Getting caught up here on some news that I missed.
I’ve written before about attempts by environmental groups to protect Steens Mountain from energy development.
Environmental groups wanted the state to add Steens Mountain to a list of places in Oregon where energy development is prohibited. But the Energy Facility Siting Council – which decides where large wind farms are located – recently rejected the idea.
Maybe it was at home when you first heard it. The loud thud at the window. A bird strike.
While they may seem like rare events, bird strikes into windows are actually very common. They’re the number two killer of wild birds in the country, after habitat loss.
But no one really knows how many birds die this way, and how much damage it’s doing to bird populations. The best estimates put the death toll at hundreds of millions per year. In Portland, the Audubon Society is leading an effort to get some answers.
Wind turbines in Eastern Oregon. Photo by John Womack.
When it comes to building wind farms in Oregon, the size of the project really does matter.
Small wind farms, those producing 104 megawatts or less, go before county governments for approval. Larger wind farms require state permission. The process is very different, depending on which government makes the decision. The state process involves consulting with ODFW on impacts to wildlife and is more expensive.
So what’s to stop a wind developer from taking a big wind farm and breaking it up into smaller projects to avoid state regulations?
Not much according to some environmental groups.
Eastern Oregon turbines. Photo by Ted Timmons.
The growing debate over wind farms and their impacts on the environment were laid out before a group of state regulators Friday afternoon in Hood River.
The Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) is being asked to clear up confusion over how to define a “large” wind farm. It’s important because large projects are regulated by the state, while smaller projects are controlled by counties. The state process is more complex, costs more, and has tougher environmental standards.
Environmental groups says some developers are artificially breaking up large wind farms into smaller projects so they can dodge state regulations. They want the EFSC to adopt new rules that will make it harder to do that.
Cruise the Willamette downstream from central Portland and you’ll soon realize this is not the wild river our city founders knew. Shipping terminals, cargo vessels, scrapyards, oil tanks, warehouses and gazillions of imported cars line the riverbank. This area, as city officials like to describe it, is a working river. An important area for business and for jobs.
But it’s home to wildlife as well. Herons, sea lions, otters and fish spend some or all of their lives here. Fall salmon numbers in the upper Willamette system have been surprisingly robust, giving hope that the endangered fish might be making a comeback. For that to happen, salmon and steelhead have to migrate at least twice through the dirtiest section of the Willamette. The working part of the river. A Superfund site.
Soon, the Portland City Council will hold a public hearing on a plan to reconcile all these different demands. Two of Portland’s best known environmental groups, Willamette Riverkeeper and the Audubon Society, are concerned over industry attempts to weaken some of the environmental protections in the plan. Those industry objections led Mayor Adams to cancel a public hearing that was scheduled for last month. It could also be the reason why Thursday’s planned hearing was put off as well.
A change of heart for state officials and a small victory for some Portland area conservation groups.
This week, the Oregon State Marine Board approved a “no wake” zone for the Ross Island Lagoon. It means, with a few exceptions, that motorized boats traveling into the lagoon will have to go slow enough so they don’t leave a wake.
Early this year, the Portland Audubon Society and the Willamette Riverkeeper asked the board to ban all motorized boats from the lagoon and for a “no wake” zone in the Holgate Channel on the east side of Ross Island. The groups were trying to create a quiet area for kayakers, canoeists, and the area’s wildlife. The ideas were strongly opposed by water skiers and jet boaters and the Marine Board decided to vote them down.
But the two groups asked again, and this time the Marine Board moved a little closer in their direction with the “no wake” rule for the lagoon. It also directed staff to see if they could find a long term solution for the Holgate Channel.
Ross Island is actually a small chain of islands in the Willamette River near downtown Portland. The city recently acquired part of the area as a wildlife park, while most of the island remains in private ownership and is operated as a gravel pit. But sightings of Bald Eagles, Osprey, Great Blue Herons and River Otters are common. Portland Audubon and the Willamette Riverkeeper are hoping to improve conditions for wildlife and give kayakers and canoeists a calm stretch of the river where they wouldn’t have to compete with bigger and faster boats.
Hopes for quiet area around Ross Island were killed last week by the Oregon State Marine Board. The board voted 3 to 2 against a proposed rule for a “No Wake Zone” on the east side of the island in the Holgate Channel.
Supporters wanted an area where motorized boats couldn’t go faster than 5mph. The idea was to keep them quiet and slow, creating a more natural like experience for kayakers and canoeists. The proposed rule would also have banned boats with motors from the Ross Island lagoon. Two of the area’s more prominent environmental groups, the Portland Audubon Society and the Willamette Riverkeeper were behind the change. They even convinced the Portland City Council to endorse the proposal.
But the “no wake” idea was strongly opposed by waterskiers and wakeboarders. They like the Holgate Channel because it’s one of the few spots on the Willamette River where you can count on having a smooth surface on the water.
In a press release, the Marine Board said its members didn’t want to impose new regulations on users of the river, and called upon the various groups to have more dialogue with each other. It went to say, “user groups need to share the water, respect each others’ values and show more courtesy.”
A plan to limit motorized boat traffic near Ross Island goes before the Oregon State Marine Board Tuesday.
A coalition of conservation groups is asking the board for a no-wake zone in the Willamette River along the east side of Ross Island (actually a complex of islands) in an area known as the Holgate Channel. A no-wake zone limits boat motor speeds to 5mph or less. Plus, they’re asking for a motor free zone inside the Ross Island lagoon.
The proposal is already generating controversy with other users of the river.
