Open letter: WCFN opposes a bird killer, the Campobello wind project

OPEN LETTER To: Hon. Bruce Fitch Minister of Environment and Local Government Government of New Brunswick P. O. Box 6000, Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1 June 25th 2012 Dear Minister; The World Council for Nature (WCFN) has become aware that elected representatives of the Rural Community of Campobello, N.B., are minded to approve a windpower project situated right across the Atlantic Flyway, on their island which is used as a stopover point by thousand upon thousand of migrating birds. Indeed, much of the 15x3km island of Campobello has been included in a designated Important Bird Area, the IBA Quoddy Region, and the wind turbines will be right inside it. Another part of the island is a national park, international in fact: the Campobello Roosevelt International Park. It is hard to imagine a worse location for installing giant blades revolving at up to 250 kph at the tip (1), which are known to kill many millions of birds and bats around the world (2).

If this weren’t enough, the island is narrow, stretching from North to South, causing the Project to have a maximum impact on migrating birds, which are flying, landing and taking off along this North-South axis. Being located near the shoreline, on a narrow passage between two bodies of water (3), the 50-meter long fast-moving blades will have a maximum lethal effect on water birds, including ospreys and bald eagles which are often seen in this area. In January, the Spanish Society of Ornithology SEO/Birdlife made public estimates that Spain’s 18,000 wind turbines may be killing 6-18 million birds and bats yearly, many of which of conservation concern (2). The average per turbine comes down to 333-1000 deaths annually, which is a far cry from the 2-4 birds alleged by the American Wind Energy Association, or the 400,000 birds claimed by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) for the whole United States, which has over twice as many turbines as Spain. The explanation for this huge gap is that ABC are known to have a conflict of interest, which makes their figure doubtful.

SEO/Birdlife are not the only bird society that blew the whistle about high mortality at wind farms. So did Save the Eagles International (4) and Birdlife Bulgaria. Most other bird societies have preferred the way to riches by collaborating with the wind industry, and this has helped to maintain the public and government’s ignorance about the carnage that is taking place. Two decades ago, before big money corrupted ornithologists, realistic estimates were made - e.g.: “In a summary of avian impacts at wind turbines by Benner et al. (1993) bird deaths per turbine per year were as high as 309 in Germany and 895 in Sweden” (5). And today’s bigger turbines, which are still moving fast and sweep much more airspace, kill even more birds, as shown by Dr Smallwood (6). In these circumstances it is likely that the turbines on Campobello Island, to be situated within an Important Bird Area (IBA) on a migration route, will be killing over 1,000 birds per turbine/year, many of which of conservation concern. As you know, IBA Quoddy Region is a haven to globally significant populations of a number of protected bird species (7) and serves as a vitally important staging area during migrations. Placing wind turbines within its perimeter is tantamount to putting land mines in a school yard. In addition, the project is no more than one kilometer away from the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, a protected breeding ground for (among others) bald eagles and ospreys. These birds are known to forage along the shorelines of the island, where they will meet with the turbines. Like many other raptors, eagles and ospreys are attracted to these tall structures, on which they sometimes attempt to perch. The movement of the blades does not deter them – see the video (8). It is easy to foresee there will be a massacre of these great birds, as there has been elsewhere (9). Other ill effects will hurt the tourism industry, which is vital for the island, and the trees for the possible forest fires caused by the turbines (10). Last but not least, the health of people living or working up to 10 km’s from the turbines will be at risk (11). All things considered, it is a high price to pay for a piddling amount of intermittent energy of low practical value, which needs to be subsidized and ultimately increases everyone’s electricity bills, including the islanders’. WCFN joins Nature Canada in opposing the selection of this narrow island for a wind energy project. The fact that, for the moment, a single wind turbine is to be erected does not mean that others will not be added later on, when local resistance will have given up any hope of saving the island. It is a standard way of approaching sensitive areas in the wind farm business. You are now aware of the threat this project will constitute for protected species present in the IBA and the International Park, for the forest on the island, and for its inhabitants. We reserve the right to consider you and your government legally responsible, collegially and personally, for adverse consequences that may occur if the turbine(s) is/are built. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter. Sincerely, Mark Duchamp Chairman

References

Support Canada Free Press

VIEW Comments