Original Report: Feds fail to “offset” wind turbine eagle kills
Five Short Bullet Points
- Wind Turbine Threat: Wind turbines significantly increase bald and golden eagle deaths, exceeding other human-caused mortality sources.
- Failed Offsets: Federal “compensatory mitigation” underestimates power pole retrofits needed to offset eagle kills by up to 241 times.
- Golden Eagle Vulnerability: The golden eagle population cannot sustain increased human-caused deaths, risking population decline.
- Data Secrecy: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) keeps eagle kill data secret, shielding the wind industry from scrutiny.
- Permit Halt Urged: No new wind power eagle-kill permits should be issued until offset inaccuracies are resolved.
Truth comment: Wind towers also kill bats in large numbers. Bats eat lots of insects. They rush into the blades to eat the maimed and dying insects and are killed. The vacuum caused by giant spinning blades blow out their sonar as well. Canada has ruled that the wind towers must be shut down when the bats migrate because they are endangered and under threat from wind tower deaths.
