Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Spring 2012
Citation
Great Plains Research 22.1 (Spring 2012)
Abstract
Current and pending energy developments are likely to alter nearly 100 million hectares of wildlife habitat. David Naugle has compiled the inaugural synthesis of energy development impacts on wildlife populations across western grassland, shrub land, and forested systems. Part 1 sets the stage, characterizing energy development in the West. In part 2 ("Biological Responses"), Johnson and St-Laurent (chapter 3) propose a unifying experimental framework to monitor and assess consequences of energy development, urging proactive rather than reactionary science, conducted as experiments rather than observations, better informing both science and management. ... [Naugle et al.] eloquently conclude that "this book is a wake-up call to those who reject prioritizing landscapes for conservation and instead continue to work in highly degraded landscapes because they deny inevitable impacts of energy development." To save our western landscapes, prioritization, conservation, and protection of key wildlife resources will be necessary, with restoration and reclamation important but secondary components. The volume outlines novel ways to accomplish these lofty but attainable goals across the West.
Comments
© 2012 Copyright by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln