[ad_1] The Alberta Wildlife Federation plays a crucial role in conservation efforts within the province.
The Alberta Wildlife Federation is worried {that a} huge photo voltaic farm slated to be constructed 35 kilometers southwest of Drugs Hat can have a damaging impression on pronghorn migration routes within the province and past. The undertaking was granted conditional approval by the Alberta Utilities Fee close to the tip of March.
Calgary-based Horizon Vitality’s proposed Aira Photo voltaic undertaking will embrace multiple million photo voltaic panels. Overlaying 1,800 hectares inside a global migration hall for pronghorn, notes the Alberta Wildlife Federation CEO, Kelly Carter. “It’s one among many being constructed or which can be already in place throughout Alberta’s grasslands simply south of Drugs Hat. “Whenever you have a look at the collective impact of all these initiatives, they’ll trigger a fairly vital fragmentation of the panorama.”
The AWF is looking to the provincial authorities
Together with the Alberta Wildlife Federation (AWF) and other conservation organizations, the AWF urges the provincial government to pause the project until a cumulative effects assessment is completed. The contentious issue with the Aira project is its requirement for 42 kilometers of two-meter-high chain-link and barbed-wire fencing, which would be impenetrable to wildlife.
Fencing around a proposed photo voltaic farm stands to impression pronghorns (photograph: Jack Snow)
Pronghorns, North America’s fastest land mammals, can reach speeds of up to 88 kilometers per hour. They need large areas to roam unimpeded. Carter explains, “You can imagine how much space is required to maintain their population.”
To flee the prairie’s harsh winters, pronghorns migrate south in the fall and head north again in the spring. Their traditional migration routes will be impacted by the proposed solar farm. The fenced-in areas would block them and other ungulates from crossing the project’s territory.
“These are traditional routes used by wild animals, and they must be protected,” Carter emphasizes. “If they hit a fence and disperse, the impact could be significant.” He stresses that the AWF supports renewable energy projects—if they do not negatively impact wildlife.
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Study extra concerning the Alberta Wildlife Federation applications and positions
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