Renewable energy vs. wildlife conservation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 82

Eagles in the United States are additionally protected under theMigratory
Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), 52 which provides protections for them and more
than 1,000 other birds. 53 Migratory birds are birds that relocate across
great distances on a seasonal basis, often to breed or to winter in warmer
climates. Although some studies have suggested that many migratory birds
tend to fly high above wind farms during migration periods, 54 large numbers
of these birds still die at wind farms. California's notorious Altamont Pass
project exemplifies how destructive to bird populations wind farms can be
when they are sited within bird migration routes. According to one source,
more than 2,700 birds die from that single project each year, including more
than 1,100 raptors. 55
The MBTA, which was initially enacted in 1918 and has been described
by the FWS as the “cornerstone of migratory bird conservation protection
in the United States,” 56 implements the nation's international treaties
with Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia to protect birds that migrate
between these countries. Its provisions also prohibit the “tak[ing]” of
birds on its list of protected species and provide for criminal penalties for
violators. 57
Interestingly, concerns about multiple bird species that rarely fly as
high as a commercial wind turbine blade have also triggered strong
opposition to wind farms on occasion. For example, in mountain regions
of the western United States, government officials have delayed or rejected
several wind farm proposals over fears about habitat impacts for the
sage grouse. 58 The sage grouse was a candidate for endangered species
listing in the United States as of early 2013. 59 Sage grouse and similar
species “exhibit extreme avoidance of vertical features,” making these
birds particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and other disrup-
tions from wind farms. 60 Evidence suggests that the presence of towering
wind turbines can deter members of the closely-related “prairie chicken”
species found in the central United States from engaging in critical mating
rituals. 61
In addition to migratory birds and grouse, countless other bird species
have been known to complicate the wind farm development approval
process. Conservationists in the United States have raised concerns about
wind energy's impacts on the endangered whooping crane, interior least
tern, and piping plover in recent years, prompting the wind energy industry
to help fund research to protect these species . 62 Fears of impacts on the
highly-endangered California condor are also beginning to create new
obstacles for wind energy development. 63 And the number of turbines in the
first phase of the massive London Array offshore wind energy project in the
UK was reduced from 258 to 175 to protect red-throated diver habitats in
the Thames Estuary. 64 Given the rapid growth of wind energy throughout
the world, the list of birds affected by wind farms will only expand in the
coming years.