READER’S EDITORIAL: TULE WIND POWER PROJECT LOW RISK TO PROTECTED SPECIES
By Robert Pinto, Sr., Tribal Chairman
Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians
January 25, 2011 (San Diego’s East County)--We’d like to set the record straight about the proposed Tule Wind Power Project’s expected impacts to protected species, namely the golden eagle and California condor.
As the Tribal Chairman of the Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians on whose land a portion of the Tule Wind Power Project is being proposed, I represent the tribe when I say that we fully support the entire Tule Wind Power Project. Our Reservation’s Class 7 wind resource (the highest rating and one of the few available sites in the U.S.) is our Tribe’s only natural resource and currently our only potential for economic development on our remote lands. The project is proposed in a remote, rugged and sparsely populated area, and the wind turbines would be unseen by nearly everyone, including the Tribe’s residents who will only partially see a few turbines.
The Tribe disagrees with the study’s questionable assertions about risks to golden eagles. The Kumeyaay Indians revere the golden eagle as a sacred spirit. Our tribe has existed on this land for thousands of years and we very well know that the golden eagle habitat does not include the Project area.
So the assertion by the BLM that there is “likelihood of a take” is contrary to our own tribal historical knowledge, as well as that from data on golden eagles obtained over 20 years– confirming that the Project area is poor foraging and nesting habitat. Furthermore, three years of recent on-site studies by Iberdrola Renewables recorded only two sightings of a golden eagle overflying the project area. No golden eagle mortalities have occurred at the Kumeyaay Wind Project on the Campo Indian Reservation that has operated turbines for more than seven years on the same line of ridges extending from the Tule project area.
We think it’s also important to note that if there was an incidence of a take, it would not hold much consequence to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s goal of stabilizing or increasing the local breeding population. The comparative impact of continuing to obtain our energy from coal or gas plants kills far more threatened and endangered wildlife than this project ever could.
Furthermore, wildlife experts agree that the Tule Wind Power Project site is not a favorable environment for the California condor. The site’s proximity to a major freeway and residential density from the town of Boulevard precludes it from likely use by a condor. In the history of California’s wind industry, there has never been a single instance of a condor casualty due to a wind turbine.
Despite these facts, the draft environmental plan contemplates reducing the wind turbines operating in the Tule Wind Power Project by nearly half, and would eliminate all the turbines on our tribal land.
It’s our position that the full project would not endanger the golden eagle, but a plan for a reduced project would endanger the Tribe. The Tribe needs to put to work its sole asset, its wind resource, and San Diego needs a local and responsible source of clean, renewable energy. The economic benefits to the tribe, East County businesses and the County of San Diego; the clean air benefits to San Diego County and all the humans and animals that call it home; and energy independence are all significant positive impacts that cannot be ignored or discounted.
If we set such a high standard that seeks to eliminate any risk of impacts, even when the studies have shown the project to have very low environmental impact, it will preclude the development of any wind project in the U.S. and have a far greater negative impact on the health of our planet. This is one of the few remaining quality wind resource areas in the U.S., and Iberdrola Renewables is proven to be a responsible developer and steward of the environment. On behalf of the Tribe, I can say that we want and need the Tule Wind Power Project on our land.
The opinions expressed in this editorial reflect the views of its author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. If you wish to submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.