Osage Oppose Wind Power At Tallgrass Prairie

Hugh Pickens writes writes "The Tulsa World reports that Principal Chief John D. Red Eagle of the Osage Nation says the tribe, although not opposed to alternative energy development in general, has found significant reasons to oppose wind farms on the tallgrass prairie, 'a true national treasure' whose last small fragments remain only in Osage County and in Kansas. The Osage County wind farms would not be built in the Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, located northeast of Ponca City, but would be visible from it and Preserve Director Bob Hamilton has urged the county and the state to steer wind development to areas of the county that are not ecologically sensitive. 'Not all areas in the Osage are sensitive,' says Hamilton. 'What makes the tallgrass prairie so special is its big landscape. It's not just local — it has global significance.' The Osage also fear that large wind farms will interfere with extracting oil and gas, from which royalties are paid in support of tribal members as the Osage retain their tribal mineral rights owned in common by members of the tribe. 'They weren't thinking about the mineral estate — just about compensating landowners,' says Galen Crum, chairman of the tribal Minerals Council. 'How are we supposed to know the price of oil in 50 years?'"

Comments

Environmentalists

[Knave75]

Good to know that the noble natives are still the stalwart guardians of nature and the environment. Mining companies come and go, but a windmill will stain the land forever.

Re:Environmentalists

[SerpentMage]

He was being cynical! The chief is being a bit of an idiot! They think that the windmills destroy the "special" grass, but hey if oil and gas companies want to dig and drill that's OK!

Ok me being cynical! No wonder they bleeding lost the wars! Wanna make a bet the windfarm will be more valuable in 50 years than some oil or gas...

Re:Environmentalists

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Drilling derricks can be visible from far away too. Once the derrick is done, the well pumps dot the landscape too, they aren't tall, but every well will get a pump. It seems like their second core objection is that windmills will reduce the market value of the fossil fuels they own. I really don't think that argument has merit. For one, oil is not used for grid power generation. Natural gas is used for power generation, but such an argument from one group to deny another group's ability to compete like that is just silly.

I really don't get the cultural objection to seeing windmills, I don't get why it's such an effective blocking force. Cities might not have skyscrapers if landowners from miles away can block them from being built, in the same way this argument is used to stop windmills from being built.

Figures

[HangingChad]

The Osage also fear that large wind farms will interfere with extracting oil and gas, from which royalties are paid in support of tribal members as the Osage retain their tribal mineral rights owned in common by members of the tribe.

There's looking out for the environment and there's looking out for number one. Now we know where they stand.

Re:Figures

[purpledinoz]

I don't understand why they can't do both: extract oil and gas, and put up wind farms.

Give me alternative energy

[houghi]

Just don't put it where I can see it.

I hate these kind of people.

In the Netherlands there were (are) people against the windmills for energy. I suppose they want Kinderdijk to be burned down.

In Belgium they were against a wind-farm out on sea, because it MIGHT spoil their view of their apartment blocks that ruined the Belgian coast for the rest of us.

Energy will be a AND/AND solution. We can't rely on just one source, we need many. Wind power is one of them.

Re:Give me alternative energy

[KDR_11k]

Seriously, idiots. The windmills don't look that bad, you'll quickly get used to appreciating the sight.

I agree

[BurfCurse]

What makes these tall grass prairie reserves so special is that they are one of a few places in the plains where you can look across a piece of land and see what it looked like before we completely transformed everything. I personally don't think that windmills are ugly at all an I'm all for it in the midwest. But if you place a windmill farm within sight of the prarie, this feeling of it being untouched will be lost.

Re:I agree

[slackbheep]

And this isn't a problem with oil, gas or mineral developments? As per TFA: "The Osage also fear that large wind farms will interfere with extracting oil and gas, from which royalties are paid." They're willing to accept damage to the environment, on the condition they're paid.

Hypocrisy

[Krakadoom]

Everyone loves wind power, as long as the mills aren't located anywhere near themselves. This is the story every time a project is planned. Besides it's not like you can't just dismantle a windmill, it's not like strip mining that leaves permanent scars. If the world is ever to get serious about leaving oil dependencies behind people are going to have to take the good with the bad.

Personally I love seeing windmills on our coastline and I feel good every time I look at them. They are a MUCH nicer view than the smokestack from a coal plant...

Re:Bah

[The Dawn Of Time]

Yeah, let's make these assholes give up something for the good of the white man, to their own detriment. That's a reasonable thing to ask of them.

Maybe we can compensate them by resettling them somewhere.

Re:We Americans...

[jmottram08]

by "we" you mean people 200 years ago, and "them" you mean different people 200 years ago.

Simple really

[Shivetya]

Wind farms take up an enormous amount of area for the power they generate compared to other sources of energy. Oil fields can get by with one pumping area in many cases and by law most are limited to their foot print. Then besides having all those towers someone has to maintain the access between each tower, usually a road, maintain the lines connecting each, and to top it off you get to hear them all day and night long. Currently there are many regulations governing what protections must be maintained for the environment in regards to gas/oil drilling. There isn't much if anything in regards to maintaining wind farms.