Marilyn Musgrave: “I do represent an area that has wide open spaces. A few years ago, I attended the 50th year anniversary of YW Electric…”

“I do represent an area that has wide open spaces. A few years ago, I attended the 50th year anniversary of YW Electric in Akron, Colorado. This rural utility serves a vast area. There were individuals at that anniversary celebration that remembered the day that they got electricity to their rural home. Of course, rural Americans want all of the amenities that we have because of electricity. It just so happens that rural electric lines are built in areas that are remote. It just so happens that that is where raptors are. Again as the gentleman from Colorado said, no one could anticipate the time when laws would be interpreted in such a way that when a bird landed on lines and was electrocuted, a rural electric could be found guilty of an intentional taking. Mr. Chairman, I just ask that you work with us in order to resolve this problem. There, of course, is no intention in the taking of a bird. When lines are changed to pose less danger to birds, of course, those costs will be passed on to our ratepayers, the individuals who purchase electricity from the rural electrics. We would just ask for the chairman's help in this issue solving this in a reasonable way so that it will be beneficial to all of us who care about the birds, but those of us who realize that we have to have some common sense in this approach to whether or not a rural electric is guilty of an intentional taking when a raptor dies because they have landed on the lines.”