Did you know?One of the most promising renewable energy solutions, solar power, can fragment wildlife habitat. The landscapes most frequently targeted for utility-scale solar development are also prime habitats for species like pronghorn, deer and other grassland mammals.
This is especially true in the Four Corners region, the vast, arid landscape where the states of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet. Wildlife must be able move across the region’s grasslands and shrublands to access the food and water they need to survive. These same areas may be made inaccessible to animals once solar arrays are installed. But there’s hope…
Wildlands Network is partnering with the Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, New Mexico Game and Fish, New Mexico State Land Office, Bureau of Land Management, and solar industry groups to use GPS collars, drones and remote camera traps to better understand how wildlife are using this landscape before and after construction of utility-scale solar. The data we gather will allow land managers to make better decisions about how to protect and restore wildlife populations AND strategically build a new energy economy. As we proactively address the climate crisis, we must also safeguard biodiversity.
But we can't do it without your support.Please give today to bolster our on-the-ground research to reconnect, restore and rewild nature across the Four Corners and beyond.
For the wild,
By pledging a monthly gift to Wildlands Network, more of your support goes directly to funding conservation programs and less to administrative tasks.
