Protective Measures for Visual Resources and Land Use

To ensure development projects are executed responsibly, planned avoidance and protective measures are crucial. The Lava Ridge Wind Project aims to minimize impacts on environmental resources such as air quality, wildlife, cultural resources, and land uses. Below are key measures for visual resources and land use, with a comprehensive list available in Appendix 4 of the Final EIS.

Protections for Visual Resources and Land Use

Aircraft Detection Lighting System (ADLS):
• With approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), MVE will deploy ADLS to reduce the need for continuous night-time operation of red flashing lights. These lights would only operate when an aircraft approaches the Project. These systems have proven to effectively keep the red lights turned off for more than 90% of the time.

Setback Distance:

• The Project will include a setback distance of 1.5 times the maximum turbine tip height, or 1,000 feet (whichever is greater), from non-participating landowners’ boundaries, and five times the maximum turbine tip height from existing residences.

Maintaining Multiple-Use:

• Multiple-use is a key management objective of the public lands where the Project is proposed and will continue to be possible with the construction and operation of the Project. Hunting, OHV use, hiking, camping, grazing, and so many more uses can co-exist with the Project. America’s public lands have a long history of hosting complementary uses (think of the telecommunication networks, grazing operations, transmission and pipeline infrastructure, oil and gas extraction, and so many other needs of the American economy).

This project is a significantly different project than the one that was originally proposed. In fact, it is more restrictive than the most conservative alternatives originally examined. It includes changes that better avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts to cultural sites, viewsheds, wildlife, and other sensitive resources.
– Idaho Conservation League

Protections for Cultural Resources and Grazing Efforts

Programmatic Agreement and Historic Properties Management Plan:
• MVE will prepare these plans to coordinate with Tribes, stakeholders of the Minidoka National Historic Site, and other agencies to protect cultural resources.

Grazing Coordination Plan:

• This plan includes detailed measures to minimize impacts on livestock grazing. MVE may also install water conveyance pipes along select project access roads to support both project-related water needs and grazing operations.

These measures are part of almost 300 avoidance and protective mitigation strategies listed in the Final EIS. Collectively, these efforts reflect BLM and MVE’s commitment to protecting environmental resources while producing vital, domestic, and clean energy for hundreds of thousands of homes.