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This graphic shows the estimated numbers of birds and bats killed by wind turbines in Wyoming in 2025. (Wyoming Game and Fish Department)What Can Game And Fish Do?<\/p>\nWind turbines kill thousands of Wyoming birds and bats every year, but a wildlife official says that emerging technology might help lower the kill count.<\/p>\n
In 2025, wind turbines killed 1,160 large birds, such as raptors and waterfowl, Wyoming Game and Fish habitat protection program supervisor Will Schultz told the state Game and Fish Commission on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Turbine blades also killed 9,152 small birds, such as meadowlarks, and 13,423 bats, Schultz said.<\/p>\n
Fast-spinning turbine blades aren\u2019t always the most deadly, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the mortality for birds and bats happens at very low wind speeds, because they\u2019re flying around and they\u2019re not paying attention to those blades,\u201d\u00a0Schultz said.<\/p>\n
The official tallies might not represent\u00a0all the birds and bats killed by wind turbines, he said. The deaths are recorded by people, usually private contractors, who occasionally walk around underneath turbines and count carcasses.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, dogs are brought in to help make the counts more accurate, Schultz said.<\/p>\n
Wyoming\u2019s bird and bat losses are generally considered to be within\u00a0the acceptable range by region-wide standards, he said.<\/p>\n
This graphic shows the estimated numbers of birds and bats killed by wind turbines in Wyoming in 2025. (Wyoming Game and Fish Department)What Can Game And Fish Do?<\/p>\n
Game and Fish doesn\u2019t have the authority to approve or deny permits for wind power projects, Schultz said. That rests with the seven-member Industrial Siting Council\u00a0under the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.<\/p>\n
Game and Fish works closely with project permit applicants, usually long before ground is broken, he said.<\/p>\n
Biologists determine what effects a project might have on Wyoming\u2019s birds, wildlife, fish and plants, Schultz said. And they can offer guidance on how to lessen the effects on wildlife and the environment.<\/p>\n
Game and Fish can also advise the Industrial Siting Council about what permit conditions might help save wildlife and conserve the ecosystem, he said.<\/p>\n
Once a wind farm is up and running, Game and Fish can also help monitor its effects on wildlife and offer ideas\u00a0for mitigation, he said.<\/p>\n
Commissioner John Masterson\u00a0asked Schultz if Game and Fish has the authority to tell a wind energy developer, \u201cYou have way exceeded the acceptable number of raptors that have been killed, you have to shut down until we figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schultz said in such an instance, Game and Fish could bring its concerns before the Siting\u00a0Council, but only the council has the authority to shut a wind farm down.<\/p>\n
Mitigation Efforts<\/p>\n
Technology might help stem the tide of bird and bat deaths, Schultz said, adding that it\u2019s been a common practice to post people with binoculars on wind farms.<\/p>\n
Those people can watch for birds, particularly raptors, and shut turbines down, which allows for eagles and hawks to fly through safely, Schultz said.<\/p>\n
Increasingly, a technology called IdentiFlight makes it unnecessary to post people on site, he said.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0system uses cameras to monitor bird traffic and can automatically shut down and restart\u00a0turbines as needed, Schultz said.<\/p>\n
In some cases \u201cpainting one blade of a wind turbine black\u201d help birds see it before it\u2019s too late, he said, adding that hundreds of hours of work and research\u00a0have gone into wind farm risk mitigation.<\/p>\n
Anti-Wind Farm Activist Remains Skeptical<\/p>\n
Laramie resident Anne Brande, founder of the Albany County Conservancy, has lobbied against wind farms for years.<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t at Wednesday\u2019s Game and Fish Commission meeting, but told Cowboy State Daily that she appreciates the department\u2019s efforts to mitigate bird deaths.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s particularly concerned about golden eagles.<\/p>\n
Wyoming has a significant resident population of the large raptors that favor wide-open country, where they can hunt rabbits and prairie dogs.<\/p>\n