The Obama administration is evaluating a plan to allow a 200-mile corridor for wind energy development from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico that would allow for killing endangered whooping cranes. The environmental review will consider a request by 19 energy developers for a permit for turbines and transmission lines on non-federal lands in nine states from Montana to the Texas coast, overlapping the migratory route of the cranes.
The permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service would allow projects to "take" an unspecified number of endangered species. Under the Endangered Species Act, "take" is defined as killing or injuring an endangered species The government can issue permits to kill or injure listed species with no penalties or risks of lawsuits to developers who agree to craft conservation plans.
According to federal officials, the large scale of the review will help streamline the permitting process by lumping many projects into a single study. The Obama Administration has been working to speed development of renewable energy projects by improving co-ordination among various state and federal agencies.