Interest in electricity from wind energy has been growing internationally.   Large “wind farms” have sprung up around the world, each consisting of scores of turbines standing several hundred feet high with blades at least 100 ft across.  Wind energy is relatively inexpensive and clean, without the air pollution and green-house gases that are by-products of coal-burning power plants or the worry about where to dispose of nuclear wastes.  This makes the production of electricity from wind attractive.

However, wind turbines can have adverse effects on wildlife.  Some wind farms have at times killed substantial numbers of birds and bats.  At present, little is known about the specific environmental circumstances that result in bird and bat kills.  Patuxent Wildlife Research Center researchers are investigating bird movement and distribution patterns within the regions of the Eastern U.S. where wind-power projects are being developed or proposed: the Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic coastal and off-shore waters.  The science aims to give resource managers tools to make decisions that minimize conflicts between wind turbines and wildlife.

Wind turbines near Meyersdale, PA, October 2004; photo by Deanna Dawson, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.