Thursday, July 24, 2025, 2:00 PM ET
Click Here to Register for Solar-Wildlife Webinar #3
Presented by REWI, this webinar will discuss the latest research on the intersections between desert tortoises and solar including the suitability/quality of on-site tortoise habitat (vegetation, soil), tortoise movement, resource selection, and more.
Moderator: Josh Ennen, Senior Scientist, Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI)
Speakers:
- Claire Karban, Ecologist, Southwest Biological Science Center – United States Geological Survey
- Alice Karl, Community Ecologist, Alice E. Karl and Associates
About the Speakers
Claire Karban is a dryland ecologist who studies the ecological impacts of solar energy development. Current research evaluates alternative construction and operation techniques for maintaining ecosystem functioning in large scale solar projects.
Alice E. Karl is a community ecologist who has studied arid ecosystems of the United States and Mexico for nearly 50 years. Research has included long-term and geographically extensive projects on (a) desert tortoise reproduction, translocation, population viability, and habitat relationships; (b) rare plants; and (c) vertebrate community relationships. She has been instrumental in developing methods for surveying tortoises, developing translocation and study protocols, and developing tortoise conservation strategies. Both of her advanced degrees involve tortoises. She has been the lead biologist on several industrial scale solar projects in the California and Nevada deserts since 2009.