Wind Farm Project Seeks Permission to Harm Protected Bats

The Green River Wind Farm has applied to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) to unintentionally harm endangered Indiana bats and threatened long-eared bats over the course of thirty years in connection with seventy-four wind turbines that it is erecting in Lee and Whiteside Counties, Illinois. The applicant is “reasonably certain” that the wind farms will result in the “take” of 60 Indiana bats and 120 long-eared bats over the next three decades. The FWS is seeking public comments on the ITP and the comment period will remain open through December 13, 2021.