Something to say wrote:hmmmm.........
I suggest that the people who oppose this project gather the most important facts ( flyers and an article in the Herald )...and get it out there to the general public before the primaries. Door to door distribution if necessary? Any thoughts?
Door-to-door distribution of flyers is a great idea. That'll need to be done by borough residents and 16686ers, just like the petition was. Any volunteers?
Petitions will also be available for you to sign at the SAVE ICE MOUNTAIN public forum. The voting poll will only involve borough residents, but the petition will be open to all 16686ers. After all, the windplant will be in Snyder Township, not the borough.
SAVE ICE MOUNTAIN
PUBLIC FORUM
Wednesday, March 26, 6:30-9:30pm
Tyrone Area High School Auditorium
The Borough of Tyrone is considering leasing watershed land to an industrial windplant developer to construct 400-foot-tall wind turbines, heavy-duty roads, transmission lines, and substations on Ice Mountain.
SAVE ICE MOUNTAIN invites you to attend this informational forum featuring experts on industrial windfarms, wildlife, noise, and the effects of windplants on communities.
They will answer any questions that you might have.
Speakers will include;
Several people who live near industrial windplants in PA. None of them want their names released prior to the forum because they fear intimidation by the windplant developers/owners. They will relate their experiences with the turbines, the roads, and the developers/owners of the windplants.
Dan Boone:
Are the Claims About Wind Power Accurate?
A professional botanist, wildlife biologist, ecologist and natural resources policy analyst, Mr. Boone has 30 years of experience in studying plants, wildlife and their habitat throughout the Appalachian region. He began his career as a wildlife biologist with the US Fish & Wildlife Service in the Migratory Bird and Habitat Research Lab at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. Mr. Boone later served as the Coordinator of the Maryland DNR's Natural Heritage Program and worked as a Forest Ecologist with The Wilderness Society.
His career has focused on the identification and protection of the state's and the region's biological diversity. He currently is a private consultant working on issues related to species and habitat protection.
Mr. Boone formerly served as the Conservation Chair of the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club, and also was a member of the Environmental Working Group of the Virginia Wind Energy Collaborative – and a co-author of its report: A LANDSCAPE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM: Addressing Environmental Issues Associated with Utility-Scale Wind Energy Development In Virginia.
He co-manages the Virginia Wind website –
http://www.VAwind.org .
Mr. Boone has been actively engaged with issues and concerns regarding utility-scale wind energy development for over 5 years.
Laura Jackson:
Turbine Turmoil – a survey of industrial wind projects in southcentral PA
Laura Jackson is a science educator who recently retired from teaching environmental science and advanced biology at Bedford High School in Bedford, PA. She is now the director of Bedford’s Environmental Center. She has received many local and state teaching awards, including the NSF Presidential Award for Science Teaching and the Pennsylvania Outstanding Conservation Educator of the Year Award. Numerous grants have enabled her students to monitor local watersheds, participate in stream rehabilitation projects, and improve habitats for wildlife. She has presented many community programs on nature, photography, and conservation. For the last 2 1/2 years she has researched industrial wind energy and its impact on human and wildlife communities.
Ms. Jackson is the chairperson of Save Our Allegheny Ridges (SOAR), a grassroots organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the historic, natural, and scenic integrity of Pennsylvania’s Allegheny mountain ridges. Energy companies are constructing wind turbines on Pennsylvania's mountains, which fragment the forests, destroy wildlife habitat, and kill birds and bats. Our forested mountains sustain critical ecosystems that are threatened by this industry. SOAR members are active in educational efforts to help residents understand the real impact of wind turbines in rural communities, as well as working with government officials to develop ordinances to regulate wind turbine development on our forested mountains.
SOAR does not oppose wind energy when properly sited. Areas such as reclaimed strip mines, brown fields, or agricultural areas may be suitable for wind turbines, if sufficient pre-construction monitoring is conducted to determine environmental impacts.
More information about SOAR and industrial wind can be found on the website:
http://www.saveouralleghenyridges.com
Written comments may be submitted to SOAR P. O. Box 178 Everett, PA 15537
Kim van Fleet:
The Allegheny Front and Ice Mountain: An Exceptional Value Area for Birds
Kim Van Fleet is the Important Bird Area (IBA) Coordinator and staff biologist with Audubon Pennsylvania. Her early work as a field ornithologist with Audubon involved siting, installation, and maintenance of point counts, habitat characterization, and monitoring breeding populations of birds in a number of IBAs throughout the central and western regions of the state. In addition, she worked in the capacity of IBA volunteer coordinator. Prior to Audubon she was employed as a biology instructor at both Shippensburg and Penn State (Harrisburg) Universities. She received her B.S. and M.S. in biology from Shippensburg University where her undergraduate and graduate research focused on diurnal raptor migration across the Ridge and Valley Province of central Pennsylvania. Kim has worked on a number of field studies and research projects primarily focused on bird and mammal populations from 1991-present. She has made numerous presentations to groups and organizations across the state and currently serves on the Science and Conservation Committee of the Hawk Migration Association of North America.
For further information, contact Dr. Stan Kotala at 946-8840