American Bird Conservancy says no to wind turbine project

[Geee]

Watchdog.org:

The American Bird Conservancy sent a letter to the towns of Windham and Grafton expressing concerns over Iberdrola’s 24-turbine Stiles Brook Wind Project.

 

The letter cites the project location, which is national forest land, as among the last undeveloped areas in the state with significant habitat for local and migratory bats and birds. The group says the land is critical foraging and breeding ground for migratory songbirds, some of which have low population status.

 

The letter, written by the conservancy’s Michael Hutchins, director of the Bird-Smart Wind Energy Campaign, states that hundreds of thousands of birds and bats are killed each year by flying into the turbine blades, and exponentially more are electrocuted by wires and other infrastructure.

 

Hutchins says so far it’s been up to the industry to monitor how many birds and bats are actually killed.

 

“It is their job, unfortunately, which we think is a conflict of interest,” Hutchins said. “It actually violates the first principal of scientific integrity, and that is if someone has a vested interest in the outcome of the study, then they shouldn’t be collecting the data.”