Electric Avenues: Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Development on Desert Ecosystems

Is renewable energy sustainable? Through the lens of desert tortoise research, we will explore the role of current utility-scale energy development practices in the desert on: 

• Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation 

• Connectivity, dispersal, and population decline 

• Proliferation of threats to native species and habitat including invasives, wildfire, and subsidized predators 

• Restoration and climate change 

REGISTER TODAY!

Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025 

Time: 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. 

Location: Instructions to access the Zoom webinar will be provided upon registration and in a reminder email the week of the event. 

Cost: 

ABF Member: $7
Non-Member: $10
Student: $5 

*Please note that as the Anza-Borrego Foundation is a non-profit organization, all program costs are used to support current and future education programs, including subsidized programs that seek to increase access to the outdoors.    

Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships are available for those with financial need. If you’d like to request a scholarship, please email [email protected] with a two–three paragraph description about why you’d like to attend this program and your need for a scholarship.   

About the Presenters:  

Kirsten Dutcher earned her PhD from the University of Nevada, Reno where she researched Mojave desert tortoise genetic connectivity in relation to habitat loss and fragmentation. Many of her field sites were in areas that have been heavily impacted by utility-scale solar development and energy corridors. Her focus has been to inform conservation science and management practices to answer questions related to population decline and extinction risk in rapidly changing landscapes. Through the integration of population genetics and spatially explicit analyses she seeks to uncover the influence of landscape and land use to better protect and conserve what remains of our deserts. She has worked as a biologist in desert communities for over 20 years and is currently the Desert Reserves Director for the University of California, Irvine’s Steele/Burnanad Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center and the Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve.

If you’re interested in reading publications about this topic:

Averill-Murray RC, Esque TC, Allison LJ, Bassett S, Carter SK, Dutcher KE, Hromada SJ, Nussear KE, Shoemaker K (2021) Connectivity of Mojave desert tortoise populations: Management implications for maintaining a viable recovery network. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1033, 23 p.

Dutcher KE, Vandergast AG, Esque TE, Mitelberg A, Matocq MD, Heaton JS, Nussear KE (2020) Genes in space: What Mojave desert tortoise genetics can tell us about landscape connectivity. Conservation Genetics 21:289-303

Dutcher KE, Byer NW, Parandhaman A, Matocq MD, Nussear KE (In review) Dividing a Desert: Landscape genomics of Mojave desert tortoises in the Colorado subdivision of the Sonoran Desert. Landscape Ecology

Cancellation Policy: 

Cancellation requests must be received at least seven days before the event if you wish to receive a credit or refund. Please note that ABF may cancel a program due to low attendance. If ABF cancels a program, we will issue a full credit or refund.