Golden Eagle; ClipArt.com

(Washington, D.C., June 1, 2011) “Today's House Natural Resource Committee hearing on renewable energy was long on requests for more taxpayer dollars and short on evidence that the industry would safeguard the economic value of America's birds. Had the conservation community been allowed to testify, the Committee would have heard about the billions of dollars birds generate annually to the U.S. economy through wildlife watching activities, and of their importance to our farming and forestry industries in their roles of pollinators and controllers of harmful insect pests on many important commercial crops,” said Mike Parr, Vice President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation's leading bird conservation group. ABC also heads a coalition of 58 organizations advocating a Bird-Smart approach to wind development.

“The suggestion by some members of the wind industry that guidelines to prevent deaths of eagles from wind turbines are too stringent reflects a serious lack of concern for even the most iconic of American birds.  The wind projects at Altamont Pass in California have been killing around 95 Golden Eagles each year.  It is precisely this type of badly sited project that the eagle guidelines would help us avoid in future. Industry representatives have been outspoken in saying that they are already doing everything right. If that is the case, why would they fear guidelines that create a level playing field so that no wind developer is at a competitive disadvantage when doing the right thing?  We think it is precisely because some members of the industry would want to have the freedom to not do the right thing that they see these common-sense eagle protection measures as too stringent,” Parr said.