Guiding smart development

Guiding renewable energy away from wildlife habitat, like that of the sage grouse, is a priority for The Wilderness Society.
Photo by NREL
Guiding renewable energy to the most appropriate places will avoid significant impacts to wildlands and the wildlife that call our public lands home.

Public lands provide clean air, clean water, recreation opportunities and places for energy production. Determining the most appropriate uses and protecting the most sensitive areas is critically important. Some places are simply too wild to develop. 

What we're doing

The Wilderness Society supports responsible energy development and guiding proposed projects to suitable places. Steering projects away from sensitive lands and finding solutions for smart renewable energy development can help protect cultural and environmental resources and wild places.

Too often the development process limits public review, moves forward with poor sites and results in conflict and controversy. Renewable energy requires a different approach. Energy development on our public lands should focus on degraded areas close to existing roads and power lines. Doing so could reduce potential conflicts and expedite the permitting of projects.

See also:

Incentives for smart development

Helpful links

 

 

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At a Glance

Some key take-aways from this article include:

  • The Wilderness Society supports protecting our nation’s most sensitive public lands by guiding proposed projects to suitable places.
  • Degraded lands, such as brownfields and abandoned mines, should be developed instead of ecologically-intact public lands.
  • Steering projects away from sensitive lands and finding solutions for smart renewable energy development can protect our wild places.