Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation in Western North America

Abstract

Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation in Western North America offers a road map for securing future energy supply while safeguarding wildlife. Contributors show how science can help craft solutions to conflicts between wildlife and energy development by delineating core areas, identifying landscapes that support viable populations, and forecasting future development scenarios to aid in conservation design. This title frames the issue and introduces readers to major types of extraction. It quantifies the pace and extent of current and future energy development. It provides an ecological foundation for understanding cumulative impacts on wildlife species. It synthesizes information on the biological response of wildlife to development. It discusses energy infrastructure as a conduit for the spread of invasive species. It compares impacts of alternative energy to those of conventional development. The final section calls for a shift away from site-level management that has failed to mitigate cumulative impacts on wildlife populations toward broad-scale planning and implementation of conservation in priority landscapes. The book concludes by identifying ways that decision makers can remove roadblocks to conservation, and provides a blueprint for implementing conservation plans. Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation in Western North America is a must-have volume for elected officials, industry representatives, natural resource managers, conservation groups, and the public seeking to promote energy independence while at the same time protecting wildlife.