DENVER — More than 14,500 National Wildlife Federation members and supporters wrote to the Bureau of Land Management asking the agency to ensure that renewable energy development on public lands is done in a way that minimizes the degradation of habitat and reduces threats to wildlife. The comments came in response to a draft plan about how the agency hopes to pursue utility scale solar development on public lands. The public comment period for that plan ends April 18.

“The National Wildlife Federation and its members support a responsible transition to cleaner energy sources and we know that public lands will have a role to play in utility-scale solar development. But that development should be prioritized where wildlife conflicts are limited--ideally in previously disturbed areas and near existing transmission facilities,” said Bailey Brennan, public lands attorney for the National Wildlife Federation. “We owe it to future generations to learn from the mistakes we made using public lands for oil and gas development and mining. We must ensure renewable projects are developed in ways that respect the importance of wildlife and biodiversity.”