U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

UNDER FIRE FROM WILDLIFE OFFICIALS, DESERT SOLAR CO. CLAIMS NEUTERING CATS IS CURE FOR BURNING BIRDS

 

By Miriam Raftery

August 20, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)—U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials have warned California this month that solar-tower technology used at Ivanpah and proposed by BrightSource near Joshua Tree National Park on the California-Arizona border have the “highest lethality potential” of all desert solar technologies.  The warning comes after Ivanpah, the first facility to use the concentrated solar technology, was found to be burning birds alive, Associated Press reports.


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BUTTERFLIES AND BIRDS FALLING PREY TO SOLAR POWER TOWER AT IVANPAH

 

 

 

 

 

Photo (left): Ivanpah Solar testing; photo by  Tom Budlong

Photo (center): warbler with over 50% of its feathers burned was found alive, but died of its injuries

Monarch butterfly (photo, right) numbers are down 90% in the most recent Pacific migration

By Miriam Raftery

April 15, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Last month we reported that themonarch butterflies’ annual migration to Mexico is down 90%.  Various theories have been proposed.  But now a newly released study by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reveals  that “hundreds  upon hundreds of butterflies” including monarchs, along with dragonflies, were found dead at the Ivanpah solar site.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE WARNS OF NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON WILDLIFE FROM SOITEC SOLAR PROJECTS

 

By Miriam Raftery

April 1, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Soitec’s four proposed solar projects on 1,490 acres in the Boulevard area of East County could negatively impact migratory birds, eagles, endangered butterflies and wildlife corridors,  Karen Goebel, assistant field supervisor with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife concludes in a comment letter sent to the County regarding the projects’ draft Enviornmental Impact Report (DEIR) on March 11, 2014. The letter also indicates studies have been inadequate and cumulative impacts of projects across a broader area need to be evaluated.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.