A newly published study by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers says that wind energy facilities have killed at least 85 golden and bald eagles between 1997 and 2012—and that eagle fatalities possibly may be much higher.

The study also indicates that eagle deaths have increased dramatically in recent years as the nation has turned increasingly to wind farms as a source of renewable, low-pollution energy, with nearly 80 percent of the fatalities occurring between 2008 and 2012 alone. (See related post: “Wind Farm Faces Fine Over Golden Eagle’s Death.”)

The study, published in the September issue of Journal of Raptor Research, is one of the first efforts to calculate the injuries and deaths suffered by eagles that fly