An interesting story from basinandrangewatch.org.
Government Scoping Meeting: Residents React to Industrial Wind Farm Proposal. By LMC
Searchlight, Nevada area map.
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Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Comments
Wow! The Basin and Range Watch folks put together just fantastic Photo Essays about these complex issues!
I see that URS Corporation (part of the Consultant-Industrial Complex) is doing the envtl/NEPA analysis. During the Bush years, more and more federal agency planning and envtl analysis was out-sourced, and often very poor NEPA “products” were produced. All the big mines in Nevada hire consultants to do EISs – and then BLM just passes their hands over the info and declares all is well. Mitigation has become a joke. Consultants find the answers those with Big Money want found.
In the case of gold mining the mines pay the consultants. In the case of wind – I don’t know if the wind company pays – or taxpayers?
I do know, however, that BLM in Idaho spent a fortune on URS and other consultants during the Bush years. There needs to be an investigation into all the BLM funding poured into consultants – everything from rangeland health assessments in the Bruneau to portions of data for RMPs (Land Mgmt Plans) were “outsourced”.
No matter who is paying for the Searchlight study, here’s betting that URS will find just what Senator Reid wants here in Searchlight. It’s time to stop using rubberstamp consultants.
AND in how many ways will Reid, sons or relatives stand to profit from this?
Here is a depressing map from “renewables”. The Western Governors Assoc’n has some kind of comment period open on it – for select organizations. Some of us, regrettably, have not been asked to comment.
The Renewables industry plans to do to the rest of the West in the next several years what Oil and Gas did to Wyoming.
It takes a while to download.
http://www.westgov.org/wga/initiatives/wrez/zita/QRA-map-Jan30.pdf
And of course, the transmission/corridor infrastructure in the DOE EIS and all the other proposals – and now the Stimulus Bill funding will aid and abet this. Eastern Oregon is REALLY depressing for wind.
On the map is a nice big band of blue – wind potential – in the middle of cheatgrass, dairy and general Ag Hell on the godforsaken Snake River Plain in Idaho. That is a fine place for wind. Keep it there on land ther is no lnger water to irrigate (or never was in the first place). And the Plain is right by a million existing powerlines.
Southern Nevada will just be destroyed with solar development if the big Industrial developers have their way.
Central NV – is targeted for geothermal Hell – there are lots of electric lines and messing around with ground water in geothermal. Mt. Wilson – near the Utah border – shows as wind. It is critical to sage-grouse, but alas the developer (Carlson I believe is his name) is a buddy of Harry Reid. If Mount Wilson is developed, it will wipe out grouse in Lincoln County and portions of Utah, too since it is critical habitat that the birds move to in winter.