Earlier this year, the St. Louis based Wind Capital Group expressed its interest in constructing a wind-power generation facility in the heart of South Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA).

While Audubon strongly supports wind as an alternative to carbon-based fuels, we believe that wind facilities must be appropriately sited so that they do not cause unacceptable collateral impacts to birds and other wildlife.

On August 8th, Director of Wildlife Conservation Julie Wraithmell and Lake Okeechobee Science Coordinator Paul Gray released Audubon’s preliminary analysis of the project’s potential for wildlife impacts.

The environmental monitoring protocols currently proposed for the EAA project do not provide sufficient rigor to adequately predict future impacts. Audubon provided recommendations to achieve the necessary rigor to accurately assess the project’s risks to wildlife. The resources of this region are too important and vulnerable to proceed with implementation without sufficient information.

Read the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s coverage of this issue or review our comments in their entirety by clicking here.