Towers and Turbines
Some Industry Partnerships: Attempting to Achieve Compliance
with MBTA and Other Laws -What's Next?
Why Are Migratorv Birds in Trouble? What are the Challenges?
Based various estimates, between 300 million > 1 billion birds killed U.S. each year by
collisions with tall structures and automobiles. Specifically:
 60 -80 million from vehicles.
 98 -980 million from buildings and windows.
 tens of thousands -174 million from strikes w/ power lines.
 tens of thousands -hundreds thousands or more from electrocutions.
 4 -50 million from strikes with communication towers, and
 15-40 thousand from wind turbines.
Not included in above are estimated deaths of hundreds of millions of birds annually
from pesticide contamination and poisoning, oil and contaminant spills, domestic cats,
entanglement in fishing gear, and habitat loss/destruction.
MESSAGE: as trust agency tasked to protect and manage migratory birds, FWS must do
everything we can to reverse these population trends -vast majority human-caused whether impacts appear to be large or small, on private or public land.
Tools to address these Challenges:
Education, outreach, voluntary guidance, partnerships, regulations, enforcement,
investigations, and prosecutions (where necessary)
How Does Industry Get Involved with Migratory Birds?
Three structural issues getting special attention from FWS because growing so rapidly
and because feel avian impacts can or could be significantly reduced in near future with
conservation measures already available. These include impacts from:
1) power lines,
2) communication towers, and
3) wind turbines.
Industry needs to know:
Why are birds important?
Why are they important to industry?
What is ther status?
Why is MBTA such an important statute?
Why is important for them to cooperate w/ FWS?
In 1999 Moon Lake Electric Association was criminally prosecuted by DOI as a result of
electrocuting 16 raptors on power poles not bird- friendly. Case represents first time
MBTA and BGEPA used criminal prosecution against electric utility. Company was
asked on numerous occasions to use inexpensive, easy-to-install, bird electrocution
devices. .They refused. Resulted in plea agreement:
$100,000 fine, 3 years probation, and they sign MOU w/ FWS, States of Colorado and
Utah, develop and implement raptor electrocution avoidance plan, and retrofit > 1,000
power poles. Given opportunity, Service much prefers partnership approach in working
with individuals, industry, and the agencies.
What Are the Problems?
Power line Strikes and Electrocutions
Strikes:
 Mostly problem for transmission lines is in daytime and night.
 > 500,000 miles bulk transmission lines today.
Electrocutions :
Mostly problem for distribution lines, transformers, conductors, and related equipment.
> 116 million distribution poles in U.S.; no idea how many miles.
Communication Tower Strikes
 Solid or pulsating incandescent lights, guy wires, tall towers, bad weather, proximity
to wetlands, and bird migrations can spell disaster.
 Towers growing exponentially. Maybe > 138,000 as of 2004
Wind Turbine Issues
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Strikes for birds and bats (Backbone Mt., WV)
Habitat fragmentation.
Bird disturbance, esp. for lek species like prairie grouse and for grassland songbirds.
Helping Solve the Mortality Problems Partnerships with Industry
Service co-founding member:
 1989 Avian Power Line Interaction Committee/APLIC;
 1994 Avian Subcommittee, National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) -now
called Wildlife Work Group;
 1999 Communication Tower Working Group; and
 1999 Interagency Seabird Working Group
- Helped develop and review voluntary guidance w/ APLIC through Suggested Practices
(1994 and 1996) now being updated. In the process of developing voluntary guidance to
reduce electrocutions and bird strikes w/ electric utility industry.
- Voluntary guidance now in the form of an Avian Protection Plans currently under
development.
- (http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues/towers/comtow.html).
- Service, w/ feedback from industry and academicians, developed 2000 voluntary
guidance for siting and placement communication towers and we produced voluntary
interim guidance for evaluating sites, pre- and post-construction monitoring, and
recommendations for operation for land-based wind turbines on public and private lands
in July 2003. Interim guidance is currently under 2 year public review and comment.
(http://www.fws.gov/r9dhcbfa/wind.pdf)
Mitigation for Power Line Electrocutions:
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Sufficient phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground wire spacing critical for large-winged
birds. Three-phase transformers especially deadly where bare energized jumper wires
connect transformers. These can be deadly to small and large raptors. Use protective
cutouts and surge arresters.
Jumper wires should be insulated.
Existing transformers retrofitted w/ insulating material over bare jumpers. All
recommended in Suggested Practices for Raptor Protection (1996; being updated).
Mitigation for Communication Towers:
Ongoing or Soon-to-Begin Research to Address Problems:
$ Michigan State Police tower lighting study B began Sept. 15, 2003. Will continue
through spring 2006.
$ Evans et al. lighting study w/ portable lighting unit B began Spring 2003; ongoing.
$ U.S. Forest Service Arizona short-tower (cell tower) study B began Spring 2004.
$ U.S. Coast Guard Rescue 21 3-year tower study B to begin spring 2005
$ Boulder, CO, Clear Channel study completed spring 2004.
$ Other smaller studies.
 Focus of research: lighting, height, guy support wires, weather, location, deterrents,
mortality.
Mitigation for Wind Turbines:
 Best advice on how to conduct research at wind sites is available in Methods and
Metrics for Determining or Monitoring Potential Impacts on Birds, 1999. Currently
being updated.
 Development of the Service’s voluntary “Interim Guidance on Avoiding and
Minimizing Wildlife Impacts from Wind Turbines” (2003). Out for public comment
until July 2005. http://www.fws.gov/r9dhcbfa/windenergy.htm
 Planning public meetings with industry and their consultants, NGOs, and other
stakeholders to actually use and assess guidance being planned in 2005.
 If pre-construction monitoring is not possible, push for > 2 yrs. post-construction
monitoring (both mortality and bird/bat behavior). .
 Temporary turbine shutdown.
 Move turbines.
 Evaluating technological changes such as continue testing blade
coloring/painting/opposing color patterns.
Additional Sources of Information
http://www.nationalwind.org
National Marine Fisheries Service, 2001. Managing the Nation’s Bycatch: Programs,
Activities, and Recommendations for the NMFS.
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1999. U.S. National Plan of Action for Reducing the
Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries (NPOA-S)
For Additional Information Contact:
Al Manville
Division of Migratory Bird Management, USFWS
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Mail Stop MBSP-4107
Arlington, V A 22203
Albert_ Manville@fws.gov: 703/358-1963