FWS Submits Wind Turbine Guideline Recommendations to Interior Secretary

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today transmitted a set of final recommendations on how to minimize the impacts of land-based wind farms on wildlife and its habitat to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

These recommendations represent the agreement of the 22 diverse members of the Wind Turbine Guidelines Federal Advisory Committee and were reached during a process of more than two years.

Secretary Salazar plans to review the recommendations and take them under advisement over the next year as he directs the Service to develop guidelines for evaluating wind energy development on public and private lands.

The document contains both policy recommendations and recommended voluntary guidelines for siting and operating wind energy projects in order to avoid or minimize potential impacts to wildlife and habitat.

Highlights of the Committee’s recommendations include:
-A decision-making framework that guides all stages of wind energy development;
-Reliance on the best available science when assessing renewable energy projects and their potential environmental impact; and
-Use of landscape-scaled planning that recognizes the need to think long-term about protecting our nation’s economic and natural resources.

You can read the recommendations here.