[mou] Windmills and migration

[Michelle Crozier]

Dear birders,

It is important to be concerned about birds, but it is also important not to 
over-react and kill off an incipient green economy.  Altamont Pass was one 
of the first wind farms in the nation.  While California is always the first 
to try new things, of course mistakes were made.  The wind power industry 
relies on the goodwill of envronmentalists, so they have made huge efforts 
to reduce avian mortality.  As a result, wind farms are no longer set up in 
major migratory pathways.  Places like Hawk Ridge and the prairie pothole 
region of the Dakotas have great wind, but they will not develop wind farms 
there.  Second, they have developed "perch-free" structures - solid columns 
instead of the cross-hatching that was on old models.  Third, they are 
moving to larger structures.  Some of this was mentioned by Richard but I 
think we should be aware that these problems have been addressed and 
mortality has been greatly reduced on the newer wind farms.  The number of 
birds killed on wind farms is less than those killed by house cats, crashing 
into windows, being hit by cars.  And don't forget, when the CDC examined 
birds supposedly killed by West Nile Virus in New York last year, the found 
(surprise!) that the greater majority of birds had been killed by 
anthropogenic pollution sources (pesticides, pollution, etc.).

At the MOU conference last Fall, Wally Erickson gave a talk on this subject. 
  I found it extremely convincing.  I don't want to belittle people's 
concerns as I too love birds, especially raptors (currently employed as a 
spotted owl researcher!), but we need to keep an eye on the big picture, 
too.  If birders protest wind power too much, we are forced to rely on 
nuclear and coal sources, which in a larger sense probably harm more birds.

Just my 2 cents,

-Michelle Crozier Haynes

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