by Paula Stahl

Created on: December 10, 2008

I live in Tucker County West Virginia, beneath the Backbone Mountain wind project that was actually featured in National Geographic magizine several years ago as an example of wind farms. When the turbines began appearing, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach for the forest I live in. Monongahelia National forest is an incredibly beautiful north eastern hard wood forest wiht an abundance of crystal clear native trout streams. The area was clear cut in the late 1800's, and the destruction was unspeakable. The hills and mountians became muddy mounds of stumps and roads and skids, and the land erosion that followed is still evident today. But the forest did regrow. It is not near the splinder of the virgin forests that were here, and it has taken it 100 years to become a forest again.

However, the ridgetops of the Allegheny Mountians have been targeted as a place for wind turbines and as a source to help solve the energy crisis. When the turbines first appeared, I tried to keep a positive attitude through the sinking in my gut. I delved into research on the topic, and got involved on a basic level. I also observed closely.

Although I do think that wind turbines can be a part of the solution to our energy problem, they are not the fix. There are big drawbacks, both enviornmentally and economically. They cost a fortune to install, and remove. And, they have a life span of about 25 years. The companies do not have a removal requirement in the contracts usually. Others can quote economical facts far better than I. What I can tell you, is what it is like to see these monsters in a National Forest, and it ain't purty.

The turbines go on a ridge top, and they have to clear cut a path for them. A wide path. These are not cute little windmills like in Holland. The tree tops and debre are basically just tossed over the hill, out of the way, and left to lay. This attracts small game animals, like rabbits, foxes, and so on. The small game animals attract birds of prey, which hit the wind mill blades in flight, and perish. Beautiful birds, like Golden Eagles on their migratory path. The clear cut ridge tops have an effect on land erosion all the way down the mountain below. I live about 4 miles beneath them, and my stream has drastically changed in its behavior. Which of course effects the native trout, which are no longer living in the stream. ( Did I mention the herbicides used to spray and keep the vegetation from growing back over these waters?)

There have been extensive

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