Proposed Wind Project Would Devastate Idaho's Magic Valley
Here's the latest dispatch.
Welcome to 2023! This is the first of many dispatches I’ll be sharing this year.
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Now onto my new report about the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project…
I promise I won’t be holding back on things anymore—including horrible “clean” energy projects that’ll devastate local rural communities and ship electricity out of state.
That would be the case with the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho’s Magic Valley.
Located in the Gem State’s southern region, Magic Valley is home to many attractions and natural landmarks.
The southernmost spot is Twin Falls, the charming town home to roughly 53,000 people. Shoshone Falls Park and the Perrine Bridge, for example, are draws. Notably, Evie Knieval attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon from the latter spot in 1974 but failed.
Just due northeast is the Minidoka National Historic Site in Jerome—formerly a Japanese internship camp site that imprisoned 13,000 Japanese Americans between 1942-1945. It was one of ten camps established by the FDR administration.
Today, it is considered a critically endangered site—especially if Lava Ridge proceeds.
Bordering the northernmost portion of the region is Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve—a public lands marvel co-managed by the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. Designated a national monument by President Calvin Coolidge in 1924, this place is renowned for its sage brush steppes and lava rock formations. It was expanded from 54,000 acres to roughly 753,000 acres (738K of which are now federal acres) in 2000.
To understand what’s “magical” about this place, I paid a visit in August 2022. And the experience didn’t disappoint.
I couldn’t go for miles driving without seeing hawks and other birds of prey. The Snake River Canyon was a marvel in its own right. Endless miles of farm land were a lovely backdrop. The sunsets were unparalleled and gorgeous. And the folks we encountered opened their arms to us.
I understand why they want to protect this place from, at minimum, 400 wind turbines that’ll each tower 740 feet proposed as Lava Ridge. There are two more projects in the works —Salmon Falls and Taurus — that trouble locals, as well.
To learn more about the trouble brewing in the Gem State, as it relates to Lava Ridge, I encourage you to watch my report below:
Interviewees featured in the video include farmer Dean Dimond, Lincoln County, ID Commissioner Roy Hubert, Idaho Water Resource Board Member Brian Olmstead, and ATV activist Carol MacNeil.
A special thanks to Madison Hughes, my frequent collaborator and Conservation Nation co-producer , for making another banger of an episode. And big kudos to CFACT, whose support enables me to uncover underreported stories.
If you want to hear an expanded conversation on Lava Ridge from several of the Idaho activists I befriended, check out the latest District of Conservation episode out this afternoon.
Our featured guests include the aforementioned Dean Dimond and Diana Nielsen - one of the originators of the “Stop Lava Ridge” movement who connected me with all the stakeholders we interviewed.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Resources:
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—Gabriella