Wildfowl_-_September_2019

(WILDFOWLreachedouttoa tur-
binemanufacturerforcommenton
birdstrikesmultipletimes,butnever
receivedananswer.)
“It’salmostimpossibletotrackthe
levelofbirddeaths,”saidBrianRut-
ledgeoftheNationalAudubonSoci-
ety,whohasextensivelystudiedthe
turbinesintrusiononsagegrousehab-
itat.“Foxesandcoyoteshavelearned
toeatthedeadprettyquickly.Our
wildlifedeathshavebecomepropri-
etaryinformation.Forsomereason,
if I killedyourdog,it’syourbusiness,
butif a windturbinekillsa bat,it’s
(thewindcompanies)business.”

DON'THAVETOHITTOKILL
Oneofthemostchallengingaspects
ofunderstandingwindturbinetech-
nologyis thelackofharddataonany
sideeffectsofwindenergytowater-
fowl flyways and populations. Is it
permanentlydisplacing them?How
many birds are dying from blade
strikes?Wesimplydon’tknowyet.
What is known: These are 400-to
500-foot structuresthatcan turnat
300 mph,powerfulenoughthatif a
batfliesthroughthedown-washofa
bladeitsorganscanbesuckedoutof
itsbody,accordingtoRutledge.
“Ithinkwaterfowlhuntershavea
powerfulroletoplayinshapingcon-
servationpolicies,andI wouldguess
thatmanyofthemdon’tknowmuch
aboutwindturbinesorthepotential
theyhavetoaffectducksandgeese,”
saidJohnGale,conservationdirector
at BackcountryHunters&Anglers.“A
lotofthemdon’thavea placetogoto
getanyinformationontheimpactsof
greenenergy,andtheymightnoteven
knowaboutwindturbinesif theyhave
neverhuntednearone.”
Almost 10 yearsago,U.S.Fish&
Wildlife,along withDUandDU
Canadastudiedbreedingpairsofmal-
lards,pintails,blue-wingedteal,gad-
wallandNorthernshovelersinareas
oftheDakotaswithwindturbines.
USFWSbiologistDr.ChuckLoesch
andhisteamdiscoveredducksutiliz-
ing wetlandsaroundwindfarmswere
20 percentlowerthaninareasvoidof
turbines,andononesite,thebreed-
ingpairdensitywas 56 percentlower
thana similarnestingareawithno
turbines.Anotherstudypublishedin

2018 byTheWildlifeSocietyrevealed

redheadsuseoffreshwaterpondson

theTexascoastdecreasedby 77 per-

centoncea 267-turbinewindfarm

waserectedonthewesterncoastof

theLagunaMadre.

“I don’tthinkwewanttoputa mas-

sivewindfarminthemiddleofthe

centralflywayneara majorwater-

fowlstopover,”Galesaid.“Weknow

sagegrouseandpronghorndon’tlike

theoverheaddisturbancetheycause.

It’scommonsense.”

FROMTHEFIELD

Many of these turbines are being

placedonpubliclandsorona public/

privatelandsystemknownascheck-

erboarding.Thisallowstheturbines

tobeerectedonstateorfederalprop-

ertyalongsidea privateranchorfarm.

It alsoallowsthelandownertoputa

fencearoundthepublicareas“tokeep

peoplefromtrespassing.”

Windfarmsarebeingplacedin

undevelopedareasofthewestthat

includeflightcorridorsforwaterfowl

andnearvitalhabitat,likeWisconsin’s

historicHoriconMarshandBaffinBay

inTexas,closetotheLagunaMadre.

“Iwantrenewableenergy,but

theturbinesarenottheonlyviable

alternative,”Rutledgesaid.“They

aredoingdamagetowildlifeandour

abilitytousepubliclands.I thinkwe

shouldbeputtingthemonoldgas

fieldsthatwereneverreclaimedor

currentagriculturedevelopment...

andstayoffourpristinewildlands.”

DrewPalmeris a duckguidefrom

theFlintHillsofKansas.Hechases

mallardsandlesserCanadageeseand

hasseenfirst-handwhata windfarm

candotowaterfowlhabits.Heused

tohuntmilofieldssouthofWichita

thatgreenheadsandgeesefedin,but

thatis nolongerthecase.

“Itchangedtheducks,”Palmersaid

oftheturbines.“Ihadaccesstofields

andcattlepondsandoncetheyputup

thewindfarmsnearSouthHaven,the

birdsstoppedcomingthere.I don’t

thinkthegeesecareasmuch.They

willflyoverthem.Buttheducks

won’tgowithintwoorthreemiles

ofthem.”

Furtherdownthecentralflywayis

DustyBrown,whohasguidedacross

NorthAmerica,buthisbreadand

butterforthelasttwodecadeshas

beenWestTexaslessersandsand-

hillcranes.Twentyyearsago,there

werefew,if any,turbinesinFloyd

andLynnCountieswherehehunts,

butmanywindfarmshavebeenbuilt

sincethen.

“The biggest impact was it

changedwherebirdsroost,”Brown

said. “(Theturbines) movedthe

cranesandgeeseoutoftheplaya

lakes,andit changedthehistorical

routestheyflew.Theyhaven’tleft

thearea,butnowtheyhita walland

won’tcrossthefreeway.”

I want renewable energy, but

the turbines are not the only

alternative. They are doing

damage to wildlife and our

ability to use public lands.”

Concernsorcomments?

ContactAssociate

EditorJoeGenzelat

[email protected]

Conservation Corner // sPeCiaL rePort

18 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com