Eagle nesting sites identified in area of wind farm project

RENO -- Midway through a two-year study about the potential impacts of a proposed wind farm on golden eagles in Northern Nevada, wildlife biologists say they've identified nearly a dozen nesting sites in the area of the $200 million project 20 miles northeast of Sparks.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is studying the hunting patterns of the protected birds to help determine whether to allow plans to proceed for the 44-turbine wind farm atop the Pah Rah Range overlooking Palomino Valley near Virginia Peak.

"The turbines pose a lethal hazard for the birds," said Amedee Bricky, a migratory bird biologist for the Fish and Wildlife regional office in Sacramento, Calif.

"The biggest concern is the birds don't recognize the spinning blades as a hazard," she told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Several of the 11 nesting sites for golden eagles identified so far are within 5 to 10 miles of the turbines, she said. She said that even though new turbines rotate slower than those of the past, the speed of the blade tips is still fast enough to kill.

Champlin Winds of Santa Barbara, Calif., which purchased the development rights to the Virginia Peak project, also has hired environmental consultants to help study the birds and other wildlife.

Bricky said they have captured several nearby eagles and attached radio devices to track their flight patterns.

"We'll get a better sense of how the birds are using the area, how they forage," she said about another year's worth of research.

The Virginia Peak project was approved by the Washoe County Planning Commission in 2009, and the panel approved several changes in October 2010.

The environmental study is required before the U.S. Bureau of Land Management decides whether to allow its land to be crossed to get to the turbines, which are all to be built on private lands. The project requires right-of-way to build a road two-thirds of a mile long across BLM land. Four overhead transmission lines also cross federal land.

The project was first developed by Virginia Peak LLC., controlled by Tim Carlson, a former economic development official in Las Vegas. The 44 turbines would produce a peak of 150 megawatts of power.