By STEW MAGNUSON
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| Whooping cranes. Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
Who
in the Sand Hills hasn’t heard the otherworldly sound of a flock of cranes as
they slowly make their way south in the fall? Shading one’s eyes and looking
up, one can see the silhouettes of the Sandhill cranes as they use the thermal
drafts and southerly winds to migrate through Nebraska.
This
may be a sight the people of Cherry, Thomas and Logan Counties will only be
able to tell their grandchildren about if the plan moves forward to populate
the region with wind turbines.
A
careful reading of two government-funded reports on the effects of wind
turbines placed in the paths of North America’s two crane species—the sandhill
crane and the endangered whooping crane—spells out the possible fate of these
birds in the counties along Highway 83.
The
first, a 2009 report produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, describes
the dangers to the delicate whooping crane population, which at last count in
February 2015 numbered only 442 wild birds.
“The principal known cause of loss [of
whooping cranes] during migration is collision with utility lines … Additional
power line construction throughout the principal migration corridor will
increase the potential for collision mortalities,” the report said.
“Based on the known threat of wind turbines
to other migratory birds, and to their large body size and low maneuverability,
it is reasonable to expect that whooping cranes could be killed by turbine
blades, given the number of existing and proposed wind turbines within the …
migration corridor,” the report said.
Cranes fly at about 1,000 to 6,000 feet so
at first glance, there seems to be little risk for collision until one takes
into account the many different scenarios where mortality can occur: when they
are ascending and descending, when they occasionally fly at night, in poor weather
and when searching for wetlands to rest. (Wetlands are found throughout Cherry
County.)
Further, there was some evidence in the
2009 report that the birds may adjust to the existence of wind farms. In other
words, they will begin to fly miles out of the way to avoid the towers. They
then end up in stopover areas that they do not normally use. That puts them at
risk of exhaustion, predators and so on.
The sandhill crane was used in this report
as a stand-in species because of the whooping cranes’ small numbers.
Six years after this report, another
produced this year by the U.S. Geological Survey said there was further
research backing up this behavior.
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| Wind farm south of Minot, ND along Highway 83. By Stew Magnuson |
That
report, “Wintering Sandhill Crane
exposure to wind energy development in the central and southern Great Plains,
USA,” at first glance seemed to be good news to windmill proponents, as it
found only a 6 percent overlap between the more common cranes and wind farms.
That is until you drilled down and got beyond the headline. The future is much less
certain.
Six years of research since the 2009 report found more evidence that
cranes may begin to take different paths miles out of their normal routes to
avoid turbine blades, the report said. This should be alarming to the people of
Kearney and Grand Island. UNL's Bureau of Business Research in a report this spring found that
the bird watchers who come to the Platte River valley to see the annual
migrations in spring and fall contribute $10.33 million yearly into the state’s
economy. One wonders how these legions of birders will feel about the State of
Nebraska when the first report of a flock of sandhill cranes is found dead
underneath a wind turbine — or even more horrifying, whooping cranes. Can
anyone claim it will never happen?
Yes six percent doesn’t seem like a lot, but
the Geological Survey report only studied existing wind farms. The placing of
windmills as far as the eye can see in the Sand Hills was not included in this
report.
“A
continuation of this seeming compatibility of wintering cranes and wind energy
development will depend upon the placement of future towers in locations not
highly preferred by cranes,” the U.S. Geological
Survey report clearly said.
Here
are some other points from the 2009 Fish and Wildlife study.
“Wind farms should not be built near
traditional whooping crane stopover locations, and should be placed as far away
from the centerline of the whooping crane migration corridor as feasible. Wind
farms should not be constructed in areas within a wetland mosaic suitable for
whooping cranes to use,” it stated.
Let me spell it out for those who are not
from the area: Valentine National Wildlife Refuge.
I keep staring at the maps I’m finding
online that tracked GPS-banded whooping cranes and their migration routes and
wondering how these projects can go forward. And in Custer County? That’s even
closer to the paths.
And here is something for those investing
in these projects to chew on.
“If a whooping crane were to be killed by a
wind turbine, [Fish & Wildlife] could request that the wind farm cease
operations during all or portions of the spring and fall whooping crane
migration periods.”
It continued: “Companies should factor in
the scenario of a possible required cessation of operations when selecting a
wind farm site.”
The arguments I’ve heard from windmill
proponents that housecats kill millions of birds is irrelevant and sad.
Besides, I’d like to see the house cat that can take down North America’s
tallest birds. Unfortunately, cranes are no match for these windmill
monstrosities.
The issue of wind farms in the Nebraska
Sand Hills has not yet gone beyond “Not in My Backyard,” or NIMBYism. But it’s
time that the citizens downstate and the millions of birders around the world
understand what may be in store for these magnificent creatures if these
projects go forward.
Stew Magnuson is a proud Nebraskan residing in Arlington, Virginia, whose family roots are in the Sand Hills. He is the author of two editions of The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83. His book The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder, past winner of the Nebraska nonfiction book of the year award, was recently named one of the state's 150 most important literary works. Contact him at stewmag (a) yahoo.com
