The Disappearing West

Post date: Jul 23, 2016 1:16:13 PM

The Disappearing West project—a partnership between the CAP and CSP—found that roads, energy infrastructure, agricultural and timber operations, urban sprawl, and other development in the US West covered nearly 165,000 square miles of land in 2011; that is an area roughly the size of 6 million superstore parking lots.

“This study provides the clearest picture yet of how quickly the US West’s open spaces are disappearing and the extent to which wildlife habitats are being fragmented,” said Matt Lee-Ashley, Senior Fellow and Director of Public Lands at CAP. “The uncomfortable reality is that only a small fraction of Western lands and waters are permanently protected for future generations, and those that are not are disappearing at a staggering rate.”