[BCNnet] RE: Trying to promote SAFE and RESPONSIBLE wind power

[Donald R. Dann]

BCN Folks,

Here's another message on the Wind Energy Farm being proposed near Horicon
NWR.  This is from Paul Baicich.

Please call Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and ask him to announce he supports
a re-siting of the turbines' location to 4-5 miles from Horicon.  When I
called I said I am an Illinois resident who travels to Wisconsin (and spends
my money in Wisconsin when I do so) just because of the great birds at
Horicon.  

Please call tomorrow - 608-261-2156

Thanks,

Donnie  

Donnie Dann
Highland Park/Lake County
donniebird at yahoo.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Paul J. Baicich [mailto:paul.baicich at swarovskibirding.com] 
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2005 12:51 PM

Subject: Trying to promote SAFE and RESPONSIBLE wind power


Dear All,

The proposed wind-energy facility just east of Horicon National Wildlife
Refuge in SE Wisconsin has generated some serious controversy. On the
surface, it pits two conservation values - the development of
non-fossil-fuel energy sources and the protection of valuable refuge
habitat - against each other. 

As the Op-Ed in the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL below suggests, there IS a
way out.

I thought the piece would interest you.


				Paul

				410/992-9736


- - - - -



MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

How about more buffer between marsh and wind power site? 

By Evan Hirsche and Paul J. Baicich


28 Aug 05

Conserve Wisconsin, an admirable program designed to promote a future based
on sustainable energy, was unveiled by Gov. Jim Doyle this month. Between
them, Doyle and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton touted the program by barnstorming
the state with stops in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse and Eau
Claire. 

Missing, however, was a balanced approach toward wind energy in Wisconsin.
That lack of planning is plainly evident in the controversy surrounding
Horicon Marsh.

Horicon Marsh, located in southeastern Wisconsin, is designated as one of
only 20 recognized wetlands of international importance in the United
States. A whopping1 million Canada geese visit the marsh each fall,
sometimes in populations as dense as 300,000 at a time. Sandhill cranes by
the thousands will migrate through the area, and four cave-dwelling bat
species call the region home.

Horicon Marsh is a national wildlife refuge in its northern two-thirds and
a state wildlife area in its lower third. 

So it's stunning that a Chicago-based company, Forward Energy LLC, is
proposing a massive wind-power project near Horicon Marsh. It wants to
build 133 wind turbines within 1.2 miles of the marsh, covering an expanse
of 32,000 acres. Construction may start as soon as October. Cranes and
geese arriving soon may find their feeding grounds occupied by giant
turbines with 400-foot arms - "Crane Cuisinarts" in the sky.

Unfortunately, the huge proposed wind-energy facility pits two conservation
values - the development of non-fossil-fuel energy sources and the
protection of valuable habitat - against each other. 

Rather than using his office to help resolve the clash in values, the
governor has chosen to ignore the issue. Yet the growing shadow of wind
turbines looms over the governor's program.

Numerous national organizations, including ours, have called for a 4- to
5-mile buffer. Our local partners agree. 

Our conclusions were based, in part, on a Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources study conducted in 1999 that stated the bird population decreased
significantly just five miles from the marsh. 

Forward Energy impact studies completed in 2004 had significant and
numerous inadequacies and gaps in terms of seasonal coverage and
methodology. So the July announcement by the Public Service Commission of a
2-mile turbine setback was a disappointment to many observers wishing to be
pro-clean-energy, but with responsible placement. 

So where are we today? The Public Service Commission is scheduled to make
its decision by later this week. The final resolution will have national
implications. While wind power certainly lessens our dependency on fossil
fuel, extra care must be taken to ensure that construction of such wind
facilities will not do damage to nearby habitat, birds and bats.

A statewide advisory committee was given the task of setting guidelines for
the siting of wind farms. If these criteria had been finished, there would
be standards in place for installations across the state, including those
near Horicon Marsh. 

President Bush's energy bill provides the wind power industry with a
special two-year extension of the credit. This is good news for wind power
and clean energy, and it should be noted that it was due in part to Doyle's
urging. 

It should be good news for Horicon Marsh, too. But only if the governor
acts.

There is no need to hurry a wind-power complex so close to this national
treasure. In fact, a rush to construct could actually give wind energy a
black eye and set back the cause of wind-power's promise.

To confirm his commitment to clean as well as safe energy, Doyle should
respond to the vital Horicon issues by pushing back the buffer to 4 or 5
miles. At the same time, he should re-establish the advisory wind
power-siting committee to create responsible statewide standards. And he
should initiate a construction moratorium on wind farms at all sensitive
locations until sound guidelines are finished.

While Doyle portrays himself as an environmental governor, with some
justification, he now has the opportunity to be pro-wind-energy - but also
pro-birds, pro-habitat, and pro-refuge.


- - - -

Evan Hirsche is president and Paul J. Baicich is alliance coordinator of
the National Wildlife Refuge Association based in Washington, D.C.