Bird kills, no 30-year take permit required!

An amendment from the House Committee on Natural Resources to House Energy Bill H.R. 4239 effectively guts the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by absolving oil and gas companies from responsibility for bird deaths in oil pits, on power lines, and from other energy-related infrastructure, including wind power projects. Are energy-related deaths really a problem for birds? Well, four of the Decorah eaglets that we know have been electrocuted and electrocution was the biggest source of mortality in Golden Eagles in a multi-year study recently published by the National Wildlife Health Institute, so we certainly think so. But beyond that, Audubon put together these figures:

• Power lines kill up to 175 million birds per year (Source: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/Asilomar/pdfs/1051-1064.pdf)
• Communication towers kill up to 50 million birds per year (Source: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/Asilomar/pdfs/1051-1064.pdf)
• Oil waste pits kill 500,000 to 1 million birds per year (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988870)
• Gas flares: No reliable mortality estimates, but an infamous 2013 incident in Canada incinerated an estimated 7,500 birds (Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/7-500-songbirds-killed-at-canaport-gas-plant-in-saint-john-1.1857615) 

Who needs a 30-year take permit under this law? NO ONE. Remember how angry everyone was about the 30-year take permit on bald and golden eagles? THIS IS WORSE. Phone your representative and add your voice to Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy's protests. You can use this tool to get contact information based on your zip code: https://callyourrep.co/. Do it now!  

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While we're on the dismal topic of legislation that is bad for birds, here's a list of  bills aimed at the Endangered Species Act:

H.R. 717 by Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) would require consideration of the economic costs of protecting an animal or plant on the endangered species list and remove deadlines for completing the listing process. Deadlines assure completion of a process: removing them does the opposite.

• The Endangered Species Act provides many exceptions and alternatives to allow economic growth within the framework of environmental protection. Between 1998 and 2004, less than one percent of the 429,533 development projects that underwent Section 7 consultation were temporarily put on hold. Only one project could not proceed; the rest were implemented after modification. Removing the deadlines for completing the listing process will allow opponents of listing to prevent it through endless rounds of comment submissions and information stonewalling. 

H.R. 1274 by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) would automatically deem any information submitted by a state or local government to be the “best available” science even if such information were contradictory, out-of-date or fraudulent, weakening the listing process for endangered species. Your voices will become less significant than the voice of state and local governments in decisions involving the listing of endangered species.

• Under present law, the service considers any information submitted on the biology, distribution, or threats to the species when making their decisions. When we asked you to comment on the 30-year take proposal in 2016, we did our best to provide you with scientifically accurate information - the same information that we used in our own comments. Although their decision wasn't perfect, your input helped to improve it. Under the proposed law, your comments won't be weighted as heavily as the comments of state and local governments, whether those comments are accurate and truthful or not. 

H.R. 3131 by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) would hamper citizen enforcement and participation in the implementation of the Act’s provisions. Undercutting the ability of citizens to bring lawsuits would make the agency more prone to improperly consider politics in its listing decisions and prevent imperiled species from receiving protections in a timely manner.  Citizen suits are the primary mechanism by which the ESA is enforced against government agencies and private entities.

• A real-life example: Citizen suits have required the EPA to conduct scientific assessments and make effects determinations for numerous pesticides, thereby protecting animal and human health. You can learn more about that here: https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/endangered-species-litigation-and-associated-pesticide-limitations. These assessments happened only after the lawsuits were brought.  
• Another real-life example: In Beech Ridge, the Animal Welfare Institute and other environmental groups brought an ESA citizen suit against Beech Ridge Energy LLC, a wind project developer in West Virginia. The project was found to violate the “take” prohibition in ESA section 9 with respect to an endangered bat, resulting in restrictions on the timing and duration of the wind turbine operation. Their actions helped protect an endangered bat and the project was still able to move forward, albeit with some restrictions. https://awionline.org/cases/protection-indiana-bats.
• Speaking of wind turbines, the American Bird Conservancy and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory filed a citizen suit regarding the installation and operation of a wind turbine at Camp Perry, which is sited in a major bird migration corridor, is located in close proximity to numerous bald eagle nests, and is likely to kill species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Construction on the project was halted (and yes, we signed their petition): https://abcbirds.org/article/bird-conservation-groups-win-fight-great-lakes-wind-project/

H.R. 2603 by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) attempts to limit the Endangered Species Act’s provisions for exotic game species that have been imported into the United States for trophy hunting. If taken literally, this legislation would remove the need for conservation permits of exotic game species, eliminating a critical funding source for overseas conservation of those very species. Removing or limiting oversight for the importation of live exotic animals is a bad idea given how easily exotics can become invasives.

• This bill addresses the importing of live exotic game species into the United States for hunting. For example, zebras are imported into the United States for hunting in Texas, Mr. Gohmert's home state. You can also hunt the scimitar-horned oryx, gemsbock, kudu, bongo antelope, addax, wildbeest, and so on. While some people find trophy hunting distasteful, it is legal, the ranches have helped conserve very rare species (some of them claim to have the only populations of these species in the world), and the required conservation permits help fund overseas conservation. However, H.R. 2603 removes the need for conservation permits, taking away funding and oversight. Given how rare some of these species are, and how easily exotic species become invasive species - take a look at the "Snow Monkeys of Texas" for an example - both things are needed. I recommend starting with this article to learn more about exotic animal hunting in the United States. 

H.R. 424 by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) would reinstate a 2011 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove federal protections for gray wolves in the western Great Lakes states. In 2014 a federal judge found numerous scientific and legal deficiencies with that 2011 decision and brought back protections for gray wolves. The legislation would invalidate the court opinion and preclude all judicial review into the future.

• Why does this have to do with birds, or anything other than gray wolves? H.R. 424 is seeking to overturn a federal judge's ruling that the original 2011 decision was flawed legally and scientifically. But nothing precludes anyone from calling for removal of the gray wolf again - it isn't a system where listing or delisting can only be required once. This bill sets a process for completely ignoring standards by overturning decisions through the legislative process. If it wins, the process - which circumvents the Endangered Species Act  - will be applied in other laws to other species. 

Again, we encourage everyone to call their representatives and stand up for the Endangered Species Act! You can use this tool to get contact information based on your zip code: https://callyourrep.co/. The American Bird Conservancy also has an ESA petition tool here: https://abcbirds.org/action/petition-esa/

A Four Recap

Earlier this week, a follower asked us for a recap of eagle Four’s life. Four was one of three eaglets that hatched in 2014. While early life in the nest was fairly ordinary, gnats and record-breaking rain interfered with fledging. For the first time that we know of, only one of the 2014 Decorah alumni successfully transitioned to life in the wild. One of Four’s siblings was injured and went to SOAR, where he  remains. The other sibling died of electrocution from a high voltage transmission line not far from the hatchery.

Four’s transition from fledge to flight was a bumpy one. During her first month on the wing, Bob rescued her from a location at the side of a highway, a fence, some deep woods, and a corn field. She roosted on the ground, traveled only short distances, and remained in the vicinity of the nest longer than any other eaglet we are aware of. We were starting to ask ourselves if Four would ever go when, on October 19, she abruptly left. Between June 22, 2014 and March 1, 2015, we received 302 valid fixes on Four. She traveled a total of 686 miles, averaging 2.2 miles a day. She achieved her furthest distance from home on January 8, 2015, when she was tracked 159 miles south of her natal nest. Her longest contiguous flight took place on December 1st, when she traveled 34.8 miles between the Maquoketa River and a roost near Lake McBride. She was electrocuted on March 2nd, roughly 130 miles south of N2.

After Four was electrocuted, we documented her death and reported it to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. We also contacted Alliant Power with photos of the pole under which Bob found her. When we were told it was up to code, Bob decided to get a second opinion. Contact number two told us that several things needed to be fixed to make the pole safe for birds. We passed the information back to Alliant Energy and decided to survey the area for more eagles. Two Ustream mods volunteered to conduct the survey for us. They didn’t find any eagles, but they did learn about another electrocution. They provided photos of that pole and several others. Alliant stated that they would fix the fatal poles and others like them. Thank you very much to IzzySam and Faith for taking this on for us.

We plan to take a trip back into the area where Four died to see whether Alliant fixed the poles as promised. The code we used to follow the travels of our eagles will be repurposed to map electrocutions and identify problem spots. While not every pole can be immediately protected, we can make dangerous poles a priority. Four touched a lot of hearts during her brief life. It is our hope that her death will bring about a safer environment for eagles and other birds.

Four's data is retained here: www.raptorresource.org/maps/latest.php.

What can you do?

• Find out whether your utility has an avian protection plan. If they don't, they should consider adopting one. An APP helps keep animals, equipment, and people safe. http://www.aplic.org/APPs.php
• Report electrocuted birds and other animals to your power company. Electrocutions are deadly to animals, harmful to equipment, and potentially dangerous to human beings. 
• Report collisions to your power company. While our eagles have been electrocuted perching on poles, collisions are also deadly. Swan diverters and other deterrents can be installed.
• If you are a member of an electric cooperative, make your concerns known to the board. I know of at least one electric cooperative in the process of retrofitting all their poles are safe. Electrocutions destroy equipment, require unscheduled repair time, and are expensive. 

Decorah Eaglet Four Electrocuted

We are sorry to announce that Four, the single remaining bird from the 2014 Decorah alumni to remain in the wild, was electrocuted on Tuesday, March 2nd. This is the fourth eaglet from Decorah that we know of to die from electrocution. Bob and a good friend picked her carcass up on Thursday and Bob and Brett examined her on Saturday and verified the cause of death.

Bob found her lying underneath a utility pole. He took photographs and sent them to a consultant, who told us the pole was unsafe and made suggestions to improve the safety of this pole and other poles in the area. We brought them forward to Alliant Energy/Interstate Power and Light and are waiting for a response from them.

Why do the eaglets keep perching on power poles? Bob theorizes there is a behavior difference between urban and rural eagles. Rural eagles are programmed to perch in trees because that is what they have available. But urban eagles, including our beloved Decorah family, are exposed to power poles and other man-made structures from the beginning. There are vast amounts of power poles serving our needs.  With eagles beginning to nest in close proximity to man - something new for both species - he believes electrocution will be an increasing concern for urban-fledged eagles and utility companies.

What can you do?

• Find out whether your utility has an avian protection plan. If they don't, they should consider adopting one. An APP helps keep animals, equipment, and people safe. http://www.aplic.org/APPs.php
• Report electrocuted birds and other animals to your power company. Electrocutions are deadly to animals, harmful to equipment, and potentially dangerous to human beings. 
• Report collisions to your power company. While our eagles have been electrocuted perching on poles, collisions are also deadly. Swan diverters and other deterrents can be installed.
• If you are a member of an electric cooperative, make your concerns known to the board. I know of at least one electric cooperative in the process of retrofitting all their poles are safe. Electrocutions destroy equipment, require unscheduled repair time, and are expensive. 

We will continue our work with the electric distribution industry to address this issue and are researching deterrents for the poles near the nest and elsewhere.

Bob with Four

EWOT's Electrocution

Yesterday at about 10:45, Decorah fledgling EWOT was electrocuted on a high voltage power line roughly ½ mile from the mulch pile that both fledglings have been spending most of their time on. It was reported to us late in the afternoon. We collected and examined him, returning to the site of the electrocution to gather more information once that was done. Here is what we know.

The line was a 96 Kilovolt transmission line owned by ITC Holdings (http://www.itc-holdings.com/). In general, electrical delivery can be divided into two types: transmission and distribution. High-voltage transmission lines carry electricity over long distances from power plants or grids to substations. The poles or towers are physically larger and taller than those that support lower-voltage distribution lines and don’t support anything except electrical lines. Distribution lines carry electricity from substations to consumers and are supported by what most of us probably think of as utility or power poles. Utility poles are often made of wood and, unlike transmission lines, may also carry telephone and cable wires or support street lights.

ITC is able to detect fluctuations and other anomalies on their lines. When they sensed an anomaly, they sent a field technician out to investigate. He found and collected EWOT, and turned him over to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. They saw the transmitter and called Bob to let him know that an eaglet had been electrocuted.

When we first got word of another electrocuted eaglet, we assumed it had contacted a standard utility pole. According to Refining Estimates of Bird Collision and Electrocution Mortality at Power Lines in the United States, electrocutions occur primarily at distribution lines, while collisions occur at both distribution and transmission lines. That’s certainly been our experience, since every eagle we’ve picked up has been found at the base of a distribution line. I pictured a standard wooden utility pole as we glumly drove over for our field investigation. I was surprised to instead find a high-power line between a field and a hill. We hiked out and took a look at the scene. We weren’t able to find scorch or singe marks on the pole or insulators, and the eaglet’s body was not at the base of the pole, as we’ve seen elsewhere, but under the lines three to four feet from the pole.

An examination of the eaglet’s body revealed singeing and burning around his elbow and feet. Electrocution can’t happen unless a bird’s body creates a circuit between ground and voltage, or different voltage phases, allowing energy to flow from high to low. Sitting on a wire won’t harm a bird, since it doesn’t create a circuit. But he closed a circuit with his wing and one foot, creating the flow that killed him.

In addition to singeing, the eaglet’s wing had extensive tissue damage and some severing. Although it seemed unlikely, we needed to know whether the transmitter had somehow created or closed the circuit that led to his electrocution. A quick look at the transmitter showed no damage, scorching, or discoloring. We cut the straps and removed it from EWOT’s body. The straps were intact and there was no scorching, singeing, or burning under the straps or backpack pad. Finally, we made sure the receiver could detect the transmitter. The transmitter was functioning normally, so we concluded it hadn’t been part of our eaglet’s electrocution.

Bob contacted ITC this morning. The biologist he spoke with told him that they hadn’t seen an electrocution on a high kilovolt line in the three years he’d worked for ITC. Having said that, they reported the electrocution to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee, and they are assessing steps that can be taken to prevent another electrocution or collision.

What we think

The pole was up to code and we haven’t had any problems at a transmission line before, so we suspect the electrocution was a terrible accident. Other electrocutions and near-misses in Decorah involved distribution poles with wonderful perching spots near the hatchery, where the eagles regularly hunt, fly, and hang out.  The transmission pole provides a bad perching spot overlooking a poor hunting ground bordered by trees. Although electrocution was clearly the cause of death, we suspect that EWOT might have collided with a wire and dropped, contacting other wires or the pole before dropping to the ground. Death was very quick.

Where do we go from here?

We don’t know whether ITC will install diverters or a similar non-collision technology over one death. Companies tend to set priorities based in large part on collisions, electrocutions, and known migration/movement paths. Reporting is key and we are very glad the company didn’t choose to sweep the electrocution under the rug.  

Bob talked to ITC this morning. If there are any more deaths, the company will report them to us, the DNR, and the USFWS.  Neither D1, D14, or Four have spent any time near the high voltage line, but if Four or D1 start hanging out, we’ll make ITC and everyone else aware of it.

Why can’t you build safe perches?

Alliant Energy, the D12 Memorial Group, the Decorah High School, and Decorah Building supply were able to make the distribution poles at the hatchery safer through insulation and safe perches. However, we’re not sure this was a perching problem and we can’t encourage perching on high voltage transmission lines since they are too dangerous. If protection is installed, it will probably be in the form of diverters that make it easy for birds, including eagles, to see the power lines.

What can we do?

Our wonderful fans want to know what they can do to make power lines safe. A few suggestions:

• ·      Does your power company have an Avian Protection Plan? Click here for more information: http://www.aplic.org/APPs.php. Birds aren’t the only issue, either – my electrical cooperative is upgrading equipment because of squirrels! Talk to your company and find out what they have in place.
• ·       Report electrocuted animals to your power company and wildlife agency. If your power company shrugs it off, document the problem and talk to your state’s regulatory agency. It’s my experience that most utility companies are very responsive to electrocutions. They kill animals, destroy equipment, can start fires, and are expensive.
• ·      Learn more about the issue. A few good places to start:
•  Avian Power Line Interaction Committee: http://www.aplic.org/
• Avian Retrofits: http://www.srpnet.com/environment/aviandiagram.aspx  
• Xcel Energy: http://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/xe/Corporate/CRR2012/environment/biodiversity/avian-protection.html
• Puget Sound Electrical: https://pse.com/aboutpse/Environment/Pages/Bird-Protection.aspx
• Reporting Electrocutions: https://birdreport.fws.gov/BirdReportFAQs.cfm
• American Bird Conservancy: http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/powerlines.html
• Refining Estimates of Bird Collision and Electrocution Mortality at Power Lines in the United States: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0101565#s4

While we can’t protect transmission lines with safe perches, most of our electrocutions have been on distribution lines. This seems like a good time to share the story of the D12 Memorial Group’s work with making distribution poles safer. 

• The D12 Memorial Group story:  http://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2012/11/bird-safe-power-poles.html

We are really dismayed by the electrocution of another eagle but believe we can do better in the future. We’ll continue working with power companies to improve outcomes for birds of prey and we’ll certainly let you know what happens here. In the meantime, please feel free to share your stories of improvement and recovery with us. 

The Perch Project

Alliant Energy has begin installing the eagle protection perches in Decorah. The first three went up on the lines and poles to the southwest of the trout hatchery.

This photo shows two views of the perches. In general, avian electrocution happens when a bird makes a connection between ground and a live wire. Energy flows through the bird's body to ground. The perches built by Mr. Condon's class in Decorah are located above the power lines and Alliant added an insulative sleeve where the live wire passes under the perch. The sleeve is long enough that even a stretching eagle should not be able to connect with the wire.

We'd like to thank everyone involved for their work protecting the Decorah eagles, especially the D12 Memorial Group, Raptor Nation, Mr. Condon and his class, Decorah Building Supply, Alliant Energy, and Puget Sound Energy.

A few links:

Students building perches: http://youtu.be/7VPqY9LM3EE
(this video also does a good job of explaining electrocution and perch safety)

The D12 Memorial Group's story: http://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2012/11/bird-safe-power-poles.html

Perch blueprint: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68092929@N03/8203641600/