OUR NEW, INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE
As many of you know, we have a home nestled among the wind turbines in Grand Prairie township. There is not a single human habitation within at least a mile of us. One would think that finding a good direction for sighting in a .308 rifle would not be a problem. It is. There are wind turbines to the north, south, and west, and all are close by. There is also the occasional, unexpected NextEra white utility truck. The best direction for sighting-in is to the east—over County Road 27!
This situation got me to thinking about the effect the wind farms might have on hunting.
Current and planned wind farms in North Dakota will cover thousands of acres of prime hunting country. This may have at least a couple of unfortunate consequences.
1. Contracts between wind farm developers and landowners state that the latter is responsible for the safety of wind-farm service personnel working on turbines on the landowner’s property. An example of such a statement:
If Owner hunts and/or discharges firearms on and near the Easement Properties, Owner shall take such precautions as are reasonable to ensure the safety of [name of WF developer] site personnel and the protection of Wind Farm Improvements on the Easement Properties during and after construction of the Wind Farm.
How far, exactly, might a landowner’s liability extend? Will he be responsible for the actions of hunters—whether invited or not—on his property? It is almost a certainty that the occasional potshot will be taken at the towers and turbines with high-powered rifles. Such vandalism can be accomplished by someone who is not even near the landowner’s property. Is the landowner liable for the damage? It would seem to be reasonable for the landowner to forbid all hunting on his property in order to avoid this level of risk exposure.
2. The presence of 400-foot wind towers dramatically compromises the image of North Dakota as relatively unspoiled hunting country. One of North Dakota’s great assets is its feel of authenticity. In my opinion, once thousands of acres of good hunting land have been disfigured by hundreds of wind turbines, all the fuss about “canned hunting” becomes meaningless. I find it hard to imagine that out-of-state hunters, looking for an authentic hunting experience, would be happy to pay to hunt on land dominated by monster machines.
We’ve got the windmills and more are coming. Add a few large clown heads to the mix and we can have the hunting experience equivalent of a round of miniature golf.
The loss of money due to the lack of interest in hunting North Dakota’s pinwheel prairies could be made up by copyrighting and marketing a “Hunting the Wind Farms of North Dakota” video game.
In such a game, one would specify the nature of the hunt—waterfowl, upland game birds, big game, etc. Points would be gained by picking off deer close to wind turbines (It has been observed that animals gather close to wind turbines, probably because the noise is paradoxically less annoying there than it is further out.). Points would also be made for shooting game birds so that they do not fly into the whirling blades and get chopped to bits. Points would be lost for accidentally hitting the wind tower hardware or for hitting a white utility truck. Anyway, you get the idea. Use the Dakota Pride label. Scarcely anyone will pick up on the irony.
Are Wind Farms Legal in North Dakota?
Yes, they are, especially if they are used in local co-op organizations and fit the definition of a “family farm.”
On the other hand, something has apparently been overlooked with regard to major wind-farm developers from out of state.
The term most used by developers to refer to their wind turbine installations is “wind farm.” This happy and cozy term gives the impression of some sort of a relationship of wind farming to crop farming. And indeed there is such a relationship. Let us accept the wind farmers’ “wind farm” designation for their business.
Although the corporate wind farms pay property tax and also pay farmers for the use of their land, the bulk of the value—the electricity— generated by these corporate farms is transmitted out of our state.
The North Dakota Anti-Corporate Farming Act has been in effect since 1932. Until 1981, all corporations—whether foreign or domestic—were prohibited from engaging in farming in North Dakota. In 1981, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly amended the law, providing that all corporations and limited liability companies were prohibited from owning or leasing land used for farming or ranching unless they met certain exemptions provided in the law. I do not know whether corporate wind farms such as NextEra meet those exemptions, or if anyone has considered the possible relevance of North Dakota corporate farming laws to the operation of wind farms, but the possibility is there.
The terms “farm” and “farming” are not confined to food crops. One definition of a farm is “an establishment at which something is produced or processed: an energy farm.”
Wind farms are energy farms. Wind farms transform a natural form of energy—wind—into a controllable and transmittable form of energy—electricity. So do food farmers transform the natural substances of soil, water and seed in the presence of light-energy into another form of energy—food.
Yes, corporate wind farms are indeed farms, but are they legal?