Wind turbines could get 4,200-eagle bag limit

WILDLIFE — Up to 4,200 eagles a year could be gone with the wind under a new federal wind energy plan.

The Obama administration is revising a federal rule that allows wind-energy companies to operate high-speed turbines for up to 30 years, even if means killing or injuring thousands of federally protected bald and golden eagles, the Associated Press reports.

Under the plan announced Wednesday, wind companies and other power providers could kill or injure up to 4,200 bald eagles a year without penalty — nearly four times the current limit. Golden eagles could only be killed if companies take steps to minimize the losses, for instance, by retrofitting power poles to reduce the risk of electrocution.

Golden and bald eagles are not endangered species but are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The laws prohibit killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs without a permit.

Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe said the proposal will “provide a path forward” for maintaining eagle populations while also spurring development of a pollution-free energy source that’s intended to ease global warming, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s energy plan.

Ashe said the 162-page proposal would protect eagles and at the same time “help the country reduce its reliance on fossil fuels” such as coal and oil that contribute to global warming.

Wind farms are clusters of turbines as tall as 30-story buildings, with spinning rotors as wide as a passenger jet’s wingspan. Blades can reach speeds of up to 170 mph at the tips, creating tornado-like vortexes.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are about 143,000 bald eagles and 40,000 golden eagles in the United States.

It’s unclear what toll wind-energy companies are having on eagle populations, although Ashe said as many 500 golden eagles a year are killed by collisions with wind towers, power lines, buildings, cars and trucks. Thousands more are killed by gunshots and poisonings.

Reporting of eagle mortality is voluntary. The Interior Department refuses to release the information. Wednesday’s announcement kicks off a 60-day comment period.

The plan was developed after a federal judge in California blocked a 2013 rule that gave wind energy companies a 30-year pass to kill bald and golden eagles. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled in August that the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to follow environmental procedural requirements in issuing the 2013 directive.

Last year, A federal court decision in California ruled that the Department of the Interior violated federal laws when it created a final regulation allowing wind energy and other companies to obtain 30-year permits to kill protected eagles without prosecution by the federal government.

“We’re concerned that this new plan will still allow the killing of thousands of eagles,” said Michael Hutchins of the American Bird Conservancy , which has been involved in the court actions.

“This new rule must require effective, tested mitigation to reduce any eagle deaths to an absolute minimum. We also need better monitoring of eagle mortality—with data collected by independent third parties and made publicly available—so that adjustments can be made to prevent negative impacts on eagle populations.”