“Every time you get an animal carcass, it’s worth studying,” says Katzner. “From a scientific point of view, leaving the corpse out in the open would waste the data.”
That data is important to people like biologist Amanda Hale, who helped build the repository while at Texas Christian University. She is now a Senior Research Biologist at Western Ecosystems Technology, a consulting firm that provides other services, as well as investigating dead wildlife at renewable energy sites. Part of her new role includes working with clean energy companies and the government agencies that regulate them, ensuring that decision makers have the latest science to inform their projects. will be Better data can help clients put together more accurate conservation plans, help agencies know what to look for, and make regulation easier, she said.
“If we could understand mortality patterns, I think we would be better at designing and implementing mitigation strategies,” said Hale.
However, some people are skeptical about the initiative. John Anderson, executive director of the Energy and Wildlife Action Coalition, a membership group for clean energy, sees merit in the effort, but believes that the program “discounts the impact of renewable energy from a very unfavorable perspective.” I am concerned that it may be used to characterize The wind industry has long been sensitive to claims that it kills birds.
Several renewable energy companies that Undark contacted for this article either did not respond to inquiries about wildlife monitoring at their sites or have stopped responding to requests for interviews. Other industry groups, such as the American Clean Power Association and the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute, declined interview requests. But many companies seem to be on board, and in Idaho, Katzner receives birds from her 42 states.
William Volker, a member of the Comanche tribe who has led a bird and feather hoard called the Seer for decades, is frustrated by the lack of consideration for the tribes from this kind of US government initiative. He said indigenous peoples have primary rights over “species of concern to indigenous peoples.” His vault catalogs bird carcasses and feathers and sends them to indigenous peoples for ceremonial and religious purposes. Voelker also cares for eagles.
“At the moment I cannot speak in the ring, which is a shame,” Volker said.
Katzner said he hopes the project will be a collaborative effort. The Renewable-Wildlife Solutions Initiative has sent some samples to a repository that provides religious and ceremonial feathers in Arizona, he said. to do so.
“It’s a shame those parts of the bird aren’t being utilized,” he said. “I hope they will be used for scientific and cultural purposes.”
many american style Farms are already monitoring and collecting downed wildlife. At a California wind farm an hour north of Altamont, the government-owned utility says the Sacramento Utility District tries to clear out the freezer at least once a year before it starts smelling like dead bodies. said Amon Rice, Director of Environmental Services at . Specimens accumulated by companies are often stored until they are disposed of. Until recently, samples were only piecemeal provided to governments and academic researchers.
