“They’re going to more than double the (wind) capacity and in doing that, the impacts on wildlife, particularly golden eagles, are going to be exponentially going up,” Lockhart said.įish and Wildlife Service officials said they are working to avoid such a scenario by working with companies to reduce bird deaths. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist said during a March 28 meeting with eagle researchers, wind energy companies and government officials, according to meeting minutes. In Wyoming alone, anticipated wind energy projects could kill as many as 800 to 1,000 golden eagles, a U.S. But Lockhart said turbines continue to go up in areas frequented by golden eagles, and the cumulative impacts could be disastrous for the birds. The biologist said it was killed about two months after a wind farm in 2021 started operating about a mile from the nest.Īt some wind farms, companies have relocated turbines or reduced their numbers to minimize deaths. Turbines have killed at least six golden eagles Lockhart had previously trapped and tagged for research, including a male that bred successfully in five out of six years. Migrating golden eagles routinely soar through the sage brush flats that define the region, where hundreds of wind turbines have gone up over the past 15 years. Since retiring from the wildlife service, Lockhart has continued researching wind turbine impacts on golden eagles under a government contract in central Wyoming. Numerous permits allow the killing of bald eagles with no compensation required.Ī pending proposal from the Biden administration would further streamline permits - making them automatic in some cases as they allow wind-energy projects and power line networks to harm eagles and disturb their nests. Some permits include direct payments for dead eagles - about $30,000 per bird. “I think they are killing a hell of a lot more eagles than they ever anticipated.”Ĭompanies often pledge to perform conservation work to offset the deaths. “They are rolling over backwards for wind companies,” said Mike Lockhart a former U.S. Pursuing that goal through clean power development is requiring trade offs such as more dead birds from collisions with wind turbines that can tower 260 feet (80 meters) with blade tips spinning in excess of 150 miles per hour (240 kilometers per hour). The AP’s findings - that significant numbers of eagles continue to die while fewer criminal cases are pursued - underscore a dilemma facing the Biden administration as it tries to confront climate change. Most permits are for wind farms, and more than half the killed birds would be golden eagles. It comes amid growing concern that a proliferation of wind turbines to feed a growing demand for renewable energy is jeopardizing golden eagle populations already believed to be declining in some areas.ĭozens of permits approved or pending would allow roughly 6,000 eagles to be killed in coming decades, government documents show. Fish and Wildlife Service data obtained by The Associated Press. The falloff in enforcement of eagle protection laws - which accelerated in the Trump administration and has continued under President Joe Biden - was revealed in U.S. wildlife officials for killing or harming protected bald and golden eagles dropped sharply in recent years, even as officials ramped up issuing permits that will allow wind energy companies to kill thousands of eagles without legal consequence. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information publicly.ROLLING HILLS, Wyo. Two people familiar with the shooting, which occurred on a Metro bus platform at the Pentagon, said at least one person was down. The Pentagon is on lockdown after multiple gunshots were fired near a platform by the facility’s Metro station.
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