...The rule released May 4 allows for the killing of bald and golden
eagles by wind farms and nearly quadruples the annual limit for killing
bald eagles first proposed in 2009; it also acknowledges that
human-caused mortality of golden eagles may be unsustainable because
studies since 2009 indicate the population may be in decline.
The new rule out for public comment would allow the killing of 4,200
bald eagles nationwide by wind farms compared to the limit of about
1,100 proposed in 2009.
The limit on golden eagle kills remains zero, but the Fish and
Wildlife Service knows that windmills will still be causing mortality
and therefore it has come up with “compensatory mitigation” workarounds
so that companies may pay some sort of fee to a conservation bank to
make up for killing golden eagles.
This is the same Fish and Wildlife Service that denied approval — and
was upheld by Jewell — for 11 miles of one-lane road to complete a
connection between King Cove and Cold Bay through the Izembek Wildlife
Refuge based on hypothetical impacts on Trumpeter swans and Pacific
black brant geese whose populations have no conservation concern.
FWS estimates there are about 143,000 bald eagles in the U.S., with
half of those in Alaska, and it believes as much as 5 percent or more of
local area populations can be killed annually without impacting the
species as a whole.
Of the Pacific black brant geese, about 160,000 gather in Alaska
annually and thanks to warmer temperatures as many as 50,000 stayed
through winter in 2014 to continue feasting on abundant eelgrass in the
refuge lagoons.
Of the Trumpeter swans, 13,000 of the 16,000 or so in the U.S. reside
in Alaska with Lower 48 populations raised mostly by eggs transplanted
from here.
Examples of the federal government’s arrogant abuse of discretion can
be found on a daily basis, but few could be more egregious than
Jewell’s heartless disregard for 1,000 mainly Alaska Natives living in
King Cove while giving special treatment to a favored “green” industry
such as wind power to kill thousands of eagles every year even when her
own data show one of those species may be in decline.
The proposed road would do no such harm, as Alaskans have a long
history of building infrastructure in sensitive areas. And in any case,
putting a few birds at risk cannot begin to outweigh the risks to
residents with medical emergencies and the members of the U.S. Coast
Guard who are called upon to rescue them.
The press release from the FWS regarding the new eagle kill rule —
which it describes in Orwellian fashion as “eagle management” — commits
sins of omission by not including the number of eagles it will allow the
wind industry to kill every year. You have to read into the 162-page
proposed rule to find that information.
Even more galling, though, is FWS Director Dan Ashe’s comment in the
release that, “Eagles hold a revered place in our nation’s history and
culture, particularly that of Native Americans.”
Frankly, it is disgusting that Jewell, Ashe, et al, can pretend to be
concerned about Native Americans’ feelings when it comes to eagles
while coldly disregarding their feelings about access to emergency
medical care.
No more proof is needed that the federal government’s care for its
trust responsibilities to Alaska Natives goes no further than the extent
to which it aligns with its own agenda.
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