For Immediate Release: June 29, 2000

Contact: , American Bird Conservancy, 202/234-7181 ext. 207

New Report Documents Hundreds of Thousands of Birds Killed at Communications Towers

230 Species, including 52 rare or declining, killed in tower collisions

A new study documents the widespread killing of hundreds of thousands of birds at communication towers. The birds are killed when they strike cell phone, pager, television, radio and other towers and their related structures (particularly the guy wires), as well as flying into each other and the ground. Most birds are killed while migrating at night, seemingly confused by tower lights - thousands of birds can die in one night at a single tower. The enclosed report, Communication Towers: A Deadly Hazard to Birds, produced by AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY (ABC), documents the killing of 230 species of birds at communication towers in North America.

Alarmingly, the species killed include the Endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker plus 51 species listed by either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or independent conservation bodies as being at risk or potential candidates for future listing under the Endangered Species Act without the aid of strong management actions. These species of concern, protected from unlawful killing by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), are mostly neotropical migratory songbirds that migrate at night, such as warblers, sparrows, thrushes and finches.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has estimated that as many as 40 million birds are killed annually at the more than 77,000 communication towers currently in the U.S.. However, the number of towers, particularly those tall enough to require aviation safety lights, is growing rapidly, to accommodate the boom in cell phone, paging and digital television use.

The documented bird kills represent only the tip of an iceberg, as most dead birds are never found or reported. "This avian mortality is alarming but preventable" said Gerald Winegrad, Vice President for Policy at American Bird Conservancy. "ABC believes that by working in partnership with industry, government and the scientific community, we can develop solutions that will reduce or eliminate the killing of birds in tower collisions. This would be a win for conservation and a win for the communications industry, which could be leading the way in the effort to protect our environment." ABC is a leading member of the Communication Tower Working Group, a collaborative effort between industry, government, researchers and conservationists to find solutions to the problem of bird kills at towers.

Please see the enclosed Report for a detailed analysis of species and numbers of birds killed.