New wind power guidelines are for the birds

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is offering advice on the best places to put wind farms to reduce the number of birds that die by flying into turbines.

A bird advocacy group that lobbied for mandatory standards says the new guidelines will do little to protect hundreds of thousands of birds killed each year by the turbines.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday the guidelines provide a scientific basis for developers and government regulators to identify sites with low risk to wildlife while allowing for more wind energy projects on private and public lands

Salazar called wind power a key part of the administration's "all-of-the-above" energy strategy, and noted that the guidelines, for onshore sites, have been endorsed by the American Wind Energy Association and the National Audubon Society, a conservation group.