[TowerTalk] Potential New FCC Tower Construction Threat

[Pete Smith]

oops, I forgot this wasn't on yahoo.  contesting.com's search capability is even better, tho.

73, Pete

At 12:21 PM 12/10/2006, Pete Smith wrote:
>Eric, there truly are no NEW topics on towertalk.  This one was worked to death 2-3 years ago.  IIRC, there were several studies cited that fairly well refuted this.  With yahoo's new search capability, a quick run on bird and collision should get you those references.
>
>73, Pete N4ZR
>
>t 12:00 PM 12/10/2006, Eric Hilding wrote:
>>As if BPL and CC&R's aren't bad enough, it appears we may have a new potential tower construction threat issue to deal with in the future.
>>
>>I'm passing along some info that I just read in a newsletter from my Attorney in Washington.  It appears to pertain to commercial tower installations, but you know the drill...give the environmentalists an inch and they'll take a mile. Most Enviro-Nazis do NOT distinguish between amateur & commercial towers...they hate 'em all.  Hopefully the ARRL is on top of this, because even a remote possibility that future tower constructions might all require costly Environmental Assessments if the FCC adopts policy changes requested by the US Fish & Wildlife Service could be bad news for us.  In abundance of caution, we might want to all file Comments on behalf of Amateur Radio in the Proposed Rulemaking in Docket 03-187 before the January 22 deadline.
>>
>>The USFWS is estimating between 4 and 50 million bird collisions with communications towers each year.  This was a MAJOR issue for Mike, K9AJ and myself in negotiating our IOTA NA-178 trip with USFWS last Spring.  We had to take down our small Sigma 5 vertical dipole on the Island at sunset due to concerns over bird collisions with the teenie weenie horizontal T-bars.  Only the slender "Farallon Special" (Super-charged mobile screwdriver antenna with extension shafts & whips) was allowed up during the night and installation was restricted to the adjacent shaddow area of the tiny Carpenter Shop we operated from on the Island.  We could have no "horizontal" antenna components of any size in the air at night & no guy wires.  And you think you have CC&R problems???
>>
>>In January I will have been a licensed ham for 50 years.  I have never had any bird collision situtations myself, nor heard of any occuring with any other ham operator I've spoken with on this subject.
>>
>>Many City and County Building/Planning Departments have already been known to cause grief to ham operators seeking permits.  The last thing any of us need is to see a costly environmental assessment requirement added to the mix...anywhere in the U.S.
>>
>>IMHO, we need to formally distance ourselves from commercial tower installations in this Proposed Rulemaking.  It might be prudent to contact your Senator/Congressperson folks as well.
>>
>>FYI & 73.
>>
>>Rick, K6VVA
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