Balancing renewable energy and the need to preserve biologically significant landscapes Photo courtesy of

Definitely, we need to figure out how to reduce atmospheric CO 2

Hydro example But not all strategies to reduce carbon emissions are environmental benign Even though emission free, construction of hydro dams have been the number one contributor of extirpations and extinctions in North America.

Wind power is a technology that may help us reduce CO 2 emissions But unfettered wind development could result in significant fragmentation of native landscapes We must consider both costs (impacts) & benefits

The beauty of wind power is that ecological impacts can be minimized through siting Iowa corn field Kansas wheat field

Summary of biodiversity impacts from wind power Direct Effects  Mortality or injury to birds and bats from collisions with rotors, towers, other infrastructure  Habitat fragmentation of intact native landscapes (turbine pads, roads, powerlines) Indirect Effects  Avoidance of otherwise suitable habitat by grassland birds, particularly prairie grouse  Interference with metapopulation dynamics Photo courtesy of

500 KW Turbine Cutting edge technology in the mid-90s 350 to 400’ Total height Rotor diameter 250’ 1.5 to 1.8 MW Turbine Beaumont Farm Windmill 300’ Total height Rotor diameter 155” 660 KW Turbine Montezuma

Avian collisions are the most publicized wildlife- related concern regarding wind turbines As a result, the vast majority of wildlife research concerning wind energy has focused on bird collision deaths

Seriousness of the collision threat… While collision deaths are a real concern for bats and birds at ill-sited wind facilities, habitat fragmentation is thought to be a greater threat to wildlife in the Great Plains region.

Fragmentation

Elk River I: 20¾ miles of new roads across the prairie

Of particular concern in the Great Plains are prairie grouse The life cycles of prairie grouse require large expanses of unfragmented, ecologically healthy rangeland

By protecting/maintaining habitat necessary to sustain greater prairie-chickens, the habitat needs of most other prairie species in the area will also be protected.

Robel et al. -- Avoidance behavior of lesser prairie-chickens in SW Kansas (mean avoidance buffers based on 90% avoidance by 187 nesting hens) 580 ft from pump jacks 95 ft from either side of 2-track ranch trails 2,500 ft from either side of improved roads

1.5 MW turbine 1 mile radius = ~2000 ac.

In addition to habitat fragmentation & abandonment Large arrays of wind turbines may inhibit dispersal, thus affecting metapopulation dynamics The cumulative effect of creating multiple areas avoided by species that rely on unfragmented prairie habitat could have significant consequences

Economically viable wind resources and Nature Conservancy portfolio sites -- areas ascertained as ecologically significant on a globally scale -- reveal remarkable congruence

Overlap of economically viable wind resources and Nature Conservancy portfolio sites in the Great Plains - 8,274,888 acres fall into wind class 5 (excellent) - 2,499,035 acres fall in wind class 6 (outstanding) - 1,061,289 acres fall in wind class 7 (superb).

Kansas has 8.3 million acres of already altered (tilled) land with excellent wind resources (wind class of 5 or higher)!

Yes! But to do so, we must: 1) understand what’s currently driving the siting of wind power 2) develop effective strategies to appropriately site wind power development Can we steer wind power to less sensitive/controversial areas?

Another approach is a certification process to encourage developers to do the right thing

Green certification : a non-regulatory approach to steer wind power away from sensitive habitats How it might work in Kansas… to keep wind development off scarce, native prairie habitats

7 Certifying appropriately sited wind projects as ‘green’ may provide a basis for guiding wind power development away from ecologically significant habitats.

7 Such an approach could make wind projects located in less sensitive areas more competitive, give public utilities sound rationale for rejecting poorly sited projects, and enable wind developers to promote appropriately sited projects as being genuinely green. 7 Certifying appropriately sited wind projects as ‘green’ may provide a basis for guiding wind power development away from ecologically significant habitats.

Conservation Priority Ranking Definition of Priority Ranking Level 1 Habitats that are: 1)globally rare habitats or considered outstanding for biological distinctiveness; 2)migration corridors or staging areas for imperiled species; 3)native grasslands with more than 20,000 contiguous acres. Level 2 Intact native grasslands larger than 2,000 acres with a 90% or greater intactness score. Level 3 Native grassland fragments: 40-acre grid blocks of 50–100% native habitat, but with fewer than 2,000 contiguous acres of >90% intact. Level 4 Not identified as having high biological significance.

Again, we support strategies that will effectively reduce greenhouse emissions But proper siting is critical to reduce the risk of losing certain natural systems and natural areas … to prevent trading one environmental problem for another