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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>BCNnet 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'>Here’s today’s press release from American Bird Conservancy
urging Congress to subsidize wind energy only if provisions protecting birds
and bats are included in the renewal legislation. Please tell your
Congressman or Congresswoman to support the legislation only if this provision is
included.<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><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Highland Park</span></font></st1:City><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>, <st1:State w:st="on">IL</st1:State></span></font></st1:place><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'><a href="mailto:donniebird@yahoo.com">donniebird@yahoo.com</a> <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><strong><b><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></strong></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=5 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:16.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Renewal of Tax Credits for Wind Energy Should Require
Protections for Birds and Bats<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></strong></p>
<p><b><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
font-weight:bold'>(<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place> – April 30, 2007) </span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Bird
protection measures must become mandatory for wind energy projects because
voluntary steps are being ignored by the wind energy industry says Dr. Michael
Fry of American Bird Conservancy in testimony before the House Subcommittee
Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans tomorrow.</span></font><font size=2><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><i><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
font-style:italic'>The hearing </span></font></i><font size=2 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>“Gone with the Wind: Impacts
of Wind Turbines on Birds and Bats” is <i><span style='font-style:italic'>scheduled
for 10:00 a.m. Tuesday May 1 and will be webcast live on the Committee’s
web site at <a href="http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/"
title="http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/">http://resourcescommittee.house.gov</a>.
A copy of Dr. Fry’s testimony is available at <a
href="http://www.abcbirds.org/policy_wind_testimony.htm"
title="http://www.abcbirds.org/policy_wind_testimony.htm">http://www.abcbirds.org/policy_wind_testimony.htm</a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>“Collaborative
efforts to successfully address the impacts of wind projects on birds and
wildlife have been a failure,” said Dr. Fry, who is a member of the
National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) comprised of representatives from
the utility, wind industry, environmental and government sectors.
“There has been much discussion and almost no real action on the part of
the wind industry to resolve bird collision issues.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The House Ways and Means Committee is currently
considering an extension of tax breaks for wind energy production. To keep the <span
class=hl>wind</span> industry growing, its advocates are aiming to push
Congress to extend a <span class=hl>tax</span> <span class=hl>credit</span>
worth 1.9 cents per kilowatt-hour that currently does not require any action on
behalf of the wind energy industry to mitigate its impacts on federally
protected migratory birds. The <span class=hl>credit</span> generally expires
and is renewed every two years.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>“Any
renewal of the production tax credit for wind energy should include provisions
that require developers follow best management practices in avoiding and
minimizing bird and wildlife impacts,” said Dr. Fry. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>According
to The Worldwatch Institute Report, “American <span class=hl>Energy</span>:
The Renewable Path to <span class=hl>Energy</span> Security,” in 2005,
the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
led the world in <span class=hl>wind</span> <span class=hl>energy</span>
installations. In the same year, <span class=hl>wind</span> farms were the
country’s second largest source of new generating capacity, after
natural gas-fired plants. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>But
according to the NWCC, this growing alternative energy source is killing
between 30,000 to 60,000 birds a year, including Golden Eagles, Red-tailed
Hawks, Burrowing Owls, Mourning Doves, bluebirds and over 50 species of
migratory songbirds. At the current mortality rate and growth rate of the
wind industry, by 2030 a projected 900,000 to 1.8 million birds would be killed
per year by wind turbines, unless protective measures are implemented.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>ABC
believes that with proper siting, operation, and monitoring, wind energy can
provide clean, renewable energy for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s future with minimal
impacts to birds and bats. Concerns have surfaced over the potential
threat to birds and bats from the construction and operation of wind energy
projects. ABC emphasizes that before approval and construction of new
wind energy projects proceeds, potential risks to birds and bats should be
evaluated through site analyses, including assessments of bird and bat
abundance, timing and magnitude of migration, and habitat use patterns. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Wind
energy project location, design, operation, and lighting should be carefully
evaluated to prevent, or at least minimize, bird and bat mortality and adverse
impacts through habitat fragmentation, disturbance, and site avoidance. For
example, wherever possible, wind power projects should be sited on areas with
poor habitat, such as agricultural lands rather than native prairie. Sites
requiring special scrutiny include sites that are frequented by federally
listed endangered species of birds and bats, in known bird migration pathways,
areas where birds are highly concentrated, and areas that have landscape
features known to attract large numbers of raptors.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=2
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Verdana;font-weight:
bold'># 30 #<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>ABC is the only 501(c)(3) organization that works solely
to conserve native wild birds and their habitats throughout the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Americas</st1:place></st1:country-region>. ABC
acts to safeguard the rarest bird species, restore habitats, and reduce
threats, while building capacity in the conservation movement. ABC is the voice
for birds, ensuring that they are adequately protected; that sufficient funding
is available for bird conservation; and that land is protected and properly
managed to maintain viable habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>ABC is a membership organization that is consistently
awarded a top, four-star rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.<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>
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