BLM CA CESU Characterization of Impacts to Desert Pollinators from Utility Scale Renewable Energy Installations
The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Network promotes, conducts, and provides research, technical assistance and education services nationwide in support of the missions of participating federal agencies and their partners concerning natural and cultural resource management on federal and/or private lands and waters. Each CESU project is cooperative, substantially involving and benefitting both federal and non-federal partners. A CESU project is consistent with the goals of the respective CESU which administers the project. The BLM has identified the need for applied scientific studies to determine the type and extent of impacts that utility-scale wind and solar installations on public lands may have on pollinator-plant webs in desert ecosystems. Pollinators play a vital role in maintaining functional ecosystems. This project addresses the need for documenting instances of impacts from fragmentation of pollinator traplines, loss of soil and vegetation habitat for different life stages of pollinators, disruption of dependencies between endemic plants or endemic invertebrates and their respective companion pollinators or host plants, and potential demographic bottlenecks/population declines from pollinator mortalities induced by specific types of renewable energy technology. Basic knowledge in these areas is critical so that BLM and other land managers can adequately avoid or mitigate any ecological disconnects that may result renewable energy development in desert landscapes.
Office: Bureau of Land Management
lparker@blm.gov
