Wind Energy Meets the Duck Factory

Everyone feels good when they can go “green” with renewable energy sources, but will our green choices take a toll on wildlife?  
Many questions have yet to be answered about the impact of wind turbines on wildlife, and a three-year study by Kulm Wetland Management District in North Dakota is one part of the puzzle. 

Located in the Prairie Pothole region of the Midwest – an area renowned as North America’s duck factory for its duck breeding habitat – Kulm Wetland Management District is completing the study’s first year.  The study will shed light on the impact of wind turbines on ducks such as mallards, blue-winged teal and other dabbling or puddle ducks by comparing density of breeding waterfowl pairs on wetland habitat with and without wind turbines. 

Working with several partners, the survey includes LaMoure County, where 41 turbines are already operating, Dickey and McIntosh counties in North Dakota and McPherson County in South Dakota, where about 120 turbines are operating.  In total, the survey will sample approximately 3,000 wetland basins each year.         
                                                                   
Contact: Mick Erickson, manager, Kulm Wetland Management District, 701-647-2866