Rock Springs BLM to hold open house

The Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, will be holding two public meetings on Wednesday, February 24, to discuss the proposed White Mountain Wind Energy Project. The project, spearheaded by Tasco Engineering, proposes to construct up to 240 wind turbines on top of White Mountain as part of a 360-megawatt electrical generating facility. Project costs could reach $200 million. If costs exceed $170 million, review by the Wyoming Industrial Siting Council would be triggered.

White Mountain is a popular recreation area located near Rock Springs and Green River, just north of Interstate 80. The project area would impact a number of significant cultural resource sites, including the Overland Trail, the North Cherokee Trail, Pilot Butte which has guided thousands of travelers through centuries of migration, significant Native American cultural sites, and historic wagon roads from early settlement days. The BLM is currently examining whether the area qualifies for the National Register as either a Rural Historic Landscape or a Traditional Cultural Property. The mountain is also home to elk, deer, wild horses, sage grouse and other species. The area also includes the recently developed Wild Horse Loop which runs along the rim and slope of White Mountain. In all, the proposed project area includes approximately 13,165 acres includes about 8,527 acres of lands privately owned by Anadarko and the Rock Springs Grazing Association.

The public meetings will be held at the Young at Heart Senior Center, 2400 Reagan Ave. in Rock Springs, Wyo. Two sessions are scheduled, the first beginning at 4 p.m.; the second session at 6 p.m. Each session will include a short presentation on the proposal with the rest of the time being available for questions and public comments. Project team members will be available after 3:30 p.m. to answer questions.

The recently released Environmental Assessment (EA) can be reviewed online here. Public comments will be accepted on the proposal until March 10. People attending the public sessions can turn in their comments there. Otherwise, they can be sent via email or by surface mail to Bureau of Land Management, Rock Springs Field Office, Attn: White Mountain Wind Energy Project, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, WY 82901.