Feds won't prosecute wind farm for condor deaths [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Feds won't prosecute wind farm for condor deaths
By The Associated Press 11:28 a.m.May 25, 2013

MOJAVE, Calif. — A Southern California wind farm has been assured by federal authorities that they won't prosecute if the company's whirring turbine blades kill any endangered California condors.

The wind farm operated by Alta Windpower Development in the Tehachapi Mountains has been granted a right of way by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Los Angeles Times reports ( http://lat.ms/1ag8Rjv ).

That means the 2,300-acre wind farm is protected from prosecution if a condor is fatally killed for the next 30 years. The farm is located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, near the high desert town of Mojave.

Officials don't believe it's likely any condors would be killed at the wind farm because the area is devoid of the type of updrafts that carry the scavengers, which can have a 10-foot wingspan.

The wind farm, a subsidiary of Terra-Gen Power, has also downsized its project from 106 turbines to 51, in order to minimize its effect on wildlife.

More:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/may/25/feds-wont-prosecute-wind-farm-for-condor-deaths/