What does “conservation mitigation” mean in Nevada?

Mit•i•gation\noun\ to make less severe or painful (Merriam Webster) Mitigation is a word tossed around a lot in conservation, and it means different things to different people: to some it’s a legal requirement, to some it is a component of good planning, to others it is a term borrowed from the legal community to give shape to the economics of conservation. People mitigate things, such as energy development, a new housing development, loss of habitat, incidental “take” of wildlife, with actions that are supposed to make those things less painful or severe to the over-all condition of the environment. In the context of renewable or “clean” energy development in Nevada, we see mitigation as opportunity. Here’s how: First, we believe that development of renewable energy is a good thing: for our economy, our national security and for combating the effects of climate change. We are also clear-eyed realists, and we recognize this new energy economy is going to develop natural landscapes that people care about and that wildlife depend on for migration and habitat. Second, given this enormous demand for renewable energy AND conservation, we believe that conservation mitigation and energy development must go hand in hand in new ways. This means that as renewable energy development unfolds in Nevada, we are fighting for mitigation that has two critical components: One is financial resources for research, restoration and acquisition of sensitive habitats. For example, having money to pay for removing pinyon-junipers where they have encroached on sagebrush habitat. Financial mitigation is a necessary, but not sufficient, action for protecting key habitats. The second component is additional landscape designations, such as Wilderness and National Conservation Area, which protect critical habitat and natural landscapes off-site, away from the developed lands. Conservation of additional appropriate landscapes is critical because climate change and cumulative effects on the landscape continue to fragment and damage our last, best places. Additional landscape protections save the best habitats remaining and work in concert with habitat restoration to stitch together a healthy ecological fabric.