How many eagles did the Keystone XL kill?
Yes, they're tasty, like spotted owl and then paired with baby seal stew, mmm goooood!
You were supposed to overlook that part and just scream about birds and shit. Because turbines evil, whatever hurt by them good. That's the typical reactionary MO, right? I mean shit, this is the Bear Pit, you expect people to read beyond the headline?
We don't speak area codes, just say where the fuck you're talking about. This isn't a rap video.
Neither bald or golden eagles are endangered (since around 2007), nor are there any permits that say it’s ok if a bunch of them are killed. They’re protected just like any other migratory non-game bird, just more high profile and more costly fines.
And there is the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. You can thank the Clinton administration for pulling the Migratory Bird Treaty Act out of obscurity.
I used to deal with NEPA, ESA, and EA compliance on a regular basis. Even the federal government itself doesn’t get to just kill eagles willy nilly.
www.instituteforenergyresearch.org
I hate those things too but I am not sure how to charge my iPhone from one. Wriggly little shits.
I read the articles but it’s a bit misleading in the context we are talking about. Full disclosure when I started work as a wildlife biologist I worked for USFWS and the bulk of my work was with ES and mountains of compliance docs for these very things. Permitting does not allow companies to just kill migratory birds with no justification, however it does give leniency if birds are killed AFTER mitigation efforts fail. It’s more of an “acceptable loss” scenario in good faith. That is a gross oversimplification of it because there is never anything cut and dry with gov regulations. Even when the agency was conducting habitat restorations, prescribe fire, etc on FWS lands, it was generally so much of a pain in the ass that we would avoid work in areas where eagles had nests in the vicinity.Obama Allows Wind Turbines to Legally Kill Eagles
On January 17, 2017, the number of bald eagles that can be killed by wind farm permit holders will increase…
EDITORIAL: THE WIND INDUSTRY AND THE INCIDENTAL TAKE PERMIT | East County Magazine
www.eastcountymagazine.org
I worked for the BLM for about a year but in a wildland fire position. I agree with your assessment and didn't like that agency either. Forest Service is a huge agency compared to the other two and does attract some clowns. My wife worked for them while we were in Oregon and wasn't a huge fan. The USFWS is a small agency and in my experience the people there genuinely care about the work and work hard. At least at the field station level working in the Refuges. Once you get up to the regional and national level there are still good people but you start to get more bureaucrats as well. This is coming from someone who grew up farming tobacco, was a grunt in the Marine Corps, and has spent time in the hard rock mining industry.
