CALIFORNIA CONDORS GET AN ASSIST FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE
In an unusual — and somewhat controversial — move, federal wildlife officials in California are teaming up with a wind power company to breed endangered California condors in captivity, to replace any that might be felled by turbine blades.
The company, Avangrid Renewables, which operates 126 turbines in the windy Tehachapi Mountains about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to breed the birds in captivity at the Oregon Zoo. The proposed program, which is still subject to final approval by the Wildlife Service, could begin as soon as this spring.
“Our goal is zero fatalities,” Amy Parsons, the operations wildlife compliance manager for Avangrid Renewables in Portland, Ore., said in an interview Tuesday. “But we’re a very proactive company, and we want to take measures to minimize the risk to any species from our operations.”
Although the Wildlife Service’s Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office said there had been no documented cases of a wind turbine injuring or killing a condor at the plant since it opened in 2012, it noted that the condor presence near wind energy projects — and the potential for fatal collisions — would continue to increase with the growth of the wild condor population.
“Conservation plans provide a mechanism for wind energy companies to manage impacts to condors and help us recover this federally endangered species,” the office said.
The proposed $527,000 program, which Avangrid Renewables would pay for, anticipates the unintentional killing of two free-flying condors and up to two eggs or chicks in the region over a period of 30 years. It would mitigate that loss by releasing six 1.5-year-old condors into the wild over three years, a ratio based on a population viability analysis. (Under federal law, an organization that kills a condor is usually subject to a fine of up to $200,000.)
But conservationists say that instead of carving out exceptions, the government should force wind farms to find ways to prevent the deaths.
In comments filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in February, Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the company’s plan fell short. She said a more reasonable output would be a minimum of 30 condors, not six.
AU STIN, TEXAS» America’s infrastructure has scored near-failing grades for its deteriorating roads, public transit and storm water systems due to years of inaction from the federal government, the American Society of Civil Engineers reports. Its overall grade: a mediocre Cminus.
In its “Infrastructure Report Card” released Wednesday, the group called for “big and bold” relief, estimating it would cost $5.9 trillion over the next decade to bring roads, bridges and airports to a safe and sustainable level. That’s about $2.6 trillion more than what government and the private sector already spend.
“America’s infrastructure is not functioning as it should, and families are losing thousands of dollars a year in disposable income as a result of cities having to fix potholes, people getting stuck in traffic or due to repairs when a water line breaks or the energy grid goes down,” said Greg DiLoreto, one of the group’s past presidents.
“It’s critical we take action now,” he said, expressing optimism that the federal government is now making it a “top priority.”
During Donald Trump’s four years in the White House, his administration often held “Infrastructure Week” events and touted transportation improvements. But it was not able to push Congress to pass any broad plan to update the nation’s roads and bridges, rails and airports.
The overall C-minus grade on America’s infrastructure — reflecting a “mediocre” condition with “significant deficiencies” — is a slight improvement from its Dplus grade in 2017. The group cited in part state and local government and private-sector efforts, which have turned to new technology to pinpoint water main leaks and prioritize fixes.