Tower Locations & Land Status

• North Tower: Planned on Bear Head Camp (a private recreation/hunting camp).
• South Tower: On the Collins Pine tract, private land enrolled in the PA Game Commission’s Hunter Access Program (HAP).
• Both sites are privately owned (Bear Head Camp and the HAP cooperator); they are not state game lands. Collins Pine is private land made accessible to hunters via HAP, not public property.

Environmental Reviews – Very Limited in Scope

• PA’s environmental permitting requires a PNDI (natural heritage) screening of at least a 50-acre area around any project . The available wetland/stream delineation reports (Mar 2023 and Apr 2025) appear to examine only the immediate tower bases. In other words, only the tiny tower footprints were studied – far smaller than the 50-acre screening area expected.
• This means broader habitat (roads, staging areas, entire ridgelines) was likely not evaluated. Such limited reviews raise concerns that potential impacts outside the small tower pad were overlooked.

Wildlife & Endangered Species

• The PA Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) reviews projects that might affect endangered aquatic species . If either site is near habitat for rare fish, mussels, or other listed aquatic life, PFBC input would be required.
• On the federal side, the Northern Long-Eared Bat was listed as endangered in Nov. 2022 . DEP policy now requires updated PNDI screenings (post–Mar 2023) for any new permit . If PNDI was completed only in May 2025, it should have triggered new reviews by PFBC/DCNR/USFWS for bats and other species .
• The PA Game Commission (PGC) has explicitly warned that turbines kill migratory birds and bats. In fact, PGC’s board unanimously banned wind turbines on its 1.5 million acres of state game lands , citing high mortality of sensitive species (e.g. endangered Indiana bats, migratory eagles) by windmills . Those biological concerns apply equally to these towers: collisions with birds/bats are a serious risk if the structures become tall studies.

Coordination & Transparency Issues

• State rules mandate a PNDI receipt and agency consultation (PFBC, PGC, DCNR) before approving projects . Public records indicate no final clearance letters have been issued by PFBC or PGC for these towers. Agency emails/timelines (obtained via Right-to-Know) show reviews are still pending or incomplete.
• The project has progressed under a veil of confidentiality: developers signed non-disclosure agreements with site owners. Research shows that such NDAs in energy projects often “contribute to obfuscation, making key information…inaccessible to the public” . In short, many details (lease terms, study results, etc.) have been kept private, even though environmental impacts should be publicly vetted by the relevant agencies.

Public Access Lands & “Co-op” Clarification

• Locally, people call these plots “co-op land,” but that term is misleading. The Collins Pine property is simply a Game Commission cooperator’s land under the HAP. The PGC “partners with private landowners to provide public hunting opportunities” – the owners still own and control the land . It’s private property opened to hunters, not some jointly owned co-op.
• Importantly, PGC’s own policy forbids turbines on the lands it manages . While HAP lands are not state game lands, using them for a wind facility would conflict with the Game Commission’s wildlife protection goals. In summary, both towers are on private lands (one private club, one HAP parcel). Calling them “co-op” doesn’t change that they are privately owned and should be treated with the same scrutiny as any development site.

Public Awareness & Next Steps

• No blame on landowners: Bear Head Camp and the Collins Pine cooperator are private entities. This summary is about process and compliance, not personal fault.
• We urge neighbors and hunters to stay informed: ask DEP/Army Corps for the PNDI screening receipts and permit status; ask PFBC/PGC if biological surveys are complete; demand that any permits reflect full environmental review. Transparency benefits everyone.
• By sharing these facts (based on public records and Right-to-Know responses), we hope to prompt careful oversight. The community has a right to know about impacts on wildlife and public hunting access.

Disclaimer: All information above comes from public documents and responses obtained under the Right-to-Know Law. It is presented to promote transparency and awareness, not to assign legal blame to any private parties.