U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Wind Industry Plans Serious Changes to Protect Bats

Migratory bats, for some reason, have a lethal attraction to wind turbines. Now, they may get help via “feathering.” New industry guidelines, to be announced Thursday, aim to save tens of thousands of bats each year by idling turbines at low wind speeds during peak bat migration season. They could reduce by a third the […]

Wednesday September 2nd, 2015 in , American Wind Energy Association, Bats, feathering, good news, migration, migratory bats, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wind industry, Wind Turbines, wind turbines kill bats | Comments Off

Wind Turbines At Center of Bat Protection Rules

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering requests from the wind energy industry to exempt wind turbines in Wisconsin and nationwide from new rules to protect threatened bats, even as a fungal disease has killed millions of the creatures. Because of the disease, white-nose syndrome, the federal agency listed the northern long-eared bat as threatened. […]

Sunday July 19th, 2015 in , Bats, fungal disease, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wind Turbines | Comments Off

Larger Turbines Pose Peril for Birds

When the U.S. Department of Energy released a report last month championing the construction of larger, more-powerful wind turbines, the wind industry unsurprisingly greeted the news with enthusiasm. With an extension of the “hub height” of turbines to 360 feet, the chief executive of the American Wind Energy Association said, wind energy could expand to […]

Wednesday June 10th, 2015 in , American Wind Energy Association, bird killing, California condor, green energy issues, migrating birds, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whooping crane, Wind Turbines | Comments Off

To Save Birds, Change the Rules on Wind Turbines

When the Department of Energy released a report last month championing the construction of larger, more-powerful wind turbines, the wind industry unsurprisingly greeted the news with enthusiasm. Less ardent was the association’s response to well-documented concerns by scientists over the half-million birds that die each year from collisions with existing turbines: Some migrating birds, a […]

Tuesday June 2nd, 2015 in , American Bird Conservancy, Department of Energy, Greater Prairie-Chickens, migrating birds, The Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wind Turbines | Comments Off

Inside The Feds’ MBTA Incidental Take Proposal

On May 26, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) initiated an environmental review of a proposed permitting program for authorizing the incidental “take” of migratory birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The announcement begins what will undoubtedly be a protracted and contentious rulemaking process. Litigation is likely, as well. FWS proposes, […]

Tuesday May 26th, 2015 in , bird killing, green energy issues, incidental bird mortality, incidental take permits, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Migratory Birds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wind energy, Wind Turbines | Comments Off

Making Changes for the Endangered Indiana Bat

Wind farms are popping up in rural areas of northern New York. Wind energy does not burn fossil fuels or emit greenhouse gases. Although wind farms may be a positive step for the environment, they also can kill birds and bats. Now, the company behind a wind farm in Copenhagen, N.Y., is working with the […]

Monday May 4th, 2015 in , barotrauma, Copenhagen, Indiana Bat, N.Y., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, White-Nose syndrome, wind energy issues, Wind Farms | Comments Off

Take Permit Ruling Favors Local Wind Farm Project

A U.S. District Court judge ruled a federal agency was within its rights when it issued a take permit to a proposed Champaign County wind farm that critics said could harm an endangered bat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued an incidental take permit to the Buckeye Wind Project in 2013, allowing the wind […]

Monday March 23rd, 2015 in , Bats, Buckeye Wind Project, endangered bats, Endangered Species Act, green energy issues, incidental take permit, Indiana bat habitat, National Environmental Policy Act, Take permits, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Union Neighbors United, Wind Farms, Wind Turbines | Comments Off

Golden Eagle Fatalities Anticipated with Permit Grant

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has confirmed another golden eagle has been killed at a Nevada wind farm near the Utah line, and conservationists are demanding federal regulators do something about it. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Dan Balduini said Wednesday he couldn’t speculate about how the agency might respond after the second golden […]

Thursday February 26th, 2015 in , Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, bird fatalities, eagle-kill permit, golden eagle death, Great Basin National Park, kill permits, Spring Valley Wind Energy, The Associated Press, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wind energy | Comments Off

Posts tagged: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service