The Idaho Conservation League is Idaho’s voice for clean
water, clean air and wilderness—values that are the
foundation to Idaho’s extraordinary quality of life.
Environmental Perspectives on
Transmission and Energy
Projects in Idaho
Yesterday’s Energy Story
Bigger and
more are
necessary
and better
Northwest Power Act
How do we serve our kids?
How do we serve our kids?
Supply/Demand – Cost of Supply
Supply/Demand – Cost of Supply
Efficiency – affordable and achievable
Supply Cost 2010 - 2014
Supply Cost 2015-2020
How do we serve our kids?
How do we serve our kids?
How do we serve our kids?
Energy for the Future
Energy for the Future
Clean, renewable
generation
Produced near
demand centers
Sited on already
developed land
Monitored for
adaptive management
Idaho’s Energy Future
Path of Least Harm
• Careful, smart siting of new generation
projects
• Avoidance of impacts through careful routing
• Minimizing of impacts through best practices
• Mitigation of impacts through government or
private mitigation actions
• Monitoring of impacts, open acknowledgment
of impacts, and adaptive management
Idaho’s Energy Future
Transmission Construction
Clearing the ROW
The ROW is cleared of vegetation, boulders (possibly requiring blasting), and
other items that may prohibit construction.
Transmission Construction
Pouring the Foundations
Transmission Construction
Stringing the Lines
Transmission Construction
Cable pulling
Transmission Infrastructure
Transmission Concerns
- Visual -
Transmission Concerns
-Property Rights -
Transmission Concerns
- Crop Management -
To avoid private land costs…
What do our public lands give us?
• Our $3 billion
tourism industry
• Over 26,000 direct
jobs
• $500 million in local,
state, and federal tax
revenues
Public Land
- Idaho Wildlife Heritage -
Public Land
- Idaho Wildlife Heritage -
Public Land
- Migration Fragmentation-
Public Land
- Idaho Wildlife Heritage -
Transmission Bird Mortality
Electric Transmission Line Collisions
Bird Deaths a year: up to 174 million
Public Land
- Eroded slopes, silted streams -
Public Land
- Eroded slopes, silted streams -
Public Land
- Weeds -
Public Land
- Wildfire follows weeds -
If we must transmit…
• Avoid
• Minimize
• Mitigate
AVOID, Minimize, Mitigate
Idaho’s Energy Future
Avoid, Minimize, Mitigate
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Double-circuit
Corridor sharing
Small footprint towers
Long Spans
Erosion Control
Weed Control
Road Reclamation
Avoid, Minimize, Mitigate
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Double-circuit
Corridor sharing
Small footprint towers
Long Spans
Erosion Control
Weed Control
Road Reclamation
Avoid, Minimize, Mitigate
Road Restoration
Avoid, Minimize, MITIGATE
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Scientifically based
Transparent
Represent a clear benefit
Monitored through time
Avoid, Minimize, MITIGATE
Avoid, Minimize, MITIGATE
A landscape model animal for
landscape planning
A landscape model animal for
landscape planning
Sage grouse impacts
Factor A
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Habitat Connectivity
Habitat Loss
Wildfire
Incursion of Invasive Plants
Grazing
Nonrenewable and Renewable Energy
Development
Landscape Scale Planning by
Local Working Groups
Landscape Scale Planning by
Local Working Groups
Soulless Corporate
Energy Companies Win
and Are Firing Up Their
Bulldozers to Pave Over
the West as We Speak
Sage-grouse, Socialists,
Godless East coast
liberals, the Federal
Government, and Black
Helicopters Clearly Won
Landscape Scale Planning by
Local Working Groups
Path of Least Harm…
…probably leads across private and public lands
…must include considerations of costs and
benefits to both
…is getting easier and easier to identify, but
could use your help
Red, Yellow,
projects are on converted land with little
to no habitat impact, benefit local
communities and landowners and have their
support, are close to existing transmission
lines, and have a mitigation plan with shared
data and adaptive management
Avoid, Minimize, Compensate
• Avoiding impacts needs to be first
consideration
• Minimizing impacts requires early planning,
knowledge of best practices, long term
monitoring and adaptive management
• Mitigating residual impacts can be done
through government or private paths, onsite
or offsite as needed
The Idaho Conservation League is Idaho’s voice for clean
water, clean air and wilderness—values that are the
foundation to Idaho’s extraordinary quality of life.