Why Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy
An important part of protecting wilderness is working to replace our use of dirty fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—with cleaner energy alternatives.
Rich renewable energy resources found on our public lands — like wind energy and solar energy — play a key role in powering our future. These clean energy sources help stop global warming and provide alternatives to fossil fuels.
But in developing renewable energy on public lands, we shouldn’t sacrifice sensitive wildlands and wildlife habitat. By choosing the right places and methods for developing clean energy, we can ensure our environment and local economies stay healthy.
At Wilderness, we work to enhance conservation while seeking renewable energy alternatives that:
- Guide development away from sensitive wildlands and wildlife habitat
- Reduce energy use and promote energy efficient technologies
- Eliminate waste
- Help bring clean energy opportunities to local communities
Why renewable energy
America’s wildlands suffer when energy projects are developed in the wrong areas. Smart policies help us use power more efficiently, develop energy alternatives that protect air and water quality, deliver homegrown energy, address climate change and build projects away from sensitive wildlands.
Finding smart places
There are many places on public and private lands that can accommodate renewable energy development without undermining healthy landscapes and wildlife. This includes lands that already have been impacted by development.
Reducing impacts
When building renewable energy projects, we need to manage unavoidable impacts on wildlife and other resources. Smart policies help minimize impacts through better project design and operations.
Campaigns and projects
At Wilderness, our campaigns and projects focus on long-term commitments or policies that guide renewable energy to the right places. We work to ensure renewable energy projects set good examples for protecting sensitive wildlands.
Renewable energy FAQs
Have more questions about renewable energy? Our renewable energy FAQs can help.
Notes from the Hill
Stay current on legislation moving in Congress, issues affecting wilderness and wilderness designation campaigns with our Notes from the Hill.
Take Action
Add your voice to important wilderness causes and take action to stop threats to our wildlands by joining our community of wilderness activists.
Policy and Science Library
Find fact sheets, reports and other resources related to wilderness policy and conservation.
Monday, May 20, 2013The Forest Service proposed a ban last year on horizontal drilling, also known as fracking. Their decision will determine how this forest is managed for at least the next decade.
Monday, May 20, 2013National Trails Day on Saturday June 1st provides numerous opportunities to hike, run, and horseback ride on a trail near you.
Thursday, May 16, 2013Visit us in the Eco-Village at this summer’s Dave Matthews Band concerts.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013Yet, here we are, with people and the government unable to stop furloughs, job losses, and lower revenue to keep the government functioning. Our public lands have certainly not been spared from this indiscriminate budget ax.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013But Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski refused to accept that decision. She and residents of the tiny community of King Cove are fighting to have the decision overturned.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013Birdwatchers travel from far and wide to northwest Colorado to see male sage-grouse strut their stuff in hopes of attracting a mate. Early spring is prime season to catch these timid grouse dancing on the lek and shaking their tail feathers through organized tours.
Smart Steps to Establish a Responsible Program for Renewable Energy on Public Lands
Since its first day in office, the Obama Administration has made rapid and responsible expansion of renewable energy a top priority. The public lands have played a major role in achieving early goals, but only because of focused effort to correct decades of inattention and inactivity toward developing renewable energy as a major component of the nation’s energy mix.
Expanding energy development to meet the growing needs of America must be balanced with protecting vital wild places.
The Wilderness Society has launched a new quarterly report "By The Numbers" to track how many acres of American land have been protected by Congress and the Executive branch, and how many acres have been leased out to energy development.
April 24, 2013
Dear Senator:
Monday, May 20, 2013Identifying smart steps the Obama Administration, including the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management, can take to continue building a responsible program for renewable energy are part of a “blueprint for action” released by The Wilderness Society today.
Monday, May 20, 2013Gov. Sean Parnell’s plan to ask the Alaska Legislature for $50 million to look for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is incompatible with the reasons the refuge was established, and would cause significant harm to a vital and irreplaceable American landscape.
Friday, May 17, 2013A draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and Dominguez Canyon Wilderness near Grand Junction, CO would improve land management efforts and provide a sustainable path for the area over the next 20 years.