 Wildlife Corridors
This report is based on a
multi-state and collaborative effort that included six separate working groups, each of
which was charged with developing findings and recommendations on various aspects of
wildlife corridors and crucial habitat.
These Working Groups are as follows:
Science Committee; Oil & Gas Working Group;
Energy Working Group; Climate Change Working Group;
Land Use Working Group; and Transportation Working Group.
This report is a compilation of the work achieved by the six working groups. The report was approved by the Governors with the understanding and
condition that implementation of the report will be coordinated and overseen by the
Western Governors’ Association through the Western Wildlife Habitat Council that will
be established under WGA.. (2008) |
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 Transportation Fuels for the Future
The Governors' Advisory Committee on Transportation Fuels for the Future has proposed strategies to accelerate the development of alternative transportation fuels that hold the promise of reducing the risks to our energy security, environment and economy posed by our near total dependence on petroleum for conventional transportation fuel. The Advisory Committee also proposes strategies for improving vehicle fuel efficiency.
Alternative fuels considered included biofuels (ethanol, biomethane/biogas, and biobutanol), bio- and renewable-diesel, electricity, coal-to-liquids, natural gas/propane and hydrogen. (2008)
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 Wildlife Corridors: Oil & Gas
In February 2007, Western Governors’ unanimously approved policy resolution 07-01, Protecting Wildlife Migration Corridors and Crucial Wildlife
Habitat in the West. This report is the first in a series of reports on protecting critical wildlife corridors -- the Wildlife Corridors Initiative Oil and Gas Working Group Report. Other reports to follow will cover energy, land use, transportation and climate change. (2007)
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 Clean Energy, a Strong Economy and a Healthy
Environment -- A Progress Report 2005-2007
Governors have worked individually and collectively to move the region toward the ambitious energy goals they set in 2004. This annual report details the progress the region has made towards achieving those goals. (June 2007) |
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 Clean Energy, a Strong
Economy and a Healthy
Environment
Western Governors
launched the Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative with the
adoption of a resolution that established three important
goals for the West:
- Develop an additional 30,000 megawatts of clean energy
by 2015 from both traditional and renewable sources;
- Achieve a 20% increase in energy efficiency by 2020; and
- Ensure a reliable and secure transmission grid for the
next 25 years.
The Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee
(CDEAC) was commissioned by the Western Governors to
identify technically and financially viable policy mechanisms,
stressing non-mandatory, incentive-based approaches, to
meet the goals established in the Governors’ resolution. (June 2006)
Advanced Coal
Biomass -- Supply Addendum
Energy Efficiency
Geothermal
Solar
Transmission
Wind
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 Conserving the Greater Sage Grouse: A Compilation of Efforts Underway on State, Tribal, Provincial and Private Lands
In the West, we are witnessing an unprecedented conservation effort. Eleven
states are working together to protect the Greater Sage Grouse, a bird whose habitat
covers most of the Western United States. Given the scope of the area, which stretches
from Colorado to California and north from Utah to Montana, this coordinated
conservation effort is nothing short of remarkable. (June 2004) |
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Handbook Helps At-Risk Communities Better Prepare for Wildfires
This Handbook is intended to provide communities with a concise,
step-by-step guide to use in developing a Community Wildfire
Protection Plan (CWPP), as recommended in the Healthy Forest
Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA) (P.L. 108-148).
The Handbook outlines: # how to convene other interested parties,
# what elements to consider in assessing community risks and priorities,
and # how to develop a mitigation or protection plan to address those
risks. (April 2004)
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Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System: Progress Report Overview
The Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) is
a joint effort by the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), the California
Energy Commission (Energy Commission), and the Western Regional Air
Partnership (WRAP) to implement an independent, voluntary, renewable
energy generation database and a registry for Renewable Energy Certificates
(RECs) within the Western Interconnection. This report reviews the status
of WREGIS with respect to: goals; system capabilities; functional requirements;
institutional home and governance; stakeholder participation; communication/public
outreach; and a timeline of remaining milestones. Attachments to this report
contain a summary of the policy/schedule drivers for the formation of WREGIS
and a list of active participants. (April 2004)
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A Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to
Communities and the Environment -- 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy
Implementation Plan (May 2002)
This Implementation Plan establishes a collaborative, performance-based
framework for achieving the goals and actions of the
10-Year Plan with
performance measures and tasks to identify key benchmarks and track
progress over time. It also provides tools to deliver national goals
at the local level in an ecologically, socially, and economically appropriate manner.
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Prairie States Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership: A National
Model for Rural Economic Recovery (February 2003)
Three regional organizations – the Comanche Pool Prairie Resource
Foundation in Kansas, the High Plains Resource Conservation and
Development District in Oklahoma, and the Texas Prairie Rivers Region,
Inc. – have developed a successful track record for bringing together
partners from multiple counties and states to solve common problems. It
was a natural extension of this informal alliance, bound by similar
geographic and cultural traits, to band together as the Prairie States
Coalition to address their mutual economic crisis. This report highlights
their cooperative development efforts.
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Conceptual Plans for Electricity Transmission in the West (August 2001)
This report, prepared by a diverse, public/private work group identifies
a range of potential transmission enhancements that would help ensure
the region can move electricity where and when it is needed over the
next decade. The report identifies different scenarios for expansion of
the Western Interconnection and alternatives to expansion linked to
emerging technologies, more efficient use of electricity that reduces
demand, peak load management and distributed generation located at or
near the customer load.
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The Health Passport Project: Assessment and Recommendations --
executive summary (January 2002)
This report, prepared by the Urban Institute and MAXIMUS, evaluates
the WGA's Health Passport Project. Over the last two years the project
has tested and evaluated the use of smart cards to integrate health data
and deliver benefits across a range of governmental agencies and programs.
For a copy of the full report or hard copies of either the executive
summary or the full report, go to the
Urban Institute's Web site.
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Purchase of Development Rights: Conserving Lands, Preserving
Western Livelihoods (Updated June 2002)
A unique partnership of cattlemen, conservationists, and Western
governors developed this report supporting the creation and use of
publicly funded Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) to protect
rapidly disappearing farm and ranch land and to conserve agricultural
lands and wildlife habitat in the West. Authored jointly by the Western
Governors’ Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and
the Trust for Public Land.
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 Water Needs and Strategies for a Sustainable Future: Next Steps
The 2006 WGA report Water Needs and Strategies for a Sustainable
Future contained broad ranging recommendations
to address the ever-increasing challenges associated
with water management in the West. The progress
to date and the “next steps” identified in this
2008 report represent a productive start in implementing
these recommendations in what will be an ongoing
process. (2008) |
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 Deploying Near-zero Technologies for Coal: A Path Forward
This summary of the WGA workshop “Deploying Near-Zero
Technologies for Coal: A Path Forward,” held in 2007,
identifies concepts that western state governments could consider to facilitate the technical and
regulatory pathways for deployment of near-zero-emission coal-fired power plants. The workshop
was part of a continuing effort by the WGA to implement the recommendations of the Clean and
Diversified Energy Advisory Committee convened by the Governors to
increase new clean energy generation in the West by 30,000 megawatts by 2015. (2008) |
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 Building an Energy-Efficient Future
The report includes recommended policies and best practices for energy-efficient building that could dramatically reduce the demand for energy and water, while providing a boost to the region’s economy.
The recommendations included in the report were developed by stakeholders participating in a workshop held last year. Participants included representatives of building industries, utilities, public interest groups, all levels of government and energy service companies.
(2008)
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 Water Needs and Strategies
for a Sustainable FutureGovernors identify water issues and make recommendations for dealing with expected growth, uses and rights. (June 2006) |
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 Collaborative Conservation Strategies:
Legislative Case Studies from Across the West
Western states contain the vast majority of publicly owned lands. Management of these
lands impact the social and economic fabric of adjacent rural Western communities. As
much of the West continues experiencing unprecedented population growth, the
traditional tension between growth and preservation has escalated for these lands and
the communities.
This white paper traces the history of land conservation in the West and the seeds of
collaborative approaches reaching back to federal statutes enacted in the 1960s. The
case studies show how traditional adversaries in three Western communities were able
to avoid impasse and come together to hammer out difficult compromises to
accommodate most interests. Success has not been fully realized in all cases, but the
difficult work continues. (June 2006) |
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 Conserving the Greater Sage Grouse: Examples of Partnerships and Strategies at Work Across the West
This document illustrates the depth of commitment and cooperation
that is taking place across the entirety of the West to conserve the
Greater Sage Grouse. The following success stories represent a glimpse
of what the successful partnerships are accomplishing and how they
are doing it. More detailed information is available in a companion
report entitled, “Conserving the Greater Sage Grouse – A Compilation
of Efforts Underway on State, Tribal, Provincial and Private Lands.” (June 2004) |
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Creating A Drought Early Warning System for the 21st Century: The National
Integrated Drought Information System
The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) will be a dynamic
and accessible drought information system that provides users with the ability
to determine the potential impacts of drought and the associated risks they
bring, and the decision support tools needed to better prepare for and mitigate
the effects of drought. (June 2004).
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Coal Bed Methane: Best Practices Handbook
The development of this Handbook was initiated by the Western
Governors’ Association, (WGA) which believes that Coal Bed Methane
CBM) represents a key component of our nation’s energy sup-ply and
accordingly should continue to be developed. WGA recognizes the
importance of CBM and the need by private industry, and state, local
and federal officials to develop this criticalcresource in an
environmentally sound manner. The Western Governors, therefore,
called for coordination and sharing of information that promotes
the sound, efficient and environ-mentally responsible development
of CBM. (April 2004)
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Energy Efficiency in the Border Region: A Market Approach
The U.S. – Mexico Border Region is experiencing rapid economic
and population growth. Corresponding to this growth is a projected
annual increase in energy demand. This study assesses the potential
for energy savings through the implementation of industrial and
commercial energy efficiency projects in the border region. Because
extensive energy efficiency studies focusing on the U.S. side of the
border have been conducted, and in order to allow a comprehensive
view of the market opportunities in the border region as a whole,
this market assessment focuses on opportunities on the Mexican side
of the border. The information in this report was collected through
a survey of existing published data and documents. The study’s
ultimate goal is to promote energy conservation and to focus future
project implementation efforts, resulting in air quality improvements
in the region. (April 2004)
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Wireless Communications Interoperability Status
Phase I Report to the Western Governors Association (September 2003)
Prepared by Western Information Technology Council and Industry
Advisory Council - West Chapter
Authors:
Dr. Roger Neeland - VCI, Inc.
Mr. Tim Kramer - GSA/FTS
Mr. Sean Price - TEKsystems, Inc.
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Financing Electricity Transmission Expansion in the West: A Report to the
Western Governors (February 2002)
The Transmission Finance Committee (TFC) has prepared this report exploring
transmission financing issues raised in the earlier
Conceptual Plans for Electricity Transmission in the West report.
It recommends to the Governors several specific steps they can take to
help ensure that justifiable expansion of the Western grid can be financed.
In its consideration of transmission financing and cost recovery alternatives,
there has emerged among the TFC members a broad consensus documented in this report.
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Collaborative Ten-Year Strategy for Restoring Health to
Fire-Adapted Ecosystems (August 2001)
This report outlines a collaborative 10-year strategy that seeks to
reduce wildfire risks to communities and the environment by emphasizing
proactive fire management in addition to traditional reactive suppression
actions. Representatives from states, counties, local communities, tribes,
federal agencies, industry and environmental groups were involved in
development of the strategy. All of these groups will also be key to
jointly planning and acting on local-level projects to reduce hazardous
fuels and restore fire-prone ecosystems. The goals of the strategy are
to improve prevention and suppression of wildfires, reduce hazardous fuels,
restore fire-prone ecosystems, and promote community assistance. Authored
by WGA and the Departments of Interior and Agriculture.
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Ranch Conversations: A Blueprint for Conserving Species and Lifestyle
Describes the efforts of five states – Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico,
Oklahoma and Texas – to directly involve landowners in conservation
planning for the lesser prairie chicken. The turning point for this
effort was a series of what were called “Ranch Conversations”,
during which landowners offered their advice and assistance to state and
federal wildlife agencies, and the agencies offered incentives to help
them achieve their mutual goals. To date, more than 84,000 acres are
being managed to benefit this rare grouse, and another 200,000 acres
have been approved for inclusion as incentive funding becomes available.
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