Abstract
In 2012, the construction of a wind farm with 15 wind turbines was planned in theFureshima region, Nemuro City, eastern Hokkaido. As White-tailed Eagles, Steller’s Sea Eagles,Blakiston’s Fish Owls and Japanese Cranes were thought to be affected by the wind turbines, theWild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) conducted a field survey and investigated the impacts of thewind farm on these threatened species. Using data on the flight routes of sea eagles and GIS, theWBSJ established the potential flight map of sea eagles in the planned area. Furthermore, the WBSJestimated the annual number of collisions of sea eagles using the sphere shaped model. It wasestimated that 0.39 birds would collide on an average and 1.01 birds in the worst case. On the basisof these findings, the WBSJ and other nature conservation organizations requested the governorof Hokkaido and the mayor of Nemuro City to give an administrative guidance to the operator tochange the construction plan. Through the nature observation events and lectures about threatenedbirds in the Fureshima region, the motions to reconsider the plan were placed by the public, andit became a major movement. In July 2014, because of the non-profitability of the wind farm, theoperator announced the cancellation of the construction project. Based on our experience, we madesome proposals for the local conservationists who would cope with problematic plans for windfarm construction.
