But, hundreds of thousands of birds and nearly 1 million bats die every year in collisions with wind turbines throughout the United States and Canada. As scientists look for ways to mitigate the effects of climate change, clean energy producers need to keep wildlife populations and their habitats in mind, experts say. “More than half of the (bat) species in the U.S. are either declining or at some risk of decline,” said Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International. “Wind energy is the leading cause of mortality for our long-distance migratory species. And that mortality rate is worryingly high.”
Terry Husted lives in DeWitt County, a major pathway for migrating birds in central Illinois. After a company submitted plans to construct a wind farm in his area, Husted said