Bald Eagle Habitat Destroyed for Wind Turbine Construction

by Susmita Baral • January 8, 2013 • Animals, Science & Nature •

 

NextEra Energy Canada, a subsidiary of an American energy company, has destroyed a bald eagle habitat in Haldimand County in Ontario, Canada for wind turbine construction on Saturday. The ministry, which approved this act on December 31st, 2012, defended its actions by stated that the new energy center will allow for 56 turbines which will produce energy for 32,000 homes.

“Expanding clean and renewable sources of energy is key to the government’s plan to phase out coal-fired generation, mitigate climate change, create green jobs and support technological innovation in renewable energy,” the ministry wrote. “Bald eagles typically start to look for nests in early winter and have been known to use more than one nest. By removing the nest before Jan. 6, it is anticipated they will find another suitable nest location and will avoid disturbing them during their critical nesting period.”

Needless to say, environmentalists are opposed to this. Tom Wasilewski, co-ordinator of an eagle conservation association in northwestern Pennsylvania, according to The London Free Press, stated: “The Ontario government continues to blindly accept inaccurate information from wind companies as the truth without providing an investment in truly independent, scientific studies of bird, bat, butterfly migration before and after these projects are built.”

Check out more pictures at the Ontario Wind Resistance website.