Event: Wind Power and Birds

Date: Tuesday March 13, 2012

Time: 7:00 PM

Our March Monthly Meeting program is an opportunity to learn more about wind power's impact on raptors. (NSAS Event)

Program Details:

"Using Raptor Flight Behavior as a Tool for Careful Repowering of a Wind Farm," presented by Doug Bell, Wildlife Program Manager, East Bay Regional Parks District 7:00pm at the Florence Douglas Senior Center, 333 Amador, Vallejo, CA.

Wind power is an important part of the strategy to combat global warming. It is currently the most economically competitive form of renewable energy. Wind power provides nearly 15,000 megawatts of power in the United States, enough power for more than 3 million households, and could provide up to 20 percent of the country's electricity needs.

However, wind power as an alternative energy source has a serious downside for birds! In the case of the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA), the impacts are most severely distributed among raptors (including Golden Eagles, Burrowing owls, American Kestrel, Red-Tailed Hawk & others ). Wind power facilities can also degrade or destroy habitat, cause disturbance and displacement, and disrupt important ecological links. These impacts can be avoided or significantly reduced, however, with proper siting, operation and mitigation. This talk will describe these impacts as well as offer suggested steps for reducing negative impacts through the repowering of existing wind farms, e.g. the replacement of many old style wind turbines with fewer, larger wind turbines.

For more information on National Audubon's policy go to www.audubon.org/wind-power-overview

Our monthly meetings are held at the Florence Douglas Senior Center, 333 Amador Street, Vallejo, CA. Click here for a map and more information about monthly meetings.

submitted on February 20, 2012, at 05:01 PM PST

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