Need info: Wind turbine impact on whitetails, turkey, grouse, etc.

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wombat13

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I just received a call from a wind power developer who is interested in leasing wind power development rights for my hunting property. I expect this lease to be quite financially attractive, but I own the property primarily for the purpose of hunting and am worried that the turbines may seriously degrade my hunting experience. I've started reviewing research papers and it appears mammals (roe deer, reindeer, fox) do seem to avoid close proximity to turbines, but I'm looking for more information. Also, I would like to know more specifically about the impact on whitetail deer, turkey, and grouse.

Anyone have first hand experience to share or able to direct me to quality research on this topic?
 
I have pheasant hunted around them in Iowa. I haven't noticed any animals avoiding them but they kill geese for sure.
 
d2wing said:
I have pheasant hunted around them in Iowa. I haven't noticed any animals avoiding them but they kill geese for sure.
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I found one European study that looked specifically at roe deer, hare, fox, and pheasant. They found that deer and hare were less likely to be near turbines, fox were indifferent, and pheasant were more likely to be near turbines. They suggested that the noise from the turbine made the immediate area less safe for deer and hare which depend on hearing to detect predators. They suggested that the turbines offered slightly improved habitat and protection from aerial predators for pheasant.
 
I know that when I drove through Wyoming I saw pronghorns standing under them quite frequently. That’s not very scientific.
 
courtgreene said:
I know that when I drove through Wyoming I saw pronghorns standing under them quite frequently. That’s not very scientific.
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That's interesting. Thanks. I don't know much about pronghorn. Would you say they rely primarily on eyesight to detect predators? If not, how important is hearing to them for threat detection? The euro study suggests that deer and rabbits may avoid turbines because of the noise they produce.
 
d2wing said:
I have pheasant hunted around them in Iowa. I haven't noticed any animals avoiding them but they kill geese for sure.
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By the way, I would be much less likely to sign a lease if my property was in a major flyway for migratory birds. We occasionally see a few geese, but not a significant number.
 
In my experience…with wind turbine leases…they are usually lucrative enough to buy a different piece of hunting property and right away usually. Times are interesting right now though.

I don’t know how much it would line your pockets but that is always an option.

Have you also researched how to negotiate with these turbine people? Try to get as much as you can from them by any means necessary.
 
I suggest if you enjoy the property at all and care anything about it, or really, if you care about anything other than $$$ that you give a firm refusal. There is nothing good about those things. They are ugly, loud, catch fire and fall over regularly, and are ineffective. Yes, really. The developers are also scuzzy as a rule.
 
The ONLY negative impact I have noticed on whitetail deer populations with the surrounding windfarms which have been installed on neighboring properties has been the increased poaching/trespassing pressure due to the increased accessibility to these properties by the windfarm access roads.

Patterning deer on adjacent properties and some on the properties with turbines directly, I'm not seeing significant changes. Certainly not as much influence as if someone clears trees for fence posts, puts up new fences, digs a new pond, or rotates crops.
 
I can only offer this as advise - be very careful what you read and draw conclusions from. Search for peer reviewed publications in scientific journals and then search for who payed the research - results can vary greatly, depending on who ordered it. If the research requires a payment for it to be accessed, often times just sending a polite letter to the author, explaining your intentions, is enough to get it for free.
 
Spug said:
I suggest if you enjoy the property at all and care anything about it, or really, if you care about anything other than $$$ that you give a firm refusal. There is nothing good about those things. They are ugly, loud, catch fire and fall over regularly, and are ineffective. Yes, really. The developers are also scuzzy as a rule.
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I hear you and agree that they are ugly and in a perfect world I wouldn’t have to look at them. My property is at the end of a five mile long ridge. If I say no, there is a very good chance I get to look at several windmills and get no $ to compensate for the ugliness.

I definitely have research to do. Thanks for the heads up regarding fires and toppling over. I will look into how the company compensates landowners for such occurrences.
 
Varminterror said:
The ONLY negative impact I have noticed on whitetail deer populations with the surrounding windfarms which have been installed on neighboring properties has been the increased poaching/trespassing pressure due to the increased accessibility to these properties by the windfarm access roads.

Patterning deer on adjacent properties and some on the properties with turbines directly, I'm not seeing significant changes. Certainly not as much influence as if someone clears trees for fence posts, puts up new fences, digs a new pond, or rotates crops.
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My property and all surrounding land is old or current timber investments with lots of logging roads. We’ve spent a good deal of time getting the trespassing under control. I’ll have to see if their access can be gated and locked.
 
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Mizar said:
I can only offer this as advise - be very careful what you read and draw conclusions from. Search for peer reviewed publications in scientific journals and then search for who payed the research - results can vary greatly, depending on who ordered it. If the research requires a payment for it to be accessed, often times just sending a polite letter to the author, explaining your intentions, is enough to get it for free.
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Thanks. I have access to journal databases through a university. I’ve found a few articles that look good so far but need to do more reading to evaluate them.
 
Not the same deal but we had an oil company that wanted to use our private gravel road to get to a rig and storage behind our property. They were going to pay and pave our road. The money was pretty attractive but I said no and no. Did not want trucks and God know who running up and down our road. Peace and quite was more important to us than the money. The paved road would have been nice but nah not worth it...
 
Research the developer if this is something you want to pursue. There are the flippers (not great) and the owner/operators of the eventual wind farm (better), and tiers within each category. Research them and the economics well.

Figure out if your particular property is vital to the project or just a "nice to have" for the developer. That influences option payments and eventual lease rates. They will build a good road for access if the project turns into a wind farm. The first offer isn't the best offer unless your land is inconsequential.

Animal impact? There's a lot of research out there on both sides. From a 4-legged animal perspective, probably not enough of an impact that you'll notice since it eventually becomes part of the landscape. One guy's opinion based on a modest amount of experience.
 
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wombat13 said:
That's interesting. Thanks. I don't know much about pronghorn. Would you say they rely primarily on eyesight to detect predators? If not, how important is hearing to them for threat detection? The euro study suggests that deer and rabbits may avoid turbines because of the noise they produce.
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I also know nothing about them… I just noticed them while driving.
 
MJD said:
Research the developer if this is something you want to pursue. There are the flippers (not great) and the owner/operators of the eventual wind farm (better), and tiers within each category. Research them and the economics well.

Figure out if your particular property is vital to the project or just a "nice to have" for the developer. That influences option payments and eventual lease rates. They will build a good road for access if the project turns into a wind farm. The first offer isn't the best offer unless your land is inconsequential.

Animal impact? There's a lot of research out there on both sides. From a 4-legged animal perspective, probably not enough of an impact that you'll notice since it eventually becomes part of the landscape. One guy's opinion based on a modest amount of experience.
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Yes, researching the company is on the list as well. I'd like to have some confidence that they have sufficient capital that they will be able to pay me what they promise through the end of the lease. I would also like to know more about their reputation and business practices. They claim that they are not "flippers" and will actually be the developers and operators of the windfarm.
 
Cows don't mind them, but cows are stupid.
Grouse fly into the base of them and die, you'll just randomly find a dead grouse at the base of a wind turbine occasionally.
I know someone who has shot 2 big bucks at a small wind farm so deer don't seem to avoid wind farms.
 
Can’t give you science but I see a lot of whitetail deer around the older ones here. The newer ones are much bigger and much louder and more recent installs so I just can’t say one way or the other.
I think deer become accustomed to anything constant. I have a wind bell made from a CO2 tank that rings like a church bell in the wind. I frequently see deer browsing under it. We also have them walk out onto the trap and skeet range during shoots.
 
I'm pretty sure those big turbines would bother me more than the deer. Depending on how much acreage you have you'll have to weigh the money vs. your hunting experience.

One time I saw a small group of whitetails walk through a railroad tunnel.
 
Also as an anecdote, I was in southeast TX a month ago and saw plenty of hogs and a Nilgai even, grazing very close to windmills.

This particular area has tons of windmills so I presume the animals are used to them.
 
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