Conservationists urge large-scale study of wind energy impacts on Mississippi waterfowl

Ed Penney, director of public policy for Ducks Unlimited in the Southern Region and a waterfowl ecologist, told the Mississippi Senate Energy and Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks committees that more state-specific science is needed to assess how onshore wind development may affect migratory birds and waterfowl in the Lower Mississippi Valley.

Penney said the organization supports private landowner rights to enter voluntary agreements with developers but recommended a “science based and inclusive approach to wind energy development” that emphasizes avoiding, minimizing and offsetting impacts. He noted construction-phase disturbances…