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June 2011

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Subject:
From:
"Bernard P. Friel" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Bernard P. Friel
Date:
Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:06:22 -0600
Content-Type:
text/plain
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text/plain (283 lines)
     As a member of the MOU (since 1967) I believe that if there is to be a
discussion of the proposed cell tower at Ely, setting forth accurate facts
seems fundamental.
     The proposed tower will be 450 feet tall on a ridge that will place it
approximately 600 feet above the surrounding landscape and waterways. Tower=
s
higher than 199 feet above ground level require guy wires for stability, so
if this tower is constructed it will be a hazard to birds.
     Under FCC and FAA Regulations such a tower is REQUIRED to be fitted at
night with a red beacon and OB lights, and with a strobe light at the top o=
f
the tower.
     The purpose of wilderness is to experience the solitude and challenge
that it provides and to learn from the experience, skills that we can put t=
o
use in our day to day life, as well as how to meet and prepare for the
circumstances that we are exposed to in undertaking such travel. Wilderness
gives us an opportunity to escape from the land of concrete and steel cell
phones and iPods. Anyone who believes that the jarring sight of a lighted
cell tower doesn't rip one out of the wilderness and damage the wilderness
experience has little appreciation of wilderness.
     Nothing like the ringing of a cell phone at the campsite to
"compliment" the call of the loon.
     Furthermore I have not heard even anecdotal information that suggests
that cell phone access is statistically warranted for safe wilderness
travel, and we should all recall that in the BWCAW blowdown of just a few
years ago, no one was killed and the injured were promptly rescued without
cell phone communication.
     While it may sound logical that such a tower will give campers and
hikers better access to help in an emergency, if that was the purpose of th=
e
tower it would be an argument for populating the wilderness with such
towers. In fact that will only lead some wilderness travelers to a false
sense of security, and encourage others to undertake a trip they have not
prepared for.=20
     In any event the purpose of the tower is to better serve the local
resort and business community and over 90% of that can be accomplished with
a single 199 foot tower that doesn't require guy wires and is not visible i=
n
the wilderness or with two towers that would not be visible in the
wilderness and would provide better coverage than the single proposed 450
foot tower.
     On May 31 I returned from an 8 day canoe trip in the BWCAW-Quetico
which I led for 5 of my friends, my 39th such trip since my first 50 years
ago in 1961. On this trip we encountered 40 mph winds with gusts to 60 mph
on Basswood as we were returning. We waited 9 hours until it was safe to
paddle across the lake. The wilderness experience teaches that patience is
important to safe travel and a safe experience.

Bernard P. Friel
    =20
--=20
Bernard P. Friel
Member:
     North American Nature Photography Association
     American Society of Picture Professionals
     International Society of Aviation Photography
     The Explorers Club
Web Pages - http://www.wampy.com ;
            http://www.wampy.com/bn Owl Gallery
            http://www.wampy.com/bn2 Songbirds
            http://www.wampy.com/GalapagosGallery
            http://myloupe.com/home/found_photographer.php?photographer=3D111=
3
          =20
           =20


> From: Michael Hendrickson <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Michael Hendrickson <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:12:58 -0700
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: [mou-net] FW: [mou-net] Golden Eagles harmed by wind turbine=
s
>=20
> Most cell towers I see today do not have guide lines to hold the tower in=
 a
> steady position but if this tower in the Boundary Waters does not have gu=
ide
> lines then there will be very little loss on a foggy rainy night in the
> Boundary=20
> Waters but if it the tower does have guide line cables hold the tower up =
then
> there will be birds of some numbers killed during migration on foggy rain=
y
> nights.
>=20
> I support the tower because the tower will give hikers and campers access=
 to
> call emergency personnel to aid them if a storm or a medical issue occurs=
 to
> people while out camping or a lost hiker and ect.. There are many good
> reasons=20
> to have communication such as this in place and yes even in National Park=
s and
> Forest and that is to be used as a tool to help people communicate. We l=
ive
> in=20
> a different era and communication has changed and keeps changing every ye=
ar.
> I=20
> suspect the majority of people who work and live near the park support th=
e
> tower=20
> and I would even say a lot of campers and hikers most likely will feel mo=
re
> secure knowing that IF any emergency is needed they are only a few beeps =
of a
> cell phone away to get help.
>=20
> I do not think a few blinking red lights will impair the beauty of the
> Boundary=20
> Waters.
>=20
> The group that is suing AT&T is open for shorter towers in the same area =
so
> hopefully a compromise will be reached in court.
>=20
> =20
> Mike Hendrickson
> Duluth, Minnesota
> Website: http://www.mikehendricksonbirding.com
>=20
> Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> ________________________________
> From: Laura Erickson <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Wed, June 15, 2011 11:13:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [mou-net] FW: [mou-net] Golden Eagles harmed by wind turbine=
s
>=20
> Sadly, the wind power industry has a paid ornithological advocate,
> Paul Kerlinger, who is willing to stretch the truth quite a bit in his
> testimony in support of industry. He was also the expert witness for
> AT&T in their legal case when the Friends of the Boundary Waters took
> them to court regarding a 450' guyed, lighted cell phone tower (which
> would actually be 600' above the landscape because it's to be located
> on a hill) that AT&T wants to build right on the edge of the Boundary
> Waters, in a dark-sky area where bird kills during foggy/rainy weather
> would likely be worse than at most towers. I can't really speak to
> specifics of his testimony until the judge makes a ruling, but it was
> very depressing to see just how fluid a person's understanding of
> stellar navigation is when he's paid to say this kind of tower would
> not kill more than "a few dozen" birds a year.
>=20
> Best, Laura
> --
>=20
> On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 11:04 AM, Chuck Cole <[log in to unmask]> wrote=
:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Chuck Cole [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 2:45 PM
>> To: Eric Harrold
>> Subject: RE: [mou-net] Golden Eagles harmed by wind turbines
>>=20
>>=20
>> Studies done in Florida by the FL Conservation Society and Audubon, etc,
>> showed=20
>> that ANY towers are hazards to migratory birds....
>> lighted towers especially. Lights are required aircraft warnings on pow=
er
>> towers, airport towers, windmills, radio and TV towers,
>> tall buildings, and so on. The type of tower makes little difference.
>>=20
>> Chuck
>>=20
>>=20
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Eric
>>> Harrold
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 12:59 PM
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Re: [mou-net] Golden Eagles harmed by wind turbines
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of wind energy is the notion that w=
e
>>> (society) have to tailor everything to the
>>> corporate model. In other words, we could utilize residential scale tur=
bines
>>> that pose a much lesser risk to migrating
>>> birds. But the turbines in the Midwest pose little threat anyway when p=
laced
>>> in=20
>>> big rowcrop ag fields where there is
>>> little concentrated bird movement. The Appalachian region and similar
>>> mountainous places are another story...
>>>=20
>>> Eric Harrold
>>>=20
>>> --- On Mon, 6/13/11, linda whyte <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> From: linda whyte <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Subject: Re: [mou-net] Golden Eagles harmed by wind turbines
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Date: Monday, June 13, 2011, 6:37 PM
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> It is indeed, unfortunate. There seems to be no escaping the
>>> conclusion that all forms of energy production come at some kind of
>>> price. We need to minimize the "side-effects" or collateral damages of
>>> all of them---and start by examining our own energy consumption.
>>> Linda Whyte
>>>=20
>>> On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 12:38 PM, Jim Ryan <[log in to unmask]> wrot=
e:
>>>> This is most unfortunate:
>>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>> http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=3D20764&utm_source=3Dnewsl=
etter
>>> &utm_medium=3Demail&utm_campaign=3DDPD
>>>=20
>>>>=20
>>>> --
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>=20
>>>> Jim Ryan
>>>> Saint Paul's Westside
>>>> ----
>>>> One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man =
and
>>>> Nature shall not be broken. -* Leo Tolstoy*
>>>>=20
>>>> A well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty. - *Lucius Ann=
aeus
>>>> Seneca*
>>>> ----
>>>>=20
>>>> ----
>>>> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net
>>>> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
>>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> ----
>>> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net
>>> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
>>>=20
>>> ----
>>> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net
>>> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
>>=20
>> ----
>> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net
>> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
>>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --=20
> Laura Erickson
> Duluth, MN
>=20
> For the love, understanding, and protection of birds
>=20
> There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds.
> There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
> nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after
> the winter.
>=20
> =8BRachel Carson
>=20
> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
>=20
> ----
> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net
> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
>=20
>=20
> ----
> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net
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