[Carpenter] MYSTIC EYES FOR GPC

[Kevin Carpenter]

All -

I attempted to send this to Emily, but it was bounced as SPAM!  I'll try
again...

Emily -

I recently had the pleasure of reading your article on the proposed
Shuteye Creek wind farm.

I am a member of the Missouri Prairie Foundation, which is member of the
Missouri Grassland Coalition. My wife and I purchased a 121 acre farm in
the Missouri Department of Conservation designated Mystic Plains
Conservation Opportunity Area (in Adair County) about 2 years ago as
part of our commitment to prairie restoration and restoration of habitat
to endangered species like the Greater Prairie Chicken.

The Greater Prairie Chicken is considered an indicator species within
prairies - one animal that likely represents many, much like frogs serve
as indicators of healthy wetlands.

We believe our investment and desire to help endangered species is being
seriously threatened by the proposed wind farm. Research shows that
Prairie Chickens require large (thousands of acres) areas of open
grassland and avoid areas with tall structures (be it tall trees that
predator hawks perch on or wind mills that just look like tall predator
perches). Of course, the taller the structure, the greater the sense of
threat. Of course, wind mills tend to be MUCH taller than any natural
structure and thus represent a greater threat. Additionally, recent
observation indicates that primary social areas for the birds gravitate
towards areas in excess of 1000 feet of elevation. Of course, these are
prime wind mill sites - so we are in a state of conflict.

I was curious if you could help us, if not directly, perhaps simply by
helping us get in contact with some of the other opposition groups -
like the "members of the Kirksville School Board and some Kirksvilel
residents are against creating an enhanced enterprise zone".

Can you help us in this or other ways? We are "swimming upstream" on
this issue, fighting against potential tax revenue, jobs, and energy for
creatures that have no say. Any assistance you can provide would be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Kevin & Evia Carpenter
Farm Owners, Adair County

Below is a bit of reference material. Honestly, I cut & pasted this from
some active conversations currently occurring between concerned
individuals. Much of this was included in a letter (which I can provide
you if you wish) to Jay Nixon cosigned by many of the conservations groups.

At least 15 million acres of Missouri, covering more than a third of the
state, were prairie at the time of European settlement. Fewer than
90,000 acres remain - approximately 2/10th of 1 percent! The
bio-diversity represented within native prairies is 2nd only to tropical
rain forest and indo-pacific reefs on the planet <reference needed>. We
are discovering new uses for this resource on a regular basis such as
for potentially renewable bio-fuel feed stock, cap and trade carbon
sequestering, and natural beef production.

Today these prairie fragments have been recognized by the state as 9 of
the 35 designated Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs). These COAs are
being jointly managed by over 18 government and non-government
organizations. Planned large scale commercial wind farms are a threat to
the bio-diversity within these prairie fragments.

We request that the state of Missouri protect the 9 grassland COAs from
development of Wind Turbine or similar wildlife questionable commercial
scale technologies. This could be accomplished by place a very small
portion of the state, including the COAs themselves and a reasonable
buffer zone, off-limits for such development. Doing so would have a huge
positive impact to the states conservation efforts, while leaving 99+%
of the state open for creating the jobs and power America needs.
Landowners in the protected zone would, of course, still be free to
install home class wind units for individual usage and potential feeding
into the local power grid per existing state laws and incentive
programs. These smaller units would have a minimal impact, since they
are typically located near domestic housing and associated pre-existing
infrastructure.

Talking points:

• Prairie is home to more than 800 native plants, thousands of native
pollinators and other insects and invertebrates, and a diversity of
vertebrate animals.
• Prairie plant roots, some growing as deep at 15 feet, sequester
carbon, build rich soil, help with groundwater recharge and protect
streams.
• Meat from cattle and bison raised on native tallgrass prairie is
nutritious and delicious. Grazing by these animals provides excellent
vegetation structure for wildlife. Cattle on prairie help cattle
producers afford to keep prairie as prairie.
• Many plants that are hardy and water-efficient for our home and
corporate landscaping are native to Missouri’s prairies. Our prairies
are genetic reservoirs that can provide us with future resources to
improve our lives
• According to Charles Pappas, planner with the Missouri Department of
Natural Resources Energy Center, the trend among wind energy companies
is to site at least 150 to 250 towers on at least 10,000 acres. We
understand that a current project in northeastern Missouri may affect
60,000 acres. Because so little of Missouri’s original prairie remains,
we are especially concerned with prairie habitat fragmentation that
could occur with wind power of this scale within any of Missouri’s nine
grassland COAs, and most immediately in the Mystic Plains, Grand River
Grasslands and Loess Hills Conservation Opportunity Areas in northern
Missouri

For more information on the Grassland Coalition and the Greater Prairie
Chicken you might find the following links useful:

http://mdc.mo.gov/landown/grass/coalition/partners.htm
http://www.durrillgraphics.com/webpages/lektrek/htm/five.htm
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/missouri/files/missouri_grasslands.pdf