[BCNnet] Mass Audubon has conflict of interest as Cape Wind permit
reviewing entity
Bjdurk at aol.com
Bjdurk at aol.com
Sun Jul 4 08:25:42 CDT 2010
As Mass Audubon now admits they intend to secure the Cape Wind avian
mortality monitoring contract, worth multi-millions of dollars, by their own
press release--see highlighted.
Cape Cod Time's
_http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2010/06/28/mass-audubon-supports-cape-wind-energy-p?blog=53_
(http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2010/06/28/mass-audubon-supports-cape-wind-energy-p?blog=53)
The condition of Mass Audubon's "support" for Cape Wind as expressed in
their "Challenge" (2006) press release is the Adaptive Management monitoring
and mitigation service contract. (Valued over term provided in Mass
Audubon's "Challenge" as an approximate $8 million dollar contract). Adaptive
Management is the "umbrella" term covering "monitoring" counting mortalities,
and "mitigation", attempting to reduce harm to wildlife by "improvement
(man's) to the environment, such as by wind turbines.
_Mass Audubon | What's New!_
(http://www.massaudubon.org/news/index.php?id=1482&type=press) (the smoking gun evidence that Mass Audubon is indeed
planning to secure the contract for AM (Adaptive Management).
Mass Audubon "What's New? press release excerpt:
Next Steps for Mass Audubon participation
Mass Audubon will continue to analyze and report on Cape Wind through:
1. MMS’ OCS lease arrangement;
2. ACOE Section 10 permit issued under the US Rivers and Harbors Act;
3. EMS adaptive management plan; and
4. Avian monitoring and mitigation plan implementation during the
construction and three year post-construction phases of the project.
_http://www.massaudubon.org/news/index.php?id=1482&type=press_
(http://www.massaudubon.org/news/index.php?id=1482&type=press)
Cape Wind media darling Mass Audubon brings bias to the project NEPA permit
review: (NEPA analysis should avoid taking on a project advocacy position
as Mass Audubon has with Cape Wind---Mass Audubon denies Mass Audubon's
testimony on bird kill by Cape Wind, in writing, published).
_http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/21/4046167-mass-audubon-condition-
of-support-for-cape-wind-spells-bias_
(http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/21/4046167-mass-audubon-condition-of-support-for-cape-wind-spells-bias)
'Dear Secretary Salazar: Please do not sign off on Cape Wind'
(establishes immitigable harm to wildlife presented by Cape Wind, technology to
monitor mortalities over water does not exist, mitigation has not worked on land
to reduce harm to wildlife)
_http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2009/03/11/2534556-dear-secretary-salazar-
please-do-not-sign-off-on-cape-wind_
(http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2009/03/11/2534556-dear-secretary-salazar-please-do-not-sign-off-on-cape-wind) -
Outrage expressed over Mass Audubon's (brass AKA leaders') duplicity in
the Cape Wind NEPA review. Mass Audubon is an MMS identified "Key Partner"
thusly, Mass Audubon should not advocate on behalf of Cape Wind as NEPA
environmental analysis should remain objective.
_http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/26/4364708-thanks-for-nothing-mass
-audubon_
(http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/26/4364708-thanks-for-nothing-mass-audubon)
_Audubon Papers: Essay 8_ (http://www.britell.com/audubon/audubon8.html)
"We have even been offered free trips to foreign countries just to talk
about projects to be done locally. People troll for us all the time. One wimpy
local board member and one persuasive state office official is all it
often takes to get a local chapter to pass on opposing a project. And
developers know that."
MA Audubon also manages Bird Island with $780, 000 restoration
mitigation anticipated from Cape Wind lease payments.
In addition, the state and feds will fund $3.77 million to Bird Island
for a feasibility study.
Mass Audubon's Jack Clarke, through the US Offshore Wind Collaborative
(USOWC), intends to provide (his) their "Actions" that include "Monitoring
U.S. offshore projects" "environmental impacts", "through all phases of
development"; aMMs an MMS identified "Key Partner" in the Cape Wind NEPA
environmental and permit review.
Party to the Altamont, CA lawsuits over the violations of federal species
protections by the wind industry, Michael Boyd-President of CAlifornians for
Renewable Energy, estimates the value of the Cape Wind monitoring contract
as $3 million "startup"; and $1 million per each year following. MA
Audubon's "Challenge" press release stipulates that Cape Wind AM will continue
for at least 3 years post Cape Wind construction. If Cape Wind takes 2
years to construct, the approximate future value of MA Audubon's "support"
condition of Cape Wind (MA Audubon "Challenge" press release) is $8 million
dollars.
NEPA analysis should avoid taking on a project advocacy position.
Accordingly, MA Audubon has corrupted the Cape Wind NEPA review. As MA Audubon
has upstaged the federal regulator functioning under the ESA Section 7
consultation process, by offering their "support" for Cape Wind as an MMS
identified (Key Partner), for the value of U.S. offshore wind AM monitoring
contracts.
Mass Audubon Founding Member of New Wind Collaborative
The new non-profit, named the US Offshore Wind Collaborative (USOWC), will
work to ramp up the growth of a sustainable offshore wind industry
nationwide. Recognizing the urgency of our energy and climate change challenges,
the Collaborative will address technical, environmental, economic and
regulatory issues that serve as obstacles to wind development. Specific goals
include providing a forum for cross-sector communication, planning, and action,
and distributing information that informs and advances the industry.
The collaborative recently released a _working paper_
(http://web.massaudubon.org/site/R?i=jqafKJ6C2BIdXslzkuElmg..) titled U.S. Offshore Wind
Energy: A Path Forward as a resource for stakeholders. titled U.S. Offshore Wind
Energy: A Path Forward as a resource for stakeholders. This document
provides an overview of current offshore wind regulation and government policies,
technology development, and environmental/marine use, among other issues.
_http://web.massaudubon.org/site/DocServer/USOWC_working_paper.pdf?docID=2701
_
(http://web.massaudubon.org/site/DocServer/USOWC_working_paper.pdf?docID=2701)
For more information, visit _http://www.usowc.org/_ (http://www.usowc.org/)
.
_http://www.massaudubon.org/advocacy/roundup_archive.php?id=178_
(http://www.massaudubon.org/advocacy/roundup_archive.php?id=178)
"Actions"
"Monitor U.S. offshore projects through all phases of development,
including regulatory procedures, stakeholder involvement, siting analysis, best
management practices, turbine performance, environmental impacts, and public
perception." (page 10)
_http://www.usowc.org/pdfs/USOWCProspectus.pdf_
(http://www.usowc.org/pdfs/USOWCProspectus.pdf)
_http://web.massaudubon.org/site/DocServer/USOWC_working_paper.pdf?docID=270
1_
(http://web.massaudubon.org/site/DocServer/USOWC_working_paper.pdf?docID=2701)
Minerals Management Service FY 2006 Cooperative Conservation Project’
“Project Title:
Cape Wind Energy Project
Examples of Key Partners
Cape Wind LLC, State of Massachusetts, Cape Cod Commission, Massachusetts
Audubon Society, Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, U.S. Coast Guard,
U.S. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal
Aviation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, and the U.S.
Minerals Management Service.”
_http://www.mms.gov/offshore/PDFs/CooperativeConservationReport2006.pdf_
(http://www.mms.gov/offshore/PDFs/CooperativeConservationReport2006.pdf)
_http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2010/06/28/mass-audubon-support
s-cape-wind-energy-p?blog=53_
(http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2010/06/28/mass-audubon-supports-cape-wind-energy-p?blog=53)
MA Audubon is in an enviable position if Cape Wind is permitted.
MA Audubon manages Bird Island with $780, 000 restoration mitigation
anticipated from Cape Wind lease payments.
In addition, the state and feds will fund $3.77 million to Bird Island
for a feasibility study.
MA Audubon conditions their “support” for Cape Wind, a project they are
reviewing as an MMS identified “Key Partner”, upon Agency acceptance of
Adaptive Management monitoring and mitigation. This service contract is
valued, over the term prescribed by MA Audubon in “Challenge” press release, as
$8 million dollars “funded by Cape Wind…," to the AM contract holder.
However; Adaptive management monitoring and mitigation as proposed for
Cape Wind is doomed to failure according to the federal permitting authority
under ESA Section 7 review process, USFWS, comments on the Cape Wind MMS
DEIS.
Northeast Coastal Areas Study
Significant Coastal Habitats
Site 34 (MA)
_Maps_
(http://training.fws.gov/Library/pubs5/necas/web_link/images/bbcbn1_2.htm)
I. SITE NAME: Buzzards Bay Colonial Bird Nesting and Feeding Areas
II. SITE LOCATION: Bird Island and Ram Island are located just offshore
the western shoreline of Buzzards Bay, northeast of the city of New Bedford,
in the vicinity of the Towns of Marion and Antassawamock, respectively.
TOWNS: Mattapoisett, Marion
COUNTY: Plymouth
STATE: Massachusetts
USGS 7.5 MIN QUADS: Naushon Island, Mass 41070-47; Woods Hole, Mass
41070-56; Sconticut Neck, Mass 41070-57; Onset, Mass 41070-66; Marion, Mass
41070-67
USGS 30x60 MIN QUADS: Martha's Vineyard 41070-A1; New Bedford 41070-E1
III. GENERAL BOUNDARY: There are two distinct, separate and yet closely
related areas comprising this complex: 1) an area on the western and upper
portions of Buzzards Bay enclosing two small offshore islands (Ram Island and
Bird Island) and a large group feeding area; and 2) a nearshore area of
open waters along the lower, eastern shoreline of Buzzards Bay important as a
general feeding area for individual birds. Ram Island forms the
southwestern boundary of the first area and is situated about 0.5 miles (1 km) south
of Antassawamock in the Town of Mattapoisett. Moving northeastward from
Ram Island the boundary encloses Bird Island, located about 0.5 miles (1 km)
south of Sippican Neck in the Town of Marion, to Great Neck and up into
Buttermilk Bay at the head of Buzzards Bay. The dimensions for this area are
approximately 10 miles (16 km) long in a southwest-northeast direction and
about 3 miles (5 km) wide in a northwest-southeast direction along the
western shoreline of Buzzards Bay. The second area is located approximately 10
miles (16 km) south of Bird Island and consists entirely of the nearshore
waters around Woods Hole and the northern half of Naushon Island out to
about 0.5 miles (1 km) from the shoreline. This second area is approximately 6
miles (10 km) long in a southwest-northeast direction and 2 miles (3 km)
wide in a northwest-southeast direction. The general boundaries for both
areas are delineated on the accompanying maps.
IV. OWNERSHIP/PROTECTED STATUS: These areas consist entirely of public
lands and waters. Ram Island is owned by the State of Massachusetts, Division
of Fisheries and Wildlife; Bird Island is owned by the Town of Marion and
managed by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
_http://training.fws.gov/Library/pubs5/necas/web_link/34_buzzards%20bay.htm_
(http://training.fws.gov/Library/pubs5/necas/web_link/34_buzzards%20bay.htm)
_Bird Island tern restoration project gets federal, state help - Marion,
MA - Wicked Local Marion_
(http://www.wickedlocal.com/marion/news/lifestyle/x636389237/Bird-Island-tern-restoration-project-gets-federal-state-help)
Bird Island tern restoration project gets federal, state help
By Chris Reagle
Wed Sep 17, 2008, 11:45 AM EDT
After seven years, erosion control and soil restoration work will resume
at Bird Island, which had become badly degraded due to weather, and wave
action, and put in peril delicate sea bird habitat.
Bird Island, on which sits the historic Bird Island Lighthouse, is a
significant habitat for the endangered roseate tern, as well as common terns.
A collaboration between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the state
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the town will offer much
respite for the battered island on the outskirts of Sippican Harbor.
“I would say construction is three years down the line. Planning will take
about two years,” Carolyn Mostello, Tern Project Leader at the state
Division of Fish and Wildlife, said.
She said the state and feds would kick in a total of $3.77 million to pay
for a feasibility study, plan preparations, and specifications, and new
revetment and replacing eroded substrates to restore suitable habitats.
Thank You,
Barbara Durkin
(508) 612-4133
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