Response to reports prepared for UPC’s proposed Sheffield (Vt.) Wind Project
Author:
The proposed Sheffield Wind Project raises a number of potential concerns to the Service in the general areas of habitat fragmentation, impacts to waters/wetlands and bird and bat mortality. This letter is generally limited in scope to airspace issues involving the potential for bird and/or bat mortality and ultimately the suitability of the site in this regard. We note for the record that the Service was not consulted prior to the design and conduct of the above-referenced studies.
As a general comment, the Service appreciates the fact that UPC Wind has conducted radar and acoustic studies on bird and bat migration and bat activity at Hardscrabble Mountain and other locations at or near the proposed project. We believe the radar, visual, and acoustic information contained in the above-referenced reports is useful, but that it is not sufficient to demonstrate, at an appropriate scale, the spatial and temporal uses of the airspace over Granby, Libby, Barrett, and Norris Mountains by birds, bats, and insects. …
“Response to reports prepared for UPC’s proposed Sheffield, Vermont, Wind Project”
