CITIZEN CALL TO ACTION: Help BSBO's efforts to stop a wind turbine proposed
for a Globally Important Bird Area in Ottawa County

We hope you will email your Name, City, State, Zip, (with "RWE" in the
subject line) to: [log in to unmask] to support our efforts on
the troubling issue outlined below. Your name will then be included along
with an official letter that BSBO, along with other conservation
organizations, will be submitting to local, state, and federal officials.

Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) has learned of proposal to place a large
wind turbine at the Camp Perry National Guard facility on the Lake Erie
shoreline, just a few miles east of the world-famous birding hotspot of
Magee Marsh.   The Camp Perry facility itself includes wooded areas near the
Lakeshore that provide important stopover habitat for migratory songbirds.
The site also lies directly between the Darby Unit of Ottawa National
Wildlife Refuge and the Navarre Marsh, site of BSBO's primary songbird
banding research station, where we have banded more than 500,000 songbirds
over the last 20+ years.  In other words, the site lies deep within one of
the most sensitive migration stopover habitats in the Midwest.   Many
birders are familiar with the Camp Perry site since the public access beach
on the facility provides important habitat for migratory shorebirds.  Local
bird enthusiasts are also likely to recognize the facility as home to an
active Bald Eagle nest visible from State Route 2.

BSBO filed for all relevant documents from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and from the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources under the Sunshine Law. The documents show that both our
federal and state wildlife agencies have listed multiple reasons why this
site is not suitable for wind turbines.  Reasons cited in these documents
include, but are not limited to:
- The site's proximity to an active Bald Eagle nest
- The high number of Bald Eagles that have been documented using the area
- The site lies deep within a highly sensitive area for migrating
passerines, waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors
- The site poses high potential for impact on the Federally Endangered
Kirtland's Warbler and Piping Plovers
- The site is part of a National Audubon designated Important Bird Area
- The site is part of a Partners In Flight designated Globally Important
Bird Area
- The site is part of a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network
designated area of Regional significance for shorebirds

* And most recently, in their comments evaluating the final Environmental
Assessment (EA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ohio Department of
Resources basically shred the EA, collectively calling out close to 50
erroneous and misleading statements in the document.

Based on this information, and the amount of data that BSBO's research has
gathered to demonstrate the volume of migratory birds that rely on the
stopover habitat in this region, BSBO's position is that this site presents
high risk for migratory birds and it is irresponsible for the federal
government to allow its installation on this site.

I want to be absolutely clear: BSBO is not simply saying no to wind energy;
rather, we have expressed a sincere willingness to work with any and all
stakeholder groups to develop alternate sites and alternate technologies
that will allow us to support Responsible Wind Energy.  We are asking for
your support of our position. Since the facility is part of the Department
of Defense, there are some issues that we fear could allow them to proceed
with this project in spite of the overwhelming comments against it expressed
by the state and federal wildlife agencies.

Citizen action can have an enormous impact, and I encourage you to sign on
to our efforts.  We met with National Audubon this week and their Chief
Scientist has agreed to write a letter of support for our efforts, stressing
the importance of responsible placement of wind turbines in Important Bird
Areas.  We've issued this call to action to every conservation organization
in Ohio (and a few in neighboring states).  Adding the names of concerned
citizens will put those in charge of administering this project on notice
that Ohio's very active birding community is watching, and that we hold them
up to the highest possible standards as a federal facility. Here, in this
area that is of global significance to migratory birds, we must ensure that
the habitat these birds depend on is given the utmost consideration.

If you are willing to include your name in support of our position, please
email the following information to: [log in to unmask]  and
please put RWE in the subject line.

Name
City, State, Zip
eMail address

Sincerely,
Kimberly Kaufman
Executive Director
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449
419-898-4070

2011 League of Ohio Sportsmen Conservation Organization of the Year Award
2012 Eastern Maumee Bay Chamber of Commerce Prism Award for Community
Improvement

www.bsbobird.org <http://www.bsbobird.org/>
www.ohioyoungbirders.org <http://www.ohioyoungbirders.org/>
www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com
<http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/>

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