WASHINGTON (AP) — Wind energy facilities have killed at least
67 golden and bald eagles in the last five years, but the figure could
be much higher, according to a new scientific study by government
biologists.
The research represents one of the first tallies of
eagle deaths attributed to the nation's growing wind energy industry...
The vice president of the American Bird Conservancy, Mike Parr, said the tally was "an alarming and concerning finding."
A
trade group, the American Wind Energy Association, said in a statement
that the figure was much lower than other causes of eagle deaths. The
group said it was working with the government and conservation groups to
find ways to reduce eagle casualties.
Still, the scientists said
their figure is likely to be "substantially" underestimated, since
companies report eagle deaths voluntarily and only a fraction of those
included in their total were discovered during searches for dead birds
by wind-energy companies. The study also excluded the deadliest place in
the country for eagles, a cluster of wind farms in a northern
California area known as Altamont Pass. Wind farms built there decades
ago kill more than 60 per year.
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