Wind energy is a burgeoning industry on the Llano Estacado of Texas and could negatively affect the local avian community if birds collide with turbines or avoid previously occupied habitat.

Tech University professor Clint Boal is working with several governmental agencies to discover ways to mitigate golden eagle deaths as much as possible.

That's why the research Boal and his colleagues are performing is so important. Boal, a member of the United States Geological Survey's Cooperative Research Unit at Texas Tech, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Region 2 office and its Western Golden Eagle Team, are in the process of studying golden eagle movements and potential interactions with wind turbines.