Wind Energy and Native Prairie Field Tour & Workshop
2011 Updates
On behalf of the Native Prairie Working Group, the Foothills Restoration Forum presents the following document - Recommended Principles and Guidelines for Minimizing Disturbance of Native Prairie from Wind Energy Development in Alberta (May 2011). The recommended principles and guidelines have been provided to Alberta Sustainable Resource Development - Alberta Fish and Wildlife for consideration when revising current guidelines. Foothills Restoration Forum facilitated the process to develop the recommended guidelines.
Numerous individuals from government ministries and agencies, companies and organizations participated in the year-long process to develop the recommended principles and guidelines. Participation does not imply endorsement of the full content of this document. However, no major areas of disagreement have been identified.
As facilitators, two other reports of input from the process have been provided. One summarizes issues and views raised by participants regarding the regulatory framework for wind energy development. The other captures preliminary ideas and suggestions regarding beneficial management practices. Addressing these areas more fully was beyond the scope of this process.
All three files are available by clicking the thumbnails below.
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Cheryl Bradley & Marilyn Neville, as principle authors on behalf of Foothills Restoration Forum and Native Prairie Working Group May 2011 |
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Wind Energy Development in Alberta: Issues and Gaps Regarding the Environmental Regulatory Framework Cheryl Bradley & Marilyn Neville, compilers on behalf of the Foothills Restoration Forum May 2011 |
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Wind Energy Development in Alberta, Suggestions for Beneficial Management Practices Cheryl Bradley & Marilyn Neville, compilers on behalf of the Foothills Restoration Forum April 2011 |
October 27th & 28th, 2010
The Foothills Restoration Forum and the Wind Energy Working Group were pleased to facilitate the Wind Energy and Native Prairie Field Tour & Workshop, part of a process to help define guidelines for wind energy development to minimize disturbance of native prairie similar to the guidelines specific to the oil and gas industry.
A working group comprised of government, non-government organizations, industry, environmental consultants, and conservation interest representatives have been compiling background information on policies, principles, guidelines and practices that have been used by other industry sectors to minimize disturbance on native prairie to provide a basis for the workshop.
A portion of the afternoon program involved brainstorming breakout sessions to tackle different aspects of minimal disturbance specific to the wind energy industry and create an initial list of recommendations.
To view pdf versions of the day's presentations, click the thumbnails below.
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Managing Surface Disturbance in Alberta Grasslands Barry Adams and Mike Alexander, ASRD |
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Planning Tools for Wind Energy Development: Grassland Vegetation Inventory (GVI) Ron McNeil, LandWise Inc. |
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Kevin France, ASRD - Public Lands |
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Reducing Disturbance on a Project Specific Level: What we have Learned From Other Industries Marilyn Neville, Gramineae Services Ltd. and Kevin Redden, ASRD-Public Lands |
To view a pdf version of the background document circulated to workshop participants, click the .pdf file below.
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Minimizing Disturbance of Alberta’s Native Prairie by Wind Energy Development: Background Cheryl Bradley M.Sc., P. Biol., and Marilyn Neville Coordinator, Foothills Restoration Forum |