Wednesday, April 22, 2026 |
Photo – Slide from a presentation on eagle strikes at windfarms – Courtesy Mike Lockhart
A Laramie‑based wildlife conservationist is urging lawmakers to slow new wind projects to protect eagles.
Anne Brande, Executive Director of the Albany County Conservancy, is fighting the expansion of wind energy projects in southern Wyoming. Brande said journalists have begun noting the high number of wind turbines in the region, but they often overlook existing projects, including the Seven Mile and Ekola Flats wind farms.
Brande said she formed the nonprofit Albany County Conservancy with the goal of creating a wildlife migration museum on Highway 287 south of Laramie. However, the chosen site now falls within the Rail Tie Wind Project, a 26,000-acre 504‑megawatt wind farm just north of the Colorado border. Realizing few people would visit a migration museum in the middle of an industrial wind facility, Brande began tracking the number of wind energy projects around the state and their cumulative impact to wildlife, specifically golden eagles. Once abundant throughout Wyoming, golden eagles are now in decline, which Brande attributed largely to wind turbines.
In 2024, Brande’s Albany County Conservancy, along with other local groups and residents, filed a lawsuit to stop the Rail Tie Wind Project primarily due to concerns about wildlife protection. Brande said one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for more than 30 years, and that his studies show wind blade strikes account for more golden eagle deaths than all other causes put together.
Brande said wind farms are contributing to eagle deaths across southern Wyoming. The conservationist said both the National Audubon Society and the Wyoming Outdoor Council submitted comments on the Two Rivers Wind Project, located between the towns of Medicine Bow and Rock River, stating that the turbines would create an “ecological sink.” Brande explained that the installation has the potential to kill not only local eagles, but migrating birds as well.
While golden eagles are not listed under the Endangered Species Act, they are protected by federal statutes that make it illegal to harm them, disturb their nests, or possess their feathers. Because blade strikes are considered inevitable, energy producers must obtain an Eagle Take Permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The permit allows companies to unintentionally kill or injure eagles without violating federal law. The exact number of birds killed is difficult to determine.
Brande said that because energy companies are not forthcoming with the data, the Albany County Conservancy filed a freedom‑of‑information request with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for records on bald and golden eagle deaths at wind farms between Hanna and Rock River. Brande said the federal government incorrectly withheld most of the documents, citing trade‑secret concerns.
Brande said the Albany County Conservancy was created specifically to expose wildlife impacts, which led the nonprofit to file an appeal in Washington D.C. Brande recently received the requested documents, and said she will now review them to determine what, if any, data they contain about eagle deaths.
In April 2024, the federal government revised its eagle statutes to eliminate mandatory third‑party oversight, now requiring energy companies to self‑certify that their monitoring data and reports are complete and accurate.
Brande said protecting wildlife, including golden eagles, is important to Wyoming’s economy.
Brande urged residents to press their elected officials to protect the state’s wildlife. While not opposed to development, she said lawmakers need a clearer understanding of the effects of energy production, including wind, before signing off on new projects.
Along with the Albany County Conservancy, Brande also heads Wywindhere, a nonprofit created to oppose the Rail Tie Wind Project and keep area residents informed about future energy development. Wywindhere plans to hold a rally outside the state capitol building in Cheyenne on Thursday, June 4th. More information about how industrial development on open spaces is affecting wildlife can be found at www.albanycountyconservancy.org.
