Bird Kills

In the May 1999 issue, PlanWireless discussed the problem of bird kills by tall towers. We consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the American Bird Conservancy and PCIA and anyone we could find interested in this problem. One would think the problem of dealing with the impacts of this issue would have been dealt with by now, but apparently not.

The Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in November 2006 seeking comments on whether the Commission should take measures to reduce the number of instances in which migratory birds collide with communications towers. This Notice is the result of the inquiry launched by the Commission in August 2003, to determine if collisions with communications towers may have impacts on migratory birds.

The Department of the Interior’s FWS is the federal agency with primary authority to enforce federal statutes intended to protect migratory birds and other wildlife. FWS estimated that the number of migratory birds killed each year as a result of collisions with communications towers could range from 4 to 50 million.

Arguments of Those in Favor of Requirements to Protect Migratory Birds

The FWS argues that the broad statutory language of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits any unintended death of even one migratory bird caused by a collision with a communications tower. With regard to the state of scientific information, FWS acknowledges that there is no standard research protocol to study mortality events at communications towers and contends that only a broad cumulative impacts study would assess the whole situation. FWS claims, however, there has been a recent dramatic increase in migratory bird deaths as a result of the exponential growth in communications tower construction that began in the 1990s. FWS urges communications tower constructors and licensees to comply with its voluntary tower construction guidelines.

The American Bird Conservancy, Forest Conservation Council, and Friends of the Earth contend that, by not taking steps to mitigate migratory bird collisions, the Commission has failed to comply with a variety of federal laws. They argue that National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement concerning the impact of communications tower collisions on migratory birds. They further urge the Commission to add migratory birds to the list of impacts for which Environmental Assessments are required for telecommunicates facilities. The groups assert that there have been several instances of mass avian mortality at communications towers, and “that reported kills represent only the tip of an iceberg as the vast majority of tower sites are never checked for mortality.” They also contend that in poor visibility conditions, migratory birds are especially attracted to red steady lights.

The Chickasaw Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians assert that migratory birds are important to these tribes because of their cultural or religious significance. The Nunakauyak Traditional Council explains that migratory birds are an important part of that tribe’s diet during the spring and summer seasons. Consequently, the tribe is concerned about migratory bird kills because the declining populations are resulting in hunting and egg gathering restrictions.

Arguments of Those Against Requirements to Protect Migratory Birds

Licensees, tower owners and constructors, and trade associations oppose any amendments to the Commission’s rules, or imposition of other restrictions on tower siting and construction, in order to mitigate migratory bird collisions with communications towers. They also argue that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 does not give the Commission authority to impose tower siting and construction restrictions to protect migratory birds. They also claim that NEPA does not authorize any Commission action because those environmental protection statutes apply only to federal actions and tower siting and construction are primarily private actions.[1]

Trade groups also argue that even if the communications towers cause 5 million migratory bird deaths per year, that is not a significant enough impact on the environment to support any requirements under NEPA.

FCC Consultant’s Report

The Commission retained an environmental risk consulting firm to help determine whether collisions with communications towers have an adverse impact on the viability of migratory bird species; what role certain factors (i.e., migration patterns, bird behavior, tower configuration, tower siting, tower lighting, and weather) have on the increasing or decreasing number of such collisions; and whether certain measures might minimize the impacts of tower construction on migratory birds.

· The greatest bird mortality tends to occur on nights with low visibility conditions, especially fog, low cloud ceiling, or other overcast conditions.

· All other things being equal, taller towers with lights tend to represent more of a hazard to birds than shorter, unlit towers.

· Two collision mechanisms appear to be a factor in bird collisions: (1) blind collision in conditions of poor visibility and (2) illuminated sphere of influence.

· Certain avian families tend to be more affected than others, among them vireos, warblers, and thrushes.

· The seasonal pattern exhibits a pronounced collision spike during fall migration and another smaller spike during spring migration. However, bird collisions with towers can occur any time of the year under any weather condition.

· There are no studies to date that demonstrate an unambiguous relationship between avian collisions with communications towers and population decline of migratory bird species.

· Although biologically significant tower kills have not been demonstrated in the literature, the potential does exist, especially for threatened and endangered species.

· More research is warranted in order to identify specific causes and possible solutions to this problem.

The short-term recommendations from the consultant included: continue to work with the Communications Tower Working Group; initiate dialogue with research entities and the telecommunications industry to identify the most appropriate research approaches and mechanisms to develop standardized methods and metrics for data collection and monitoring; study how differences between bird species might contribute to the susceptibility of certain bird species to tower collisions; and encourage research on potential measures that might mitigate avian mortality, particularly mass mortality, at communications towers.

The long-term recommendations included: incorporate the results of current studies into the Commission’s review of tower applications; conduct laboratory-controlled studies into avian vision; and adapt the Potential Impact Index, which FWS uses to assess the impact of the locations of wind turbines[2] on the environment, for use with communications towers.

Tentative Decision of the FCC

The FCC has tentatively concluded that, for communications towers subject to Commission rules, medium intensity white strobe lights for nighttime visibility is to be considered the preferred system over red obstruction lighting systems to the maximum extent possible without compromising safety.

The FCC seeks comment on whether scientific evidence supports such a requirement and, if so, how it should be implemented. In addition, the FCC requests comment on the possible adoption of various other measures that might serve to mitigate the impact of communications towers on migratory birds including the following:

· To routinely require environmental processing with respect to migratory birds.

[1] The irony here is that the FCC looks to the wireless carriers to enforce NEPA with Environmental Assessments written concerning wetlands, floodplains and historic sites. All of a sudden, these “private actions” are not covered by NEPA with regard to bird kills.

[2] A second irony: why are wind turbines of federal concern and towers are not?

Communications Towers Impacts on Migratory Birds

Arguments of Those in Favor of Requirements to Protect Migratory Birds

Arguments of Those Against Requirements to Protect Migratory Birds

FCC Consultant’s Report

Tentative Decision of the FCC