A Minnesota wind farm has become one of the first to seek federal approval to kill a limited number of bald eagles, sparking concern from some wildlife advocates over the welfare of the nation's official bird.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said it is reviewing an application from New Era Wind to kill or disturb one bald eagle per year at its 48-turbine wind project in southeast Minnesota's Goodhue County.

An agency official said a permit would be granted only if the company demonstrates it has avoided and minimized harm to eagles "to the fullest extent practicable" during its 30-year project life.

"We haven't given the green light to anything other than that we will process the application," said Tony Sullins, the agency's field supervisor in the Twin Cities.

But the American Bird Conservancy, a Washington, D.C.-based group, this week said the project poses unacceptable risks to a national icon and should not be sited so close to the Mississippi River.

Moreover, FWS in a letter to the state this week said the project could kill as many as 14 bald eagles a year if the company does not take steps to avoid and minimize turbine collisions.

"Why even take the gamble?" said Robert Johns, a spokesman for the group, who argued there is no proven method for predicting bird deaths at wind farms. "Anyone who is concerned about our national symbol should be worried about this. ... The dice are being rolled on this one."

The proposal comes as the Obama administration seeks to balance the expansion of carbon-free wind and solar energy while protecting wildlife and their habitats. The administration has been criticized by oil and gas and wildlife groups alike for selectively enforcing federal bird-protection laws.

New Era is among only a few companies in the nation to take advantage of regulations FWS issued in 2009 that allow "take" permits to be issued if harm to eagles is unavoidable even after strict conservation steps are taken.

While the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007 after nearly vanishing from the United States, it is still illegal under federal law to disturb or kill one.

The agency a year ago released its first proposed take permit for golden eagles for a wind project by West Butte Wind Power LLC in central Oregon, but the permit is yet to be finalized (E&ENews PM, Jan. 3, 2012).

Bird advocates are torn over the new policy. On the one hand, the permitting process allows for greater public participation and disclosure of impacts to protected bird species. On the other hand, it allows the sanctioned killing of birds, and some groups disagree with the agency's predictions of overall impacts.

"The key question -- the elephant in the room that no one wants to see -- is what happens if the best guess is wrong and eagle mortality is much worse?" Johns said. "I doubt that the turbines will be packed up and sent to storage."

While the company's permit is not available to the public, FWS will eventually release a draft environmental assessment of the proposal.

Deanne Endrizzi, in FWS's migratory bird permitting office in the Twin Cities, said New Era has pledged to site turbines away from water sources or nesting areas used by eagles, to remove animal carcasses from roadways, and to encourage hunters to remove the gut piles from harvested game that can attract the birds.

It is also proposing to install bird diverters on any transmission lines and on the guy wires of meteorological towers to discourage birds from landing.

While FWS predicted 8.4 to 13.8 eagles could be struck each year if the company makes no effort to reduce the number of deaths, even that many bird kills would be consistent with the agency's goal of maintaining a stable or increasing eagle population, it said. The local bald eagle population is estimated at about 418, though it is unknown how many other wind farms have been proposed in the area.

"It is important to note that the collision risk estimate generated by the Service is not a goal to reach, but rather represents a 'worst cast scenario' that the service and New Era Wind will strive to never achieve," the letter states.

Still, critics have accused the Obama administration of turning a blind eye to wind farms that illegally kill birds or bats and then prosecuting oil and gas companies when they run afoul of the same law.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a televised debate with President Obama last fall blasted the administration for charging North Dakota oil drillers for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a criticism echoed by some Capitol Hill Republicans.

FWS last April proposed amending its 2009 regulations to allow eagle-take permits to be issued for 30 years, a gesture to the wind industry, which argued five-year permits made financing projects difficult (Greenwire, April 16, 2012). Wildlife advocates pushed back strongly against the new rule, which is yet to be finalized.