There has been plenty of controversy about a windmill project in Idaho, that will go on BLM land. There is no benefit that I see for Idaho, just a cost. I decided to send the below letter to our Senators, the commissioners on the project, and BLM. I was shocked at the harm the turbines cause to birds of prey and the way we are turning our heads to it.

A couple weeks ago it was rainy and cold, so we decided to take a drive to Hagerman. It was a great day to be on the backroads. The Hagerman Valley and the buffs above it are a beautiful sight to behold.  I will never get enough of Idaho’s beauty, its wildlife, waters, and its birds of prey.

It was a good day full of conversation, stops to take pictures, and just to marvel at Gods creations. Then we came upon the Wind Turbines and boy did this cause a change to the conversation. We began to discuss how disappointing it was to have them there. How they did not fit into the natural surroundings, and how they presented an ever- present danger not only to our birds of prey but to any migratory bird that passes through the area.

When I got home, I started reading articles on the subject and was horrified at my finding. The Wildlife Society Bulletin published a study from 2013 stating that an estimated 573,000 birds were killed annually in the United States alone due to turbines. The interesting thing about this study was that it was gathered by paid consultants to the wind industry. As if 573,000 birds dying annually was not enough, I also discovered that as of January 2022, the USWTDB (The U.S Wind Turbine Database) now contains more than 70,800 turbines.

The American Eagle Foundation estimates that by 2030 birds taken from turbine deaths will exceed 1.4 million. I say they estimated the deaths because gathering of data is difficult, in part because of the so- called Eagle take rule which gives energy developers 30 year permits to “take” or incidentally kill protected Bald and Golden Eagles, without sharing the mortality data.

Things happen for a reason and I believe that drive we took last weekend, seeing the Wind Turbines, and our conversation on the harm they caused is the reason I have finally decided to write this letter. So many times, we feel strongly about something but stay silent. Today when I received the email from Joan Hurlock asking that we write a letter stating any objections we had against the Wind Farms I knew I could not but if off any longer.

They say they have no buyer for the energy, but it could go out of state. From what I am hearing jobs created will be approximately 20. It will be of no benefit to Idaho, our wildlife, or our economy. I say we fight to keep them out of our state and save our birds of prey.