We wish to commend Ms. Maria Ruth, for pointing out the perilous conditions for the rare “murrelet nesting habitat on private and federal lands. RES-Americas’ own radar surveys of marbled murrelets in the project area estimate a take of two to three murrelets per year for the next 30 years.” She points out that even these small “takes” are devilishly problematic.
Developers commonly express inadequate actual “takes”, and never to our understanding, outline proper mitigation plans, nor the rape of habitat. The use of “permits” to accommodate turbine build outs is also problematic, a get out of jail free card of sorts. Developers also do not perform sincere pre and post construction bird and bat kill surveys and it is now well known that the real mortality numbers in the US, yearly, are between 13 and 31 million, perhaps more. Counting is done in a circumference of 10% of what it should be. Birds and bats are mostly scavenged before counts, and many fly off injured to depart this world, in more remote areas. Some are actually buried by counters!
Extremely problematic is the permitting at all, because industrial wind gouges more than land and species. It gouges our purses, for no net gain. World wide wind turbines produce net zero, point two of one percent, of the world’s power.
We will not have the tally of bird and bat deaths for a long time, but we know that entire species such as the Whooping Crane, are going extinct. When does any other industry get a permit to kill, harm, harass, and disturb nesting areas? It is a cash grab, and everyone and everything takes a hit.
Sherri Lange
CEO, North American Platform Against Wind Power
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