The Bureau of Land Management will work to ensure the contentious Lava Ridge wind project in southern Idaho does not harm nearby historic sites if approved, Director Tracy Stone-Manning said.
Stone-Manning, in a formal response letter sent Monday to the chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, wrote that the bureau generally agrees with the council’s concerns about the wind project and its potential to negatively impact the Minidoka National Historic Site, which memorializes an internment camp where thousands of Japanese Americans were held involuntarily during World War II.
As such, BLM is working with the company proposing the project, the Japanese-American community, Native American tribes and others to ensure adequate protections and mitigation measures are in place, Stone-Manning wrote to ACHP Chair Sara Bronin.
“As we proceed with the Project, the BLM remains committed to its historic preservation goals and responsibilities in fulfilling our multiple-use mandate under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, ensuring responsible renewable energy development while protecting significant cultural landscapes and historic properties,” Stone-Manning wrote.
