At the highest levels, the Department of the Interior and the Obama administration have expressed interest in developing a strategy to improve mitigating the impacts of all forms of development on public lands. This directive and momentum has presented the conservation community with unique opportunities as well as significant challenges.

In response to the administration's charge, the Bureau of Land Management is now testing the development of Regional Mitigation Plans for established solar zones while the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget have moved to implement Executive Order 13604, "Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects." In addition, federal agencies, states and energy developers are looking at ways to implement effective mitigation strategies at both the project and regional levels.

These initiatives and others will be presented and discussed at a special workshop titled "Next Generation Mitigation: A Framework for Wildlife Conservation and Energy Production" on Tuesday, March 26 from 1:00 ? 3:00 p.m. at the 78^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Arlington, Virginia.

If designed and implemented properly, mitigation planning should begin with an understanding of the conservation objectives, ecological values and functions of the natural resources and wildlife impacted by the development, and how the proposed development could impact those resources. This analysis should be done at the landscape level. To be effective, mitigation must consider means to first avoid project impacts on wildlife and habitats and then seek to minimize any adverse effects. Finally, where development is to proceed, compensatory mitigation should be used to offset any unavoidable impacts to wildlife and habitat.

This workshop continues the lively conversation begun in June 2012 when several organizations (Defenders of Wildlife, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Wildlife Federation), convened a two-day discussion with state and federal natural resource management agencies, conservation organizations, representatives from solar, wind, and oil and gas industries, and senior officials from the Obama administration to discuss mitigation strategies, concepts, and principles.

Building on that conversation, workshop presenters will focus on how mitigation is being implemented through federal policies for wind and solar energy development. The goal of the workshop is to help design the next generation of mitigation that ensures energy development is planned to maximize both wildlife conservation objectives and energy security goals.

Learn more about the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference.