Abstract
The road to conservation ruin is paved with the unintended consequences of development, and the consequences of energy development are no different: The moving blades of wind turbines create pressure drops that kill passing bats—their lungs bursting, just like those of scuba divers who surface too quickly; seismic survey roads that permeate Canadian forests are used by wolves to increase their hunting efficiency, contributing to population declines in woodland caribou; oil and gas development discourage sage grouse nesting, causing the birds to abandon otherwise suitable habitat. In Energy Development and Wildlife Conservation in Western North America, editor David Naugle presents not only a thorough assessment of the impacts and risks of energy development but also—more importantly—a roadmap of how the biological sciences community can address these risks. Twenty-three contributors, including landscape and natural resource ecologists, conservationists, and wildlife biologists, approach the issue of energy development and its effects on wildlife in the western United States from three angles: energy sprawl, impacts, and solutions.