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U.S. wildlife managers on Wednesday again proposed granting
30-year permits to wind farms that would forgive them for thousands of eagle deaths expected during that time frame from collisions of the birds with turbines, towers and electrical wires. The proposed rule, like one struck down by a federal judge last year, would greatly extend the
current five-year time frame in the permits required under U.S. law for the "incidental take" of eagles,
including those killed by obstacles erected in their habitat.Wind energy companies have pressed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lengthen the terms of the eagle permits, saying a
five-year duration left too much uncertainty and hampered investment in the burgeoning renewable power industry. The agency in 2013 approved a similar plan extending eagle-take permits to 30 years. But a U.S. judge
overturned it last year, agreeing with conservation groups that the Fish and Wildlife Service had
failed to properly assess impacts of the rule change on federally protected eagle populations.The revised proposal cites
significant expansion within many sectors of the U.S. energy industry, particularly wind energy operations in the Western states, at a time when bald eagle numbers are growing while golden eagles appear to be in decline.
Nevertheless, the Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that the
U.S. population of roughly 40,000 golden eagles could endure the loss of about 2,000 birds a year without being pushed toward extinction. And the agency suggested that
bald eagles, estimated to number about 143,000 nationwide, could sustain as many as 4,200 fatalities annually without endangering the species.The new proposal, which is open for public comment through July 5, would
make wind farms and other energy developers responsible for monitoring eagle deaths from collisions with facility structures. That arrangement was decried by the American Bird Conservancy, which led the successful legal challenge against the previous eagle permit plan.
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