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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>November 19, 2008</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:navy'>Dear Friend:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>Without any state policy on wind turbines, the
Indiana Office of Energy & Defense Development award<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>ed</span></font> $24,250 to the Hammond Port Authority as
part of an $110,000 project to install two 115-foot wind<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'> turbines </span></font>at <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName> in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Hammond</st1:City></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>No public input, nothing. All the Hammond Port
Authority did was apply for the grant on September 19, 2008 and it was awarded
on October 9, 2008!<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'> </span></font>If the
state gets away with this, then no other wildlife area is sacred.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>While wind turbines are an excellent source of
alternat<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>ive</span></font> energy,
other states are first developing criteria for <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>wind turbines that include the best </span></font>placement <font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>for them</span></font>. <st1:State w:st="on">Wisconsin</st1:State>,
a <st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place> state, <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>with public involvement, </span></font>is drawing up
guidelines for wind turbines that recognize <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>and avoid </span></font>environmentally sensitive wildlife
areas such as migratory bird flyways.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=2
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Wolf</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></span></font></st1:place><font
size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>
is part of the tri-lake State Line/Calumet Region Important Bird Area, a
National Audubon Society program. The area was also the site of a Field Museum
BioBlitz in August 2002<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>. The BioBlitz</span></font>
included Eggers Woods Forest Preserve and Powderhorn Lake Forest Preserve that
neighbor Wolf Lake on the west side in Illinois<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>. It</span></font> connect<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>s</span></font> to the Lake Calumet Audubon Important Bird
Area. <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>T</span></font>hese <font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>green ways are </span></font>listed in <font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>various </span></font>bird guide books.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:blue'>This is the
official description:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><i><font size=2 color=blue
face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";
color:blue;font-style:italic'>State Line/Calumet Region (<st1:City w:st="on">Lake
County</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">IN</st1:State>): Located in the far
northwestern corner of <st1:State w:st="on">Indiana</st1:State> and bordered to
the immediate north by <st1:place w:st="on">Lake Michigan</st1:place>'s
shoreline, the State Line/Calumet Region Important Bird Area represents one of
the most significant ornithological phenomena and bird conservation issues in
the state. This region is regarded as one of the most important flyways
for migratory songbirds in the United States, with the shores and deep waters
of Lake Michigan acting as a funnel during spring and fall, thereby generating
intense concentrations of migrants within the small woodlots and other
greenspace remaining in the highly urbanized and industrialized Calumet
area. Three sites are particularly noteworthy within this IBA - the <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Hammond</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lakefront</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType> and Bird Sanctuary, <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">George</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>,
and Wolf Lake/Forsythe Park.<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:navy'>A</span></font><font
size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>
wind <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>turbine</span></font> will be
installed in two different areas of parkland next to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
in a working class urban area. <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName> is bi-state with half of the lake in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Chicago</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Illinois</st1:State></st1:place><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>, the William W. Powers Fish & Wildlife
Area.</span></font> The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Hammond</st1:City></st1:place>
half of the lake is now managed by the Hammond Port Authority. They took
control <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
</span></font>from the Hammond Parks Department without any public meetings.<font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'> The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Chicago</st1:City></st1:place>
half is </span></font>managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources<font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>.</span></font> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>The wind turbines will be built at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
so they can be seen by thousands of<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'> </span></font><st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Indiana Toll Road</st1:address></st1:Street>
riders, <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>as </span></font>the toll
road bisects <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>the</span></font> <font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>l</span></font>ake. More green washing
since the turbines will supply <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>only </span></font>10-kilowatts
to power a seldom-opened shelter at <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Forsythe</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType> and to light a sanitary district
pumping station, which drains runoff into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>. </span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>Any surplus energy from the wind turbines will be
sold to the NIPSCO grid. NIPSCO’s parent company is a corporate council
member of Chicago Wilderness, an organization that was established to protect
biodiversity in the <st1:place w:st="on">Great Lakes</st1:place> region. NIPSCO
should know better than to approve wind turbines at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
when there are many other places they could be installed without causing
confrontations with <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>bird</span></font>
lovers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>The Hammond Port Authority is notorious for its
global-warming developments such as the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Las
Vegas</st1:City></st1:place> style casino. The casino was once a riverboat
but now is a <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>multi-layered </span></font>big
box built on top of four barges inside the Hammond Marina. Shoreline parking
garages block the sky, huge windows reflect the water and stadium lights
pollute the night sky. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>At the south basin of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">George</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>,
once <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>a </span></font>prime wildlife
area, is a white elephant golf course where a <font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>new</span></font> <font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>massive
</span></font>environmentally unfriendly banquet hall is being built<font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'> despite the golf course operating in the
red</span></font>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New"'>It’s not clear if the wind turbines are in
addition to the Statue of Liberty the Port Authority is studying <font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>for </span></font><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Wolf</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.
It appears the Statue of Liberty and the wind turbine will be in the same
section of the park across from the “environmental center” at the
intersection of <st1:place w:st="on">Sheffield</st1:place> and Calumet Avenues.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Environmental organizations need to address this issue now
before wind turbines line up the lakefront<font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Carolyn Marsh<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Bird conservationist and founder of the Hammond Bird
Sanctuary<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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