WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suggesting that the two agencies work together to get to the bottom of the controversy of whether towers kill migratory birds, FCC Chairman Michael Powell told reporters at his regularly scheduled monthly briefing.
The letter is meant to “open up a relationship” with the Fish and Wildlife Service said Powell, but he conceded that his agency has been working for months to lay the groundwork for the letter.
“They need our expertise and we need their expertise,” said Powell, noting “he doesn’t have an expert in house” to determine the truth about migratory birds and towers. The Powell briefing occurred the day after the agency and the wireless industry filed briefs in a federal appeals case regarding whether the FCC is correctly enforcing its siting environmental rules.
