“‘The Altamont is killing more eagles than the local population can reproduce,’ says [Doug] Bell [wildlife program manager at the East Bay Regional Park District] who does research on golden eagles. ‘It’s taking out more youngsters than they can produce and replace themselves with. Their population is going down the drain’.”
The wind energy company that received a controversial extension this March to continue operating hundreds of old wind turbines in the Altamont Pass is now planning to shut them down, according to an email KQED has obtained. The company might also be replacing them with fewer new turbines, a move that would make its operation safer for birds.
Altamont Winds, Inc. (AWI), one of the largest operators in the East Bay’s Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in an Oct.…