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Trading Wildlife for Wind Energy

by Kevin Emmerich and Laura Cunningham

www.basinandrangewatch.org

At Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, Park Rangers celebrate the ancient but nightly midsummer ritual of Brazilian free-tailed bats exiting the cave in an ecological insect feeding frenzy. Starting in late summer, a similar, less recognized event occurs in Nevada next to Great Basin National Park in a smaller cave providing a roosting colony for one million Brazilian free tailed bats. Once a fertilizer mine in the 1920's, the Rose Guano Cave has now been closed to mining guano by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and recognized as an important landmark to the survival of this population. It does indeed seem ironic that the BLM now considers this cave and its bats a resource that must be "adaptively managed".

we thought the junipers were beautiful!) The one percent figure is ridiculous. The project area is rich in wildlife and is used by mule deer, prong-horn, and even elk have been observed close to the site. When one of us (Kevin) worked at Great Basin National Park, the park biologist thought golden eagles in Spring Valley were like "chickens" and it was true. On any day, a visitor could see at least two or three from the highway. Raptors commonly glide over the valley and surrounding mountains: peregrine falcons, ferruginous hawks, and even bald eagles, which are common winter residents. How tragic that the BLM has made protecting this symbol of the United States a second priority to subsidizing inneficient energy boondoggles (accord-

In January, 2006, Sprrng Valley Wind LLC began testing a section of the remote Spring Valley, 12 miles from the boundary of Great Basin National Park, to construct 8,500 acres of 400-foot-tall wind turbines. In their best case scenario, 80 of these turbines would sell 149 megawatts of electricity to Las Vegas where green energy may someday provide power to the parking garage lights of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino.

ing to the California Energy Commission, wind farms there have put out about 25% of their maximum rated capacity in the last few decades), the Wind energy developers claim that the new design of turbines prevent raptor mortality, yet the following video of a vulture colliding with a turbine in Spain tells a more accurate
story: http://www.windaction.org
/videos/23904.

Wind energy developers consistently underplay the

Aside from being approximately one mile from the Rose Guano Cave, these huge wind turbines would include large "lay down" areas" of bladed habitat for construction of turbines, 28 miles of new 68-foot-wide roads, fiber optic line trenches, plus microwave towers, substations, maintenance facilities and employee parking lots. Each turbine foundation would have 120 tons of cement. Cement, of course, needs water and the peak usage of water per construction would be 700,000 gallons or about 25 acre feet. This area is famous for outsiders seeking to waste water. The Southern Nevada Water Authority hopes to pipe a significant amount of the groundwater of this region to the casinos and housing developments in Las Vegas, making the only water available a temporary lease of water rights from the LDS Church. The project would be located next to the Swamp Cedar Area of Critical Environmental Concern, a rare habitat with spring wetlands and junipers growing on the basin floor. The BLM admits that placing large, heavy concrete foundations for turbines would draw the water down and away from the springs.

In spite of all these impacts, BLM has assured us that only one percent of the total land area would be disturbed. (They also found it amazing that

impacts large wind farms would have on sage grouse by saying that few individuals die in rotor collisions, in a clever attempt to deflect the larger impacts of wind developments fragmenting vast patches of old-growth sagebrush habitats needed by the birds for breeding. Roads, foundation pads for turbines, herbicide treatments, all have documented negative effects to sagebrush stands and sage grouse populations. Due to the controversy of both fossil-fuel and renewable energy development across the sagebrush sea, the Fish and Wildlife Service is again being forced to review the petition to list the species as federally threatened. Pygmy rabbits, requiring tall, dense sagebrush stands for cover, were found on the site. The BLM review stated that they would have to move.

Bat Conservation International studies show how bats may even be attracted to wind turbines as possible new perch sites and insect foraging areas, but make deadly collisions with rotors, both slow- and fast-moving. Pressure from rotating turbines has been found to expand the lungs of bats, causing death.

We stood on the side of the highway on a cold fall day with BLM personnel, looking across the wide basin that would be studded with steel tur-

"One of the four most fun restaurants in America"

984 BARRET AVE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY!

Esquire (June 2002)

502.583.3447

"Still only 1531 miles from Moab!"

www.lynnsparadisecafe.com

Don't miss Frenzy at the Finish the day after Derby entertainment all day long, special drinks, a new chef, Jeremy Harrel with great new specials AND the Derby winner to have photos made with!

For a good time call Patty "The Instigator" at 502-821-8888

or email her Patty@lynnsparadisecafe.com to plan your next celebration!

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	Trading Wildlife for Wind Energy by Kevin Emmerich and Laura Cunningham www.basinandrangewatch.org At Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, Park Rangers celebrate the ancient but nightly midsummer ritual of Brazilian free-tailed bats exiting the cave in an ecological insect feeding frenzy. Starting in late summer, a similar, less recognized event occurs in Nevada next to Great Basin National Park in a smaller cave providing a roosting colony for one million Brazilian free tailed bats. Once a fertilizer mine in the 1920's, the Rose Guano Cave has now been closed to mining guano by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and recognized as an important landmark to the survival of this population. It does indeed seem ironic that the BLM now considers this cave and its bats a resource that must be "adaptively managed". we thought the junipers were beautiful!) The one percent figure is ridiculous. The project area is rich in wildlife and is used by mule deer, prong-horn, and even elk have been observed close to the site. When one of us (Kevin) worked at Great Basin National Park, the park biologist thought golden eagles in Spring Valley were like "chickens" and it was true. On any day, a visitor could see at least two or three from the highway. Raptors commonly glide over the valley and surrounding mountains: peregrine falcons, ferruginous hawks, and even bald eagles, which are common winter residents. How tragic that the BLM has made protecting this symbol of the United States a second priority to subsidizing inneficient energy boondoggles (accord- In January, 2006, Sprrng Valley Wind LLC began testing a section of the remote Spring Valley, 12 miles from the boundary of Great Basin National Park, to construct 8,500 acres of 400-foot-tall wind turbines. In their best case scenario, 80 of these turbines would sell 149 megawatts of electricity to Las Vegas where green energy may someday provide power to the parking garage lights of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino. ing to the California Energy Commission, wind farms there have put out about 25% of their maximum rated capacity in the last few decades), the Wind energy developers claim that the new design of turbines prevent raptor mortality, yet the following video of a vulture colliding with a turbine in Spain tells a more accurate story: http://www.windaction.org /videos/23904. Wind energy developers consistently underplay the Aside from being approximately one mile from the Rose Guano Cave, these huge wind turbines would include large "lay down" areas" of bladed habitat for construction of turbines, 28 miles of new 68-foot-wide roads, fiber optic line trenches, plus microwave towers, substations, maintenance facilities and employee parking lots. Each turbine foundation would have 120 tons of cement. Cement, of course, needs water and the peak usage of water per construction would be 700,000 gallons or about 25 acre feet. This area is famous for outsiders seeking to waste water. The Southern Nevada Water Authority hopes to pipe a significant amount of the groundwater of this region to the casinos and housing developments in Las Vegas, making the only water available a temporary lease of water rights from the LDS Church. The project would be located next to the Swamp Cedar Area of Critical Environmental Concern, a rare habitat with spring wetlands and junipers growing on the basin floor. The BLM admits that placing large, heavy concrete foundations for turbines would draw the water down and away from the springs. In spite of all these impacts, BLM has assured us that only one percent of the total land area would be disturbed. (They also found it amazing that impacts large wind farms would have on sage grouse by saying that few individuals die in rotor collisions, in a clever attempt to deflect the larger impacts of wind developments fragmenting vast patches of old-growth sagebrush habitats needed by the birds for breeding. Roads, foundation pads for turbines, herbicide treatments, all have documented negative effects to sagebrush stands and sage grouse populations. Due to the controversy of both fossil-fuel and renewable energy development across the sagebrush sea, the Fish and Wildlife Service is again being forced to review the petition to list the species as federally threatened. Pygmy rabbits, requiring tall, dense sagebrush stands for cover, were found on the site. The BLM review stated that they would have to move. Bat Conservation International studies show how bats may even be attracted to wind turbines as possible new perch sites and insect foraging areas, but make deadly collisions with rotors, both slow- and fast-moving. Pressure from rotating turbines has been found to expand the lungs of bats, causing death. We stood on the side of the highway on a cold fall day with BLM personnel, looking across the wide basin that would be studded with steel tur- "One of the four most fun restaurants in America" 984 BARRET AVE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY! Esquire (June 2002) 502.583.3447 "Still only 1531 miles from Moab!" www.lynnsparadisecafe.com Don't miss Frenzy at the Finish the day after Derby entertainment all day long, special drinks, a new chef, Jeremy Harrel with great new specials AND the Derby winner to have photos made with! For a good time call Patty "The Instigator" at 502-821-8888 or email her Patty@lynnsparadisecafe.com to plan your next celebration!

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