Getting caught up here on some news that I missed.
I’ve written before about attempts by environmental groups to protect Steens Mountain from energy development.
Environmental groups wanted the state to add Steens Mountain to a list of places in Oregon where energy development is prohibited. But the Energy Facility Siting Council – which decides where large wind farms are located – recently rejected the idea.
Late notice, I know. I just got word of this a short while ago.
If you’re in the Portland area you may want to attend a meeting this evening on a new management plan for BLM land in Southeast Oregon.
Time is running out if you want to comment on a proposal to ban energy development on Steens Mountain.
Eastern Oregon turbines. Photo by Ted Timmons.
The growing debate over wind farms and their impacts on the environment were laid out before a group of state regulators Friday afternoon in Hood River.
The Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) is being asked to clear up confusion over how to define a “large” wind farm. It’s important because large projects are regulated by the state, while smaller projects are controlled by counties. The state process is more complex, costs more, and has tougher environmental standards.
Environmental groups says some developers are artificially breaking up large wind farms into smaller projects so they can dodge state regulations. They want the EFSC to adopt new rules that will make it harder to do that.
A battle over grazing rights in the Malheur National Forest goes to court next month, according to this story in the Blue Mountain Eagle.
The paper says a coalition of environmental groups, including the Oregon Natural Desert Association, is asking a federal court to stop grazing on six areas in the forest while it decides the bigger issue of whether grazing hurts streams and fish habitat.
A legal defense group representing ranchers says a halt to grazing could put as many as 17 ranches in Grant County out of business, and threatens grazing rights on public lands across the west.
