Renewable energy vs. wildlife conservation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 93

25 Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544 (2006).
26 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(B).
27 16 U.S.C. §1532(19).
28 For the definitions of “harass” and “harm” under the ESA, see 50 C.F.R. 17.3.
29 See 16 U.S.C. § 1540(b).
30 16 U.S.C. § 1532(6).
31 16 U.S.C. § 1532(20).
32 FWS guidelines define “species of concern” to include any bird that “has been
shown to be significantly adversely affected by wind energy development” and
“is determined to be possibly affected” by a given project. Fish and Wildlife
Service Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines, supra note 19 at 63.
33 More detailed descriptions of the United States' Migratory Bird Treaty Act,
and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which are examples of these other
wildlife protection statutes, are provided later in this chapter. See generally
pages 81-82, infra .
34 For a primer on endangered species legislation in Europe, see generally Ian
F. G. McLean, The Role of Legislation in Conserving Europe's Endangered
Species , 13 Conservation Biology 996 (1999).
35 See generally Mark Desholm, Avian Sensitivity to Mortality: Prioritising
Migratory Bird Species for Assessment at Proposed Wind Farms , 90 Journal
of Environmental Management 2672 (2009) (noting that many waterfowl
and birds of prey are particularly vulnerable to population declines from colli-
sions with wind turbines because of these species tend to live longer and lay
fewer eggs than many other bird varieties).
36 See Umair Irfan, Bats and Birds Face Serious Threats from Growth of Wind
Energy , New York Times (August 8, 2011), available at www.nytimes.
com/cwire/2011/08/08/08climatewire-bats-and-birds-face-serious-threats-
from-gro-10511.html?pagewanted=all (last visited June 11, 2013).
37 See Ryan Tracy, Wildlife Slows Wind Power , Wall Street Journal (Dec. 10,
2011), available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240529702035013
04577088593307132850.html (last visited June 11, 2013).
38 Dan Frosch, A Struggle to Balance Wind Energy with Wildlife , New York
Times A18 (Dec. 17, 2013), available at www.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/
science/earth/a-struggle-to-balance-wind-energy-with-wildlife.html?_r=0 (last
visited Dec. 17, 2013).
39 See Christopher Booker, Wind Turbines: “Eco-friendly”—But Not to Eagles ,
The Telegraph (March 13, 2010), available at www.telegraph.co.uk/
comment/columnists/christopherbooker/7437040/Eco-friendly-but-not-to-
eagles.html (last visited June 12, 2013).
40 See American Wind Energy Siting Handbook § 5.1.1 (2008), available at
www.awea.org/sitinghandbook/downloads/awea_siting_handbook_feb2008.
pdf (last visited June 23, 2013).
41 See, e.g ., Wind Farms Cause Decline in Bird Population—RSPB , The
Telegraph (Sept. 26, 2009), available at www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/
earthnews/6231580/Wind-farms-cause-decline-in-bird-population-RSPB.html
(last visited June 13, 2013) (citing a study by the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds and Scottish Natural Heritage primarily attributing
declines near 12 wind farms in upland regions of the United Kingdom to the
“noise and development” itself and that “strikes with turbines” were “less
likely” to have been the cause).
42 See American Wind Energy Siting Handbook, supra note 40 at § 5.1.1.
43 Booker, supra note 39.
44 Id.