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Commentary: Death of Wisconsin prairie chicken at hand?

Research concludes that the prairie chicken needs wide-open landscapes, clear vistas, and lands devoid of trees, man-made structures and intense human activity, to survive. (Stock photo)

The greater prairie chicken (GPC) is a native species to Wisconsin. There are fewer than 500 prairie chickens remaining in Wisconsin, with two-thirds of them concentrated on the a 12,700-acre Buena Vista Marsh in southwestern Portage County. There is a 6,737-acre solar project (Vista Sands Solar) before the Public Service Commission (PSC) that would be located in and adjacent to the Buena Vista Marsh.
This project is in addition to a 2,167-acre solar project approved by the PSC in April 2023. This combined project will be four times larger than any other solar project in Wisconsin and will be the largest solar project in the U.S. (per Certrec), if approved.
Our 94 years of scientific research on this species tell us we will lose the GPC in Wisconsin if this project is approved as submitted.

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