There is a proposal for granting incidental take permits to wind power
facilities for a a 30-year term. An incidental take permit is a get of jail
free card, in essence. These permits are generally issued for 5-year terms.
The clock resets every half decade, but now they want to make it a
generation and half, in time of climate change, dynamic populations (look
the the two atlases!). See
http://preview.tinyurl.com/79jsj2z
For those not familiar with TinyUrl, the above will take you to a preview
site. You will need to click again to get to ABC's action alert. This is
for your protection. Do not let it confuse you. The text of the alert is
below.
MOS will be joining in this effort, we are just considering whether to join
a joint ABC letter, or send our own.
Kurt R. Schwarz
Conservation Chair
Maryland Ornithological Society
<krschwa1...>
<Goawybird...>
A proposal to gut an important rule that protects eagles is beingrushed
through the Fish and Wildlife Service before President Obama�s new Secretary
of Interior can be confirmed.
This rule will result in more of these iconic birds being killed at wind
energy projects throughout the United States.
It wasn�t that long ago that Bald Eagle numbers plummeted to just 800
breeding birds, placing them on the Endangered Species List and putting
their very existence in doubt. Majestic Golden Eagles, also suffered
declines, and continue to struggle today in the face of ongoing threats.
The federal government currently allows corporations to get permits to avoid
prosecution for killing limited numbers of eagles as part of their normal
operations if they also promise to offset this damage. These permits must be
renewed every five years, giving the public regular opportunity to assess an
industry�s operations. However, at the request of wind energy industry
lobbyists, the federal government has now proposed making the permits good
for 30 years! That means 30 years without the possibility for public review
of the permit.
This will lead to more dead eagles, more costly lawsuits, and more Americans
who will wonder why some private businesses are getting a free pass to kill
some of our nation�s most remarkable birds.
Learn more about the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
<http://www.abcbirds.org/eagleprotectionact.html> and see the proposed
regulations <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-04-13/pdf/2012-8086.pdf> .
Please send a message TODAY to give the new Secretary of Interior time to
reject this terrible proposal.
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