Our Position on Wind Energy in Kansas
By Ron Klataske, Executive Director
Originally presented October 2, 2002

Part One
Introduction
The Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie
The Role of the Rancher
Our Pride in the Scenic Beauty of the Flint Hills
Part Two
The Siting Protocols Needed for Wind Development
Important Bird Areas to Protect
Part Three
Habitat Fragmentation is a Major Threat
Part Four
The Minimum Standards Needed

Part One
Introduction
Audubon of Kansas favors the development of wind energy in appropriate areas where the natural and cultural integrity of the landscape, and other important economic and ecological resources and values will not be substantially diminished. Within the boundaries of Kansas (a total of 52 million acres) there are numerous cultivated landscapes covering hundreds of contiguous square miles each and totaling tens of millions of acres that are conceptually appropriate for siting of wind farms. Approximately 60 percent (30 million acres) of the state's land is cultivated.

The site chosen by Florida Power and Light Company in Gray County for construction of the first major wind farm in the state appears to be a model worthy of serving as a guide for future development. These facilities near Montezuma harness renewable energy resources without appreciably destroying other natural and cultural resources and without diminishing other values of importance to residents of Kansas. The site chosen is almost entirely cultivated and it is not located within any clearly established corridor for migratory birds. The company is contributing to the county in terms of voluntary financial contributions and we have every reason to believe, with choices for sites of this nature, that some companies will continue to be a welcomed and respected member of the corporate community of Kansas.

Audubon of Kansas is dedicated to pursuing areas of common ground with energy companies and other entities that are interested in the opportunities that may exist to work together. We would be willing to help refine site selection and other measures to minimize detrimental impacts of windpower development on birds and other wildlife, and other important ecological and aesthetic resources. Many of these resources are dependent upon unique natural landscapes within the state. Some are of national and international importance.

The most notable areas from an ecological and avian standpoint include the extensive native prairie landscapes within the Flint Hills and other tallgrass prairie areas of eastern Kansas, the Sandsage Prairie of southwestern Kansas, and the area in central Kansas clearly associated with the major flyway of birds that utilize Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The exceptional expanses of mixed-grass native prairies within the Red Hills and the most pristine areas of shortgrass prairie should also be acknowledged.

As Walt Whitman observed and elegantly wrote in 1879, "While I know the standard claim is that Yosemite, Niagara Falls, the Upper yellowstone and the like afford the greatest natural shows, I am not so sure but that the Prairies and Plains last longer, fill the esthetic sense fuller, precede all the rest and make North America's characteristic landscape."

Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie
In terms of threatened biomes, the tallgrass prairie is the North American continent equivalent of the once vast tropical rain forests which have been devastated in places such as Madagascar and Brazil. As featured in the PBS special and companion book "Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie", the Flint Hills of Kansas and adjoining Osage County Oklahoma are the last example of tallgrass prairie on a landscape scale remaining anywhere in the world.

Tallgrass prairie is the most altered ecosystem in North America. Tragically only 3 to 5 percent of the historical tallgrass remains in any form. The Flint Hills contain approximately two-thirds of all the remaining resource of unplowed tallgrass prairie, and is the only area with landscape expanses of tallgrass prairie. The native grasslands in the Flint Hills represent between two and three percent of the historical acreage of tallgrass prairie on the continent.

On a continental or even statewide scale, this is not an excessively large area to receive special consideration and protection. It should become a priority area for the Grassland Reserve Program enacted in the new Farm Bill. Additionally, the Kansas Livestock Association, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and other organizations--including Aububon of Kansas-- have initiated planning efforts and/or have programs to utilize conservation easements to give an added degree of protection to Flint Hills grasslands or incentives for management strategies that promise to improve habitat for native plant communities and associated wildlife species.

The Role of the Rancher
One can get a sense of the historical and global importance of the Flint Hills from the chapters devoted to these subjects in the Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie, and many other publications and articles featuring America's prairies. These include many notable essays by William Allen White who was adept at articulating the widely held reverence that many Kansans have for the Flint Hills. That reverence has been the foundation for the exceptional stewardship of these native grasslands practiced for the past century by both dedicated family ranchers who live on the land and absentee ranch landowners. Ranchers and conservationists are working together in several forums to seek solutions that will protect the integrity of both a way of life and place of life.

Greater Prairie Chickens, and to a large extent the tallgrass prairie landscapes of the Flint Hills, would not exist in this part of Kansas without the legacy of cattle grazing and controlled burning. It is important to keep in mind that although some rangelands are not managed in ideal fashion for this species, landowners and their partners have the capacity to enhance habitat conditions on an annual basis by leaving some pastures unburned for nesting and broad habitat, and to rotate the timing of grazing in pastures for the same purpose.  Practices to benefit prairie chickens will be of little value if the landscape is fragmented with industrial scale wind turbine developments that cover thousands of acres each.

Our Pride in its Scenic Beauty
The greater Flint Hills area encompasses an area about the size of Vermont.   Residents of Vermont take great pride in the natural and cultural beauty of their state, and that pride is prominently featured in virtually every publication that residents distribute to promote the state.  Most Kansans take equal pride in the scenic, natural and cultural values of the Flint Hills.  Here the native grassland ridges and hills are complemented by gallery forests, historical ranchsteads, farms and  communities.  With the dramatic increase in nature-based and history-based tourism, these scenic hills are a resource of great economic value.  Many residents who have invested in this land have done so with the hope that the vistas will always be there for all to enjoy.  The establishment of the Prairie Parkway in the 1960s by the Kansas Legislature, and recent establishment of the Flint Hills Scenic Byway demonstrate statewide and community appreciation.
 
Unfortunately, national recognition of Kansas's spectacular prairie landscapes is not yet as well established in some circles as that of the forested mountains of Vermont, the Everglades and similar areas.  We are hopeful that it is not too late.  Appreciation for the native prairies in the Flint Hills is dramatically increasing throughout the country and beyond.   With the recent establishment of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve as a unit of the National Park Service preservation system, the PBS Special, and research at Kansas State University/Konza Prairie, international recognition of this unique resource is quickly growing.

Continue to Part Two