From CFACT

By David Wojick

A new lawsuit could finally end the secrecy surrounding wind turbines killing eagles. Wyoming’s Albany County Conservancy (ACC) is suing the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for failing to provide the mandatory eagle kill reports for three big wind facilities.

This is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case. ACC made a proper FOIA request. Five

months later FWS said they had over a thousand responsive document, but ACC could only see a small fraction.

Since ACC is after total kills this fraction is useless. Moreover the reason FWS gave for withholding most of the kill records looks to be invalid. So ACC is asking the Court to require FWS to cough up the kills.

The introduction to ACC’s Complaint is very clear so rather than tell you what it says, here it is:

“1. This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA or the Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552, seeking to compel Defendants U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to comply with their statutory obligation to disclose nonexempt information concerning the mortality and injury of legally protected eagles at three major wind energy projects located in Carbon County, Wyoming.

Understanding the ecological impacts of the emerging and rapidly proliferating wind energy sector is imperative to Plaintiff Albany County Conservancy, which strives to protect the rugged Western landscapes of Wyoming and the sensitive wildlife that call it home. Disclosure of the requested information is particularly warranted here since it concerns the otherwise illegal take of iconic, federally protected species—Bald and Golden eagles—and because collecting this information is a necessary condition of the permits that exempt these energy projects from incidental take liability under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 668-668d.

2. Plaintiff Albany County Conservancy (the Conservancy) submitted its FOIA request on October 11, 2024. Defendants issued a final response on March 17, 2025, releasing only 256 pages while simultaneously withholding 910 pages in full under FOIA Exemption 4 without adequate justification, foreseeable-harm analysis, record description, or the segregability review required by law.

3. Defendants also failed to disclose entire categories of records—including mortality reports, correspondence, and known eagle-take incident submissions—despite Plaintiff’s knowledge that such records exist within FWS’s possession.

4. Defendants’ obfuscation and the lack of any coherent justification for withholding this information strongly suggests that Defendants have something to hide. It may well be that eagle mortality stemming from these projects is far outpacing predictions, or FWS may be asleep at the switch. Either way, under FOIA, the public has a right to know. This is especially true where there may be recurring violations of federal wildlife law (i.e., BGEPA).”

The FOIA exemption that FWS cites is for confidential business information. No doubt the wind facilities do not want the public know how many eagle deaths they are reporting but that does not make it confidential business information. Thus the suit looks promising.

I have written at length about the absurd Federal secrecy that surrounds wind turbines killing eagles. See my report “Time for FWS to Stop Wind Power Eagle-Kill Permits” here.

ACC has a compelling reason for wanting this kill data. There was an elaborate Wyoming tagging study that found wind turbines killing more Golden Eagles than all other human causes combined.

That finding is very different from the assumptions made in the FWS eagle-kill permitting program. FWS has ignored this dynamite finding. Thus the requested kill data might call the entire national permitting program into question.

Stay tuned to CFACT to see how this vital litigation proceeds.

A new lawsuit could finally end the secrecy surrounding wind turbines killing eagles. Wyoming’s Albany County Conservancy (ACC) is suing the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for failing to provide the mandatory eagle kill reports for three big wind facilities.

This is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case. ACC made a proper FOIA request. Five

months later FWS said they had over a thousand responsive document but ACC could only see a small fraction.

Since ACC is after total kills this fraction is useless. Moreover the reason FWS gave for withholding most of the kill records looks to be invalid. So ACC is asking the Court to require FWS to cough up the kills.

The introduction to ACC’s Complaint is very clear so rather than tell you what it says, here it is:

“1. This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA or the Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552, seeking to compel Defendants U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to comply with their statutory obligation to disclose nonexempt information concerning the mortality and injury of legally protected eagles at three major wind energy projects located in Carbon County, Wyoming.

Understanding the ecological impacts of the emerging and rapidly proliferating wind energy sector is imperative to Plaintiff Albany County Conservancy, which strives to protect the rugged Western landscapes of Wyoming and the sensitive wildlife that call it home. Disclosure of the requested information is particularly warranted here since it concerns the otherwise illegal take of iconic, federally protected species—Bald and Golden eagles—and because collecting this information is a necessary condition of the permits that exempt these energy projects from incidental take liability under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 668-668d.

2. Plaintiff Albany County Conservancy (the Conservancy) submitted its FOIA request on October 11, 2024. Defendants issued a final response on March 17, 2025, releasing only 256 pages while simultaneously withholding 910 pages in full under FOIA Exemption 4 without adequate justification, foreseeable-harm analysis, record description, or the segregability review required by law.

3. Defendants also failed to disclose entire categories of records—including mortality reports, correspondence, and known eagle-take incident submissions—despite Plaintiff’s knowledge that such records exist within FWS’s possession.

4. Defendants’ obfuscation and the lack of any coherent justification for withholding this information strongly suggests that Defendants have something to hide. It may well be that eagle mortality stemming from these projects is far outpacing predictions, or FWS may be asleep at the switch. Either way, under FOIA, the public has a right to know. This is especially true where there may be recurring violations of federal wildlife law (i.e., BGEPA).”

The FOIA exemption that FWS cites is for confidential business information. No doubt the wind facilities do not want the public know how many eagle deaths they are reporting but that does not make it confidential business information. Thus the suit looks promising.

I have written at length about the absurd Federal secrecy that surrounds wind turbines killing eagles. See my report “Time for FWS to Stop Wind Power Eagle-Kill Permits” here.

ACC has a compelling reason for wanting this kill data. There was an elaborate Wyoming tagging study that found wind turbines killing more Golden Eagles than all other human causes combined.

That finding is very different from the assumptions made in the FWS eagle-kill permitting program. FWS has ignored this dynamite finding. Thus the requested kill data might call the entire national permitting program into question.

Stay tuned to CFACT to see how this vital litigation proceeds.