I THOUGHT THAT THIS MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO THE LIST. Arthur H. Kopelman, Ph. D. [email protected] ( e-mails scanned for viruses before sending)
"When the last individual of a race of living thing breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again" ...... William Beebee Be kind to the environment - unless you need to, please don't print this e-mail -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of MAGIC Alliance Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 12:49 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Fast Tracking Wind Turbines: A Concern? Dear ECOLOGGERS, I am posting this on behalf of the organization, Maryland Alliance for Greenway Improvement and Conservation (MAGIC) because we have been grappling with this dilemma for a few years. The purpose of this post is to raise awareness regarding the existence of a wind energy project in Garret County, Maryland. This project has been constructed atop Maryland’s highest peak, Backbone Mountain. While one might think to automatically support clean energy, the construction and operation of these turbines has the potential to cause irretrievable damage to Maryland’s environment, primarily through loss of habitat and biodiversity. MAGIC supports the American Bird Conservancy’s stance on this issue: “All wind farms should have an Avian Protection Plan which includes American Bird Conservancy’s bird-smart principles, and a means of implementing them and tracking and reporting on this implementation. Wind farms should also comply with relevant state and federal wildlife protection laws such as the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.” -http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/wind_policy.html The Fish and Wildlife Service has acknowledged that the operation of these turbines will kill the endangered Indiana Bat, which has been listed as endangered since 1967. Additionally, this operation could threaten the Benwick's Wren, which was marked as endangered in Allegany County as of April 2010. In addition to the mortality of birds and bats, the destruction caused by the operation of this project will also be concerning. Wind turbines are massive and their construction is a large-scale operation in itself. Their construction will see habitats fragmented and destroyed in some of Maryland’s most pristine greenway space. This fragmentation of the forest leaves plants and animals with no practical way of avoiding climate change stressors. MAGIC would like your thoughts and input on this situation. Please offer your thoughts and questions about this project. Our main goal is to shed more light on this issue with the hopes of preserving and conserving Maryland’s environment. Michael Riedman 2208 Parker Ave., Wheaton, MD 20902 http://magicalliance.org/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
