To avoid the conversion of natural and working lands to energy development, advocate at the local and state level for robust energy efficiency and distributed energy resources (DER) programs and incentives from utility companies. Such measures can help reduce the need for large-scale energy projects in a given area. Smaller community solar farms or residential solar arrays paired with distributed battery storage, for example, can help shift demand away from utility-scale projects and therefore reduce pressure on undeveloped land.

When new utility-scale energy generation and transmission infrastructure is necessary, turn to your local expertise, in consultation with community leaders, to identify what lands should be avoided for siting. Already conserved preserves and conservation easement lands must always be avoided as the land trust is charged with protecting those lands in perpetuity. Determining which yet to be conserved areas of high agricultural, conservation or cultural value are to be avoided is more nuanced and will vary depending on local values and needs. If avoidance strategies are overly prescriptive about where solar can be sited, it might drive development to landscapes that have other conservation values or lands with local cultural or historical significance also in need of protection. Natural and agricultural lands that land trusts tend to characterize as to be avoided for conversion to energy development include:

• Wetlands

• Areas where rare plants are located

• Remnant native habitats

• Areas recognized as conservation priorities by the state, such as:

  • Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and BioMap Core Habitat in Massachusetts

  • Landscape Conservation Opportunity Areas in Missouri

  • Areas of Conservation Emphasis in California

• Areas recognized as conservation priorities by the land trust(s) in the project region

• Rare or sensitive habitats, as defined by the state

  If these have not been defined, land trusts can conduct site-specific analysis to determine these habitats.

• Forestland, as defined in the USDA’s Forest Inventory Analysis

  Siting large-scale projects in forestland is not only uneconomical but also potentially in conflict with the benefits of renewable energy. Doing so could reduce or destroy the forestland’s carbon storage and sequestration capabilities.

  Forest Definitions

• Areas with prime farmland soils, as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service

  Note that in some regions, complete avoidance of prime soils might be harmful as it could drive development to other agricultural lands of value such as grazing lands.

  7 CFR § 657.5 - Identification of important farmlands

• Grasslands of special environmental significance, as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service

  Note that in some regions, complete avoidance of prime soils might be harmful as it could drive development to other agricultural lands of value such as grazing lands.

  7 CFR § 1468.3 - Definitions

• Rangelands of high conservation value, including sage grouse core areas, as identified by state fish and wildlife agencies

  The greater sage grouse is an indicator species. If populations of indicator species start to fare poorly, it indicates an impending decline of the ecosystem.

• Mapped wildlife migration corridors and seasonal wildlife habitat areas

  Large-scale energy project developers should screen projects with state wildlife agencies as early as possible to assess and avoid conflicts with wildlife.