Comments Filed on Behalf of Twenty Conservation Groups on FWS Land-based Wind Energy Guidelines

Last week, we assisted in submitting comments on behalf of twenty organizations, including Friends of Blackwater, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Welfare Institute, and the Wildlife Advocacy Project, on the Draft Voluntary Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines and the Draft Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The two draft documents have been developed to identify ways to avoid and minimize wildlife impacts of land-based wind energy facilities.  The comments provide a series of detailed recommendations for the improvement of the guidelines and their effective implementation.  Specifically, the comments focus on the legal authority of FWS to make the requirements of the guidelines binding and undertake an analysis of the cumulative effects of the development of wind facilities.  Further, the comments address several important issues such as the need for developing a process to ensure the independence of biological consultants in project decision-making.  More information on the guidelines can be found here: http://www.fws.gov/windenergy/index.html