite of federal funding and tax incentives, wind development on land and in
coastal waters is regulated at the state level, with major variations in protection
of birds and habitats. <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:State>,
for example, has an aggressive program to build wind farms in highly sensitive
coastal bird habitats with little or no environmental review and no monitoring
of potential impacts after construction. Federal oversight is needed to ensure
that strong protection is afforded everywhere. To that end, ABC applauds the
2005 Energy Bill which gives the Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulatory
authority over all offshore wind projects, including sites off the Texas coast
and the “Cape Wind” project off Cape Cod—all contentious
locations for proposed wind farms. MMS has proven to be a strict regulator of
the offshore oil and gas industry, and we believe they will do a good job of
evaluating, monitoring, and mitigating offshore wind projects that have
potential, adverse impacts.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Despite
the fast pace of development of wind power and its great potential to provide
green energy, we must not be in a hurry to get it wrong. Continued close
collaboration with industry and strong federal regulation that uses tax breaks
for doing the right thing and meaningful fines for doing the wrong thing will
be the carrot and stick approach that will ensure the next fifty years are
positive for birds at wind farms.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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