The bald eagle is a symbol of the United States and is a protected species. Along with their counterparts, the golden eagles, the bald eagles were placed under protection in 1940 with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. This act forbids the killing or disturbing of an eagle, although a 2009 law has an exception. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is allowed to now approve the killing or disturbance of eagles in certain cases.
Now it seems as though this exception is going to be used for the first time for a wind farm in the state of Oregon. Although not required, the company with the proposed wind farm has requested a permit allowing for the incidental killing of golden eagles due to the wind turbines.
The wind farm is to be located in central Oregon and is to include fifty-two wind turbines for a total of 104 megawatts of energy. The company, West Butte Wind Power, is based in California and has taken it upon themselves to be the first ever company to apply for such a permit. Conservationists, while hesitant, are praising the company for taking the extra step that many other companies have not.
If West Butte is approved for the permit, the company will be required to support breeding and conservation efforts for the golden eagle. This is due to the fact that there must not be an overall loss of breeding eagles due to death by wind turbines, according to the permit. However, it has been noted that there is not a considerable population of golden eagles in the region and they may not encounter trouble with the turbines. But the company is planning for potential conservational conflicts.
Conservationists, while appreciating West Butte for applying for the permit, are concerned that the permit process may become overly used. If the government approves numerous permits per year it would add up to a potentially large number of eagles being killed via wind turbines or other means. Even with conservation efforts in place, such possibilities must be considered and avoided due to decimation of population and subsequent impacts on the ecosystem.
Public comments will be able to be made regarding the project until February 2nd.
