Relocating prairie dogs displaced by solar power
It's nowhere near the level of destruction wrought by coal mines, oil and gas wells, or giant conventional power plants, but solar installations do have their consequences. Among them: making habitats hostile to prairie dogs.
In order to save the animals — whose home is about to be heavily shaded by a six-acre installation of 15-foot-high solar panels in Flagstaff, Ariz. — the nonprofit Habitat Harmony baits, traps, and relocates them to a private ranch. Over the past 10 years, the organization and its volunteers have relocated almost 500 prairie dogs.
"Ultimately, we like to co-exist with the prairie dogs when we can," project lead Emily Nelson told the Arizona Daily Sun.
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