There once was more than 53 million hectares of natural grasslands in Canada.

The plow, roads and cities have reduced this to about 10 million hectares — about an 81 per cent decline.  In no small part, the natural grasslands that remain owe their survival to being “not good for much” except grazing livestock. They were undesirable for growing crops and not even in the right places for housing or industrial development. Unappreciated by virtually everyone but ranchers, Indigenous peoples, and some fringe naturalists, the attention that they did not attract was their saving grace. Nevertheless, natural grasslands in Canada are among the most endangered biomes in our country.

Enter energy development. Unbothered by soil quality or topography — and with deep pockets for high land rents — oil and gas development extended onto natural prairie grasslands wherever there were fossil fuels to be found. Modern satellite images of rangelands reveal a circuit board pattern of well sites, access roads and pipelines on that 19 per cent of Canada’s remnant natural grasslands.

Today energy development on the prairies means more than pumpjacks and gas wells. Wind turbines and solar arrays have joined the conversation, making for interesting, conflicted, and sometimes tense discussions in coffee shops across the prairies. They even pose challenges to conservationists who see the need to prevent fossil fuel-driven climate change from further destroying ecosystems while conserving habitats essential for species at risk. Canada’s natural grasslands are home to over 70 species at risk that need immediate conservation action. Renewable energy development raises important questions of how to share nature’s real estate.

On the surface, prairie grasslands are ideal locations for wind and solar energy—a fact that has not escaped the attention of developers. Unobstructed skies, tenacious winds, lack of trees, flat landscapes, and relentless sunshine has inspired more than 98 per cent of Canada’s growth in total renewables (mostly solar) in the prairie provinces in 2022 alone. About a third of Canada’s installed wind and solar capacity is on the prairies.

But these installations have impacts on native species. Research has shown that Pronghorn, for example, give a very wide berth, which means the energy arrays are blocking their migration routes. Pronghorn are also affected by large, utility-scale solar arrays that are, by regulation, required to be surrounded by impermeable fencing. Pronghorn are notoriously shy of fences, but at least barbed wire fences can be modified to permit Pronghorn to pass. Eight-to-12-foot chain link surrounding solar farms is less amenable to wildlife mitigations.

What to do?  The answer to many resource questions is to weigh all of the factors that society values. Thoughtfully considered, renewable energy could be compatible with habitat conservation. Including habitat needs of migratory species like Pronghorn where solar and wind infrastructure is located is another. There are myriad reasonable solutions that allow space to be shared; there truly is room for wildlife on the prairies.

We have learned that natural grasslands are not wastelands. Treating them as low-value property to be developed without consequence has never been riskier — we could easily lose natural grasslands forever. But we also need large areas for renewable energy infrastructure. The innovative solution is not to convert yet more natural grasslands, but rather to locate renewable energy infrastructure on existing human structures or disturbances where biodiversity is not further imperiled.

Learn how the Canadian Wildlife Federation is conserving our native grasslands >