Landscape-scale wildlife species richness metrics to inform wind and solar energy facility siting: An Arizona case study. (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thomas, Kathryn A.; Jarchow, Christopher J.; Arundel, Terence R.; Jamwal, Pankaj; Borens, Amanda; Drost, Charles A.
• Is Part Of: Energy policy. Volume 116(2018)
• Page Start: 145
• Page End: 152
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: AZGFD Arizona Game and Fish Department -- BLM Bureau of Land Management -- CHAT Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool -- GAP National Gap Analysis Program -- GIS Geographic Information System -- SHCG Species and Habitat Conservation Guide; Wildlife -- Renewable energy -- Southwest -- Species richness -- Facility siting -- Facility operation; Energy policy -- Periodicals; Politique énergétique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.01.052
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-4215

Abstract

Abstract: The juxtaposition of wildlife and wind or solar energy facility infrastructure can present problems for developers, planners, policy makers, and management agencies. Guidance on siting of these renewable energy facilities may help identify potential wildlife-facility conflicts with species of regulatory or economic concern. However, existing spatial guidance usually does not consider all wildlife that might use a potential facility location or corridors for its servicing infrastructure. We illustrate an approach toward assessing potential wildlife-facility conflicts using readily available vertebrate habitat models. The U.S. Geological Survey's Gap Analysis Program (GAP) has developed spatial models of potential habitat for vertebrate species across the entire nation. To illustrate their applicability, we used GAP models to estimate richness of all native, terrestrial vertebrates within Arizona and for those vertebrates grouped by class or by sensitivity to the type of facility infrastructure. We examined the spatial overlap of high species richness of each group with agency-developed guidance used to inform facility-siting decisions and found that GAP-based richness mappings augmented existing guidance. As the GAP vertebrate habitat models are publicly available for the entire USA, use of these data can provide a coarse view of potential wildlife-facility conflicts and inform facility planning early in the process. Highlights: An approach to evaluate potential wildlife-facility conflicts is described. Wildlife habitat models are used to estimate vertebrate richness. GIS maps of vertebrate richness can augment guidance for facility siting. Landscape scale wildlife habitat models are available for the entire USA.