Ely District Office
| Contacts: | Chris Hanefeld | , 775-289-1842 | , chanefel@blm.gov |
BLM Rejects Wind Energy Project Application
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District, Schell Field Office has rejected an application from Wilson Creek Wind Company, LLC, to develop a wind generation project on public lands about 20 miles northeast of Pioche, in Lincoln County, Nev. The project proponent has not provided BLM with the required documents, including an updated Plan of Development.
The proposed Wilson Creek Wind Project would have consisted of up to 350 wind turbines generating up to 990 megawatts of electricity on approximately 31,000 acres of the public lands in the Wilson Creek Range, including Mt. Wilson, Table and White Rock mountains, and Atlanta Summit.
The BLM in late May 2011 announced in the Federal Register that it would prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed project. The announcement began a 60-day public input period that concluded July 27. The BLM released the scoping report four months later. In the report, the public expressed concerns about impacts to wildlife habitat, as well as socio-economics, recreation and visual resources.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Ely District Office 702 N. Industrial Way Ely, NV 89301