February 11, 2025 Support our Appeal with a donation that will be matched!
Contact: Cody Kamrowski, Executive Director, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation—(715) 896-5445
Poynette, Wis: The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation announced today that it was appealing the recent Public Service Commission decision approving the Vista Sands solar project in Portage County. The Federation’s appeal is based on the threat that the project will endanger and possibly extirpate the state-threatened Greater Prairie-chicken population and will significantly reduce the value of the state-owned Buena Vista Wildlife Area in Portage County.
The 7,109.8 acre, 1,315.6 megawatt project will be the second largest solar project in the nation and will be four times larger than any previously approved solar facility in the state of Wisconsin. The concern is that several portions of the project’s solar array fields directly adjoin Buena Vista Wildlife Area grasslands that are used by the Greater Prairie-chickens for nesting and brooding and their leks, areas used by the species for reproduction. Research and professional experience show that when natural or manmade structures are located next to their grasslands and leks, Greater Prairie-chickens (GRPC) avoid and abandon the habitat which will lead to population decline. Greater Prairie-chicken habitat in the state has historically reduced to only three isolated state wildlife areas. The statewide population of the state-threatened species has decreased dramatically over the last fifty years. Their population is measured by the number of males observed on leks during the spring mating season. The population of male GRPCs in the state in 2023 was 264 with the Buena Vista Wildlife Area population comprising 67% (175) of the state population. The eventual loss of the species through loss of its habitat at the Buena Vista Wildlife Area would likely lead to the loss of the species statewide.
WWF Executive Director Cody Kamrowski indicates: “The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is a strong supporter of renewable energy in Wisconsin including solar energy. We do not oppose the Vista Sands project but are greatly concerned that the existing proposed configuration of solar arrays immediately adjacent to GRPC grasslands and leks will lead to the endangerment and extirpation of the Greater Prairie-chicken species in Wisconsin. It is extremely disappointing that the Public Service Commission (PSC) did not exercise its statutory authority to require Vista Sands to relocate its solar arrays directly bordering the Buena Vista Wildlife Area to other alternative sites proposed by the company and recommended by the Wildlife Federation, the DNR, the Commission’s staff, as well as the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement.
Former twenty-year Buena Vista Wildlife manager and DNR GRPC expert, Jim Keir states: “The Buena Vista Wildlife Area DNR managers over the last forty years (myself and the current manager) are the most experienced GRPC biologists with knowledge of the behavior of the Buena Vista Wildlife Area population of Greater Prairie-chickens. We both agree that the Vista Sands placement of solar arrays immediately adjacent to the grasslands and associated leks can lead to the endangerment and extirpation of the critically important Buena Vista Wildlife Area Greater Prairie-chicken population and possibly lead to state-wide extirpation of the species. In my professional opinion, the current Greater Prairie-chicken population is alarmingly low, and any significant negative impact to the birds and their habitat may be the tipping point that leads to endangerment and extirpation from Wisconsin.”
Former Federal career biologist and Wisconsin Society for Ornithology representative on the DNR’s GRPC Advisory Council, Lowell Suring, indicates “Extensive peer reviewed scientific studies document that the location of a large, dense concentration of natural or manmade structural features near grasslands and leks used by Greater Prairie-chickens will cause them to avoid and abandon that critical habitat. At the Buena Vista Wildlife Area, this will mean the continued decline of its critically important GRPC population and its likely endangerment and extirpation at that location and state-wide.”
Former WWF Wildlife Biologist, Tom Hauge, states: “During my career as a wildlife biologist at DNR, I served as the Director of the statewide Wildlife Management Program for twenty-five years. During my tenure as Director, I had oversight responsibility for all statewide wildlife properties including the management and funding of the Buena Vista Wildlife Area and its state-threatened Greater Prairie-chicken population. As Director, I had overall responsibility for both the 1995 and the 2004 Wisconsin Greater Prairie Chicken Management Plans. Based on my long-time knowledge of GRPC management, I fully agree with the professional opinions of Jim Keir, Lowell Suring and the current DNR Buena Vista Wildlife Manager that the Vista Sands project as approved by the Public Service Commission will likely lead to the endangerment and extirpation of the Buena Vista Wildlife Area GRPC population and possibly the statewide population. Other experienced birding related conservation organizations such as the North American Grouse Partnership, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, American Bird Conservancy, American Woodcock Society, Dane County Conservation League, Ducks Unlimited, Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society, Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, Northeastern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, Northern Bobwhite and Grassland Initiative, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Prairie Chicken Project, Ruffed Grouse Society, Sutton Avian Research Center, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Wisconsin Bird Fund, Wisconsin Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Wisconsin Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, International Crane Foundation, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, Mondovi Conservation Club, Buffalo County Conservation Alliance, Audubon of Kansas and Wisconsin Green Fire concur that the solar project should be revised to avoid causing the loss of GRPC grasslands and leks.
Former DNR Land Agent and Real Estate Review Appraiser involved in several Buena Vista Wildlife Area land acquisitions, Phil Lepinski indicates: “The primary purpose for the Department of Natural Resources creating the Buena Vista Wildlife Area was for the preservation and enhancement of the threatened Greater Prairie-chicken. DNR owns 9343 acres, the Dane County Conservation League owns 4390 acres as part of the property and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology owns 60 acres. The total acreage acquired to protect and preserve the Greater Prairie-chicken species at Buena Vista is 13,793 acres. The total value of the combined GRPC land ownership is conservatively between $34,625,000 and $41,350,000. The endangerment and extirpation of the Greater Prairie-chicken at the Buena Vista would be a very substantial loss of land value paid for by state taxpayers, sportsmen and women and other conservationists.
Wisconsin Wildlife Federation legal expenses will be large for this appeal, but we believe that making a stand for Wisconsin’s Greater Prairie Chicken and the Buena Vista Wildlife Area are of the upmost importance. We have currently secured a generous private donor that is willing to match donations 1 to 1 to help with our legal expenses. If you believe in this work, now is the time to make a donation and it will be doubled to support our efforts!