Dear Idaho Congressional Delegation,
We as Representatives of the citizens of the Magic Valley, after reviewing the Environmental Impact Statement, oppose the Lava Ridge Wind Farm Proposal for the following reasons:
According to the Environment Impact Statement, the Lava Ridge Project will decimate the bird and bat populations that will in turn impact the insect population and have an unknowable effect on agriculture—the lifeblood of the Magic Valley. The construction of this project may impact our aquifer, further impacting agriculture.
The proposed project is the largest of its type ever conceived. It will industrialize large swaths of undeveloped wilderness, requiring the construction of hundreds of miles of new roads, which will forever alter the natural landscape. This will have an impact on cultural resources such as sacred archaeological sites and other sites sacred to Native Americans and Japanese Americans. It will also impact our aviation and any expansion of local surrounding airports. This technology has a short lifespan, but the desecration will remain for decades to come.
This project raises the question of what voice the citizens of a state should have over the use of public lands under Federal control, within their state’s borders. Eminent domain will likely be used to secure the property needed to access the land and we are concerned about setting a precedent in which the Federal government tries to reshape the historic use of such lands.
We are concerned that the impetus for this project lies outside of the borders of Idaho in highly populous states who have a poor track record of resource management. This project will forever negatively impact the Magic Valley in unalterable ways with nebulous benefits for far-away electrical consumers. Our constituents have expressed near-unanimous sentiments against the Lava Ridge Wind Farm and other such projects. As state legislators we oppose this project and urge, in the strongest language possible, our Federal Representatives to do the same.
Kind Regards,
Representative Chenele Dixon
Senator Linda Hartgen
Representative Lance Clow
Representative Greg Lanting
Representative Steve Miller
Representative Jack Nelsen