The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) has made recommendations regarding the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka Counties, Idaho, in a letter sent to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning from ACHP Chair Sara C. Bronin.
The ACHP submitted its formal comments on the project as part of the ACHP’s responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act. Once Stone-Manning considers and responds to the ACHP’s comments, the Section 106 review for this undertaking is expected to be concluded.
The ACHP collected public comment on the undertaking and its effects on historic properties in September and considered that input when preparing its recommendations.
The proposed undertaking includes the construction, O&M and eventual decommissioning of the wind energy project by Magic Valley Energy, within a BLM right-of-way. As currently proposed, the undertaking will consist of 241 wind turbines across 104,000 acres along with new substations, transmission lines, access roads and related infrastructure.
The ACHP has been participating in consultation since 2021, when BLM determined that the project may have impacts on known historic properties, including the Minidoka National Historic Site and Wilson Butte Cave; although, BLM recognized that additional identification efforts would be needed to fully assess the project’s effects on historic properties.
In consultation with the Idaho State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and several consulting parties, BLM determined it would develop a programmatic agreement (PA) to allow for phased identification and evaluation, in addition to the development of a Historic Property Management Plan and site-specific Historic Property Treatment Plans.
While the consultation process led to the development of a PA signed by some consulting parties, the Idaho SHPO declined to sign it and terminated further consultation in August, citing opposition to the project from various stakeholders, including the Idaho legislature, Idaho’s congressional delegation, Tribes and the Japanese-American community.
The SHPO’s local expertise was essential for effectively implementing the PA’s phased identification and evaluation efforts in addition to mitigating adverse effects to historic properties. Without the SHPO’s participation, the ACHP concluded it could not assume the SHPO’s role or resolve the adverse effects outlined in the PA.
Given these limitations, the ACHP determined that further consultation would not lead to feasible measures to resolve these effects and therefore terminated consultation.
