How Corrupt is Audubon? - The lesson from Altamont

The people of  Maine need to ask themselves..........How corrupt is Audubon? Judge for yourselves from the information provided below.                                                                                                                                   In a 2010 settlement at Altamont, Audubon accepted fraudulent research that was supposed to have reduced raptor mortality by 50%. The truth lies not in the estimates, twisted logic or research data manipulations, but in the actual carcass data from Altamont studies. While the extremely biased estimates, deflection and the media said one thing, the true numbers were showing the opposite, that raptor and golden eagles fatalities had increased by 2-3 times. In this case mitigation funding for dead eagles could be another way of saying BRIBE or sellout since Audubon was being paid to do and say virtually nothing that would have helped these eagles. The wind industry and Interior Department dirtbags call giving away funding for those in on the gig, Compensatory Mitigation. For more information on this read Page 54 from the meaningless U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines. Also keep in mind that it is all the dirtbags that get to set the value on  resources like the eagles lost to turbines and also use rigged research to hide the real numbers.  Financial arrangements with groups like Audubon or I should say payoffs with conflicts on interest, are now much more hidden with newer wind energy developments.

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Comment by Jim Wiegand on April 13, 2018 at 12:08pm

Comment by Brad Blake on April 13, 2018 at 10:48am

Sherwin, in spite of efforts from both the current project owner and FMM to let the people in Maine know about projects, the media largely ignored the press release and did no follow up.  Projects were intended to help real projects that protect special places or protect wildlife, for example, become reality.  Projects range from land acquisition to conservation work to protect existing natural resources that are protected, to enhancing wildlife habitat.  In several cases, the award of money, combined with funding raised from other sources, pushed a project over the top, allowing it to go forward. 
Information on projects funded under the first round of awards is here: 
http://www.friendsofmainesmountains.org/fmm/2015/9/24/major-conserv...
The second and final round of awards came after the project was declared operational and information on projects funded under the second round of awards is here:

https://www.novatusenergy.com/the-bingham-wind-project-funds-additi...

Comment by Frank Haggerty on April 13, 2018 at 6:45am

The Massachusetts Audubon Society is so corrupt they were willing to place a wind turbine in their own bird sanctuary in order to reduce the carbon footprint --

The Massachusetts Audubon Society is an eco-fascist group that has become salespeople for the wind industry !

Nov 20, 2013 - The Massachusetts Audubon Society intends to withdraw its applications to the zoning board of appeals to build a 120-foot windmill at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 291 Route 6 in South Wellfleet but will likely turn to the planning board for help. 

https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/11/20/wellfleet-audubon-to-wit...

Comment by Sherwin Start on April 12, 2018 at 11:55pm

WHO RECIEVED  THE $2.75  MILLON  Mr. Blake ? I DO AGREE  we HAVE A VERY CROOKED  DEMOCRATIC  LEGISLATURE ! MOST HAVE BEEN BVOUGHT  & PAid for by the WIND-POWER INDUSTRY from MASS.,CONN., R.I., and N.J. !!

THEY ARE LITERALLY DESTROYING THE  ONCE  BEAUTIFUL STATE of MAINE..

THE TOURIST INDUSTRY  has  been delivered a  "DEATH BLOW"  by MAINES  LEGISLATURE !

Sherwin Start

Comment by Brad Blake on April 12, 2018 at 11:34pm

Sherwin and John, the settlement between Blue Sky West and Friends of Maine's Mountains was NOT corrupt and NOT a bribe!  The project near Bingham was going to be approved, with appeals denied, and yet again the Maine Law Court sustaining the DEP and BEP decisions to approve.  Like it or not, the way DEP and BEP have interpreted the provisions of PL 661  is consistently upheld by the Law Court as fulfilling the intent of the Legislature.  Other than the victory by the opponents of the Bowers project, there has been no basis for changing the inevitability of projects like Bingham being approved.  The Law Court says take your argument to the Legislature and get the law changed.  As we are well aware, every bill seeking change to the heinous "Wind Energy Law" has been killed by the Democrats.  That is where the charge of bribery is real--the wind industry has bought the Democrat Party in Maine.
In the settlement regarding Bingham, Blue Sky West (SunEdison/First Wind) got to begin the inevitable project 6 months earlier than it would have if FMM had raised donations to launch an appeal of the DEP decision.  In their business, time is money and it was worthwhile for them to establish the Conservation Fund.  The money was kept in a bank escrow, the agreement barred FMM from getting a single dollar, but FMM did solicitation and vetting of proposed awards to worthy conservation projects around the state.  There should be grateful acknowledgement that FMM leveraged this money from the wind industry.   FMM has done more to slow the proliferation of industrial wind sites in the state than anyone else, with the exception of PPDLW getting the Bowers project denied.  I have seen nobody step forward to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars it will really take to ever change the situation in Maine.

Another key feature of the agreement was for the developer to pledge that they would not propose any wind site that will have a visual impact within 15 miles of the Appalachian Trail, Baxter State Park or Acadia National Park.  Thus, with this particular developer, the goal of a bill defeated by the Democrats in the Maine Legislature was agreed to, which can be looked to as a precedent.
Before castigating FMM, include the facts and the context.

Comment by Sherwin Start on March 18, 2018 at 2:28am

U ARE Absolutely right  Mr. Hussey -  This $ 2.75 Millon dollar Payout- is nothing more than  a   BRIBE - They  BRIBED the FRIENDS of MAINE Mountains - SHAME on THEM !!

Just like Audubon  Agreement  its nothing more than " HUSH" MOney  and I am -Myself  to Admit that I am a  follower of  F.of M.M. SHAME ON ME !  I AM NO LONGER !! I am no longer  a Believer  in the AUDOBON society- Either, after years  of loyal membership ! I apologize if I have offended  anyone  by being aligned with these two organizations ! THEY CERTAINLY DO NOT REPRESENT MY  VIEWS on  NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION and  ENVIRONMENTAL  Conservation  and  CONSERVATION  of The beauty of the  State of MAINE !

Sherwin Start- Ph.D. 

Comment by John F. Hussey on March 16, 2018 at 8:18pm

https://bangordailynews.com/2015/09/25/business/anti-wind-group-got... 

(THIS CORRUPT!!!)

Wind company to pay $2.75M, limit future projects to advance state’s largest farm:

PORTLAND, Maine — Wind power developer SunEdison announced it agreed to give $2.75 million to conservation efforts and limit where it pursues wind farms to advance the state’s largest wind project to date in Bingham.

SunEdison said Friday the conservation fund is one part of an agreement between it and the group Friends of Maine Mountains, which in March withdrew an appeal of the Bingham project before the Board of Environmental Protection.

The company and nonprofit said they did not announce the agreement at the time in order to line up the specific conservation projects to benefit from the funds, which were selected by Friends of Maine Mountains, according to its policy director, Chris O’Neil.

The company said it would contribute the $2.5 million to various conservation projects and pursue wind projects only in parts of Aroostook, Somerset, Penobscot, Washington and Hancock counties. None of the funds will go to Friends of Maine Mountains.

The funding will be disbursed through 2017, the company said, with the first $1.5 million disbursed to six groups: The Trust for Public Land, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, the Forest Society of Maine, the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Mahoosuc Land Trust.

“These funds are being made at a critical time when important conservation work is underway,” said Wolfe Tone, The Trust for Public Land’s Maine state director. “They will help advance efforts not only to conserve key forestland and habitat, but also improve access and the opportunities for everyone to experience remarkable Maine landscapes.”

The deal also includes a 15-mile development buffer zone around the Appalachian Trail, $250,000 to go to Bat Conservation International to study how to deter bats from flying into turbines, and a 50 percent increase in the size of the fund set aside for decommissioning the Bingham project.

That issue was a major objection Friends of Maine Mountains had in its appeal to the BEP. Staff of the BEP in late February had recommended approval of the Bingham project, despite Friends of Maine Mountains’ complaints. O’Neil wrote in March that the group had “dim prospects” for overturning a permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection through appeals to the BEP or court system.

The 185-megawatt Bingham project includes 56 turbines located on property in Bingham, Abbot, Parkman, Mayfield Township and Kingsbury Plantation. It has reached agreements to make annual payments of $106,900 to Bingham, $20,000 to Moscow, Abbot and Parkman, and $176,000 to Kingsbury Plantation for 20 years.

The agreement will fund $1.5 million in conservation projects in its first round. It will issue a second round of $1 million for conservation projects in 2017.

Comment by John F. Hussey on March 16, 2018 at 8:18pm

https://bangordailynews.com/2015/09/25/business/anti-wind-group-got... 

(THIS CORRUPT!!!)

Wind company to pay $2.75M, limit future projects to advance state’s largest farm:

PORTLAND, Maine — Wind power developer SunEdison announced it agreed to give $2.75 million to conservation efforts and limit where it pursues wind farms to advance the state’s largest wind project to date in Bingham.

SunEdison said Friday the conservation fund is one part of an agreement between it and the group Friends of Maine Mountains, which in March withdrew an appeal of the Bingham project before the Board of Environmental Protection.

The company and nonprofit said they did not announce the agreement at the time in order to line up the specific conservation projects to benefit from the funds, which were selected by Friends of Maine Mountains, according to its policy director, Chris O’Neil.

The company said it would contribute the $2.5 million to various conservation projects and pursue wind projects only in parts of Aroostook, Somerset, Penobscot, Washington and Hancock counties. None of the funds will go to Friends of Maine Mountains.

The funding will be disbursed through 2017, the company said, with the first $1.5 million disbursed to six groups: The Trust for Public Land, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, the Forest Society of Maine, the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Mahoosuc Land Trust.

“These funds are being made at a critical time when important conservation work is underway,” said Wolfe Tone, The Trust for Public Land’s Maine state director. “They will help advance efforts not only to conserve key forestland and habitat, but also improve access and the opportunities for everyone to experience remarkable Maine landscapes.”

The deal also includes a 15-mile development buffer zone around the Appalachian Trail, $250,000 to go to Bat Conservation International to study how to deter bats from flying into turbines, and a 50 percent increase in the size of the fund set aside for decommissioning the Bingham project.

That issue was a major objection Friends of Maine Mountains had in its appeal to the BEP. Staff of the BEP in late February had recommended approval of the Bingham project, despite Friends of Maine Mountains’ complaints. O’Neil wrote in March that the group had “dim prospects” for overturning a permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection through appeals to the BEP or court system.

The 185-megawatt Bingham project includes 56 turbines located on property in Bingham, Abbot, Parkman, Mayfield Township and Kingsbury Plantation. It has reached agreements to make annual payments of $106,900 to Bingham, $20,000 to Moscow, Abbot and Parkman, and $176,000 to Kingsbury Plantation for 20 years.

The agreement will fund $1.5 million in conservation projects in its first round. It will issue a second round of $1 million for conservation projects in 2017.

Comment by Frank Haggerty on March 16, 2018 at 5:58pm

Massachusetts’s Audubon’s turbine plan disturbing
Ind-Wind

As the permitting process for a wind turbine at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is about to begin, I still can’t connect the dots with regard to common sense here. …Seems so hypocritical to me since, according to its website, Wellfleet Audubon’s woodlands attract a wide variety of wildlife, especially songbirds and shorebirds. But apparently a wind turbine isn’t in conflict with nature? Really?

August 3, 2013 by The Cape Codder in Mike Rice:

http://www.windturbinewildlifehell.org/site/massachusettss-audubons...

Comment by Long Islander on March 16, 2018 at 2:33pm

John - I agree fully. They're all paid whores except for a handful of true believers whose blind allegiance has blurred the facts.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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