This is really not true in natural Southwestern US desert, because the worst thing you can do is trample the biotic crust, which takes years (even decades) to r

This is really not true in natural Southwestern US desert, because the worst thing you can do is trample the biotic crust, which takes years (even decades) to regenerate. It is an established biosystem, with its own birds and insects and arthropods and mammals. Trucks driving on it and earth movers leveling it will do nothing good. TBH I’d rather see us put panels on existing buildings before we trample some of the last undeveloped space in North America.