“If I were head of the US Fish & Wildlife Service” (Jim Wiegand)
Jan 6, 2013
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—Jim Wiegand, Wildlife Biologist (California)
I was presented with this question recently. “How would I respond if I was running the USFWS (US Fish & Wildlife Service) and was not allowing this agency to cover for the wind industry?”
First of all we would have an accurate count of all the whooping cranes in Texas along with the sub adults and juveniles so real condition of this population could be disclosed to the public. After all over 200 are missing from this population and there are now thousands of deadly wind turbines that litter their habitat.
I would have USFWS personnel responsible for checking the GPS transponders on whooping cranes, checking on their well being every 6 hour period during daylight hours. Presently the whooping cranes are not checked on unless there is a lack of movement for 24 hours. This huge gap gives a wind farm more than enough time to move any dead whooping cranes.
I would have every gag order ever written into a wind industry dismissed under eminent domain laws for the sake of protecting our natural resources. It would seem to be an easy matter because is all too obvious that the extinction of wildlife and destruction our natural resources are far more valuable to our society and future than the small amount energy produced from wind turbines.
With the gag orders out of the way a complete investigation would be conducted into the history of operating wind farms. I would concentrate on the wind farms located in the habitat of endangered species.
I would have a federal law passed so it would be a felony to conceal the death of any protected species killed at a wind farm. Owners that profited from the concealment of bodies would lose their land much in the same way a drug dealer does. I would also have rewards, big rewards because we would be fishing for big fish.
I would initiate a series of truly constructive wildlife studies to determine the cumulative damage that has been done by these wind turbines. These studies have been avoided for over 28 years. Not one of the sell-out experts that worked on bogus wind industry studies would be a part of any of these new studies. I would set up a DNA data bank that would prove to the world that eagles and other species killed at wind farms were being killed from populations thousands of miles away. The USFWS is already in custody of many such carcasses. Analyzing these carcasses alone and comparing them to remote populations would probably be enough to establish vast mortality footprint of wind turbines.
I would have cadaver dogs searching wind farm properties for buried carcasses that were hidden from the world. Some locations in particular I would bet would have body dump sites that look like the Auschwitz.
I would try not to bother Congress with any of this because their time is much better spent investigating really important matters like Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, and Rodger Clemens.
Yes, it would feel pretty good to see a Dirty Harry sent in to clean house and kick some wind industry asses. God knows they sure need it. But justice usually only happens on the big screen. That is why so many films are successful.
Comment by David Moriarty on 01/06/2013 at 12:58 pm
The time has come for the citizens of the world to wake up before they turn on the gas. Yes they really are killing us, and don’t you deny it. We all know all too well what happens when good, decent, honest people of the world turn a blind eye. NO MORE DENIAL, PLEASE! COME ON PEOPLE! GET UP! STAND UP! ONLY YOU CAN STOP THIS, AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Oh, and by the way, we only have 400 right whales left in the entire world. What do you think President Obama is going to tell his children when the destruction of the species occurs? “We had to kill them so my friends could make more money. Sorry girls!” Thanks alot, Cape Wind!
Comment by mtumba on 01/06/2013 at 1:06 pm
Nobody wants to talk about it, but it’s going to take a revolution. Always has, always will.
Comment by Jim Wiegand on 01/06/2013 at 2:57 pm
All eyes should be on Vermont. A major resistance movement is brewing between the people, politicians, and the corrupt wind industry. Even if the industry can rig their way out of it, it will only have a short run because what they have done and what they are doing will never go away.
Comment by jack sullivan on 01/06/2013 at 3:23 pm
Every time I see the wind industry’s credibility taken to task, I am reminded of sitting in a wind presentation in Ellenburg, NY, and sitting next to a wise octogenarian farmer who leaned over and remarked, “If those guys were given a shot of truth serum, they’d be speechless.”
Comment by Kaz on 01/06/2013 at 6:58 pm
Thank you, Jim.
We need more “Jims”…
More courageous people who are willing to speak out and hold the industry (and the agencies that support it) accountable…
More Calvins and Marshes and Sarahs and Sherrys and Lisas and Ninas and Robs and Ricks… citizens who care about facts and about people, wildlife, the environment… and who care about ethics.
So…thanks, Jim — for showing courage and leadership.
Kaz
Comment by summerhaven_summerhell on 01/07/2013 at 9:36 pm
Hi Jim,
What would you do about this travesty?
Video from inside wind developer Nextera’s destruction zone of the bald eagle nest. Don’t mind the odd bleeped out bit of anger flying around; it wasn’t the most pleasant place to be.
Comment by Jim Wiegand on 01/08/2013 at 7:42 pm
As the outrage builds in Canada over the bald eagle nest removal, Vermont needs to ask Iberdrola about the removal of golden eagle and other raptor nests at the Tule Wind project in Southern CA.
This is a direct quote from Iberdrola’s Dec 2010 EIR/EIS: “Prior to construction, SDG&E will remove all existing raptor nests from existing structures that will be affected by Project construction. Removal of nests will occur outside of the raptor breeding season (January to July). If it is necessary to remove an existing raptor nest during the breeding season, a qualified biologist will survey the nest prior to removal to determine if it is active. If the nest is inactive, it will be dismantled and removed from the site promptly under the supervision of a biological monitor.”
The USFWS (US Fish & Wildlife Service) which has been helping the wind industry cover-up their carnage to birds and bats, did pass new regulations so the industry could take such actions. They now issue permits for nest removal (click here): “Below are questions and answers regarding eagle nest take permits. 1. Under what circumstances may an eagle nest be removed? This permit may be used to authorize the removal of a bald or golden eagle nest where the removal is: (a) necessary to alleviate a safety emergency to people or eagles. . . .”
Of course there probably has never been one eagle nest removal that was a “safety emergency” to people.
Comment by mtumba on 01/09/2013 at 1:04 pm
Can anyone paying attention deny that our government is corrupt? It is imperative that moral and ethical citizens not support the ever increasing size and power of our debased government. Large government is not only not our friend. It is our enemy.
Comment by Jim Wiegand on 01/12/2013 at 2:25 pm
As many that visit this site are aware, I have been writing for some time about the decades old avian mortality cover-up between the wind industry and USFWS. I have also made it clear that I am not a fan of cover-ups when it comes to protected wildlife. But people have to realize it does happen. For anyone wanting to learn about a classic example of another federal wildlife cover-up, I have provided the links below. My wife and I also happened to be the primary eyewitness. This cover-up is small when compared to the declining whooping crane population or the turbine mortality at wind farms but they all carry the same disturbing theme.
This took place last spring and summer. Something I never talked about publicly before also took place, very crucial evidence disappeared that I only told 2 other people about. One was a state F&G warden that I trust and the other was a federal employee. The physical evidence that disappeared was a loose end that needed to be fixed so a lid could be kept on the investigation.
http://www.examiner.com/article/bridge-bay-resort-allegedly-trashing-swallow-nests-violating-migratory-bird-act
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/jul/02/feds-resort-on-lake-shasta-not-responsible-for/
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/jul/08/jim-wiegand-waves-wind-did-not-destroy-swallows/