Aviva Glaser

The production of bioenergy “feedstocks” (i.e., plant-based material used for transportation fuels, heat, and power) has been expanding rapidly in recent years. Unfortunately, there are considerable gaps in our knowledge base about implications of this industry expansion for wildlife. This information deficit is likely to grow as the industry expands and rapidly evolves in new directions in the coming years. In response, The Wildlife Society (TWS) Council charged a special committee to develop a TWS Technical Review about the effects of bioenergy production on wildlife and wildlife...

Every year, invasive species cost the United States billions of dollars and affect countless acres of native ecosystems. The southeast in particular has been dramatically affected by invasions of such species as kudzu. The recent rapid expansion of biofuels and bioenergy production, combined with the diversification of potential bioenergy crops, has generated considerable interest in the use of non-native and genetically modified biomass feedstocks that have the potential to become ecologically-damaging invasives. Examples of potentially invasive plants that are currently being...