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Well known environmental effects from wind energy development have included direct mortality to birds and bats.However, there is a more subtle effect also at play."Habitat fragmentation" is an impact caused by the siting and presence of infrastructure features on wildlife species.Instead of direct mortality, there is behavioral avoidance of such features because of activity, noise and even simply the presence of vertical structures that are different from the original nature of the habitat.This fragmentation threatens to make some of the last remaining habitat for declining species,especially grassland birds, unusable by them.Prairie grouse such as prairie chickens and sage grouse appear to be particularly susceptible to habitat fragmentation due to the presence of vertical structures.It is believed that these species have evolved to avoid any vertical structure because it can serve as a perch for bird-eating raptors, including eagles, hawks, falcons and owls.Certain life cycle stages, such as nesting and chick rearing, appear to be most vulnerable to these fragmentation influences.Some of the research contributing to concern over habitat fragmentation, along with the mechanism of such fragmentation, is presented.Solutions will also be offered for the siting of wind energy facilities to avoid or minimize this negative environmental impact.