BOISE, Idaho - U.S. Senator Jim Risch released the following statement today on the announcement of the final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“Today’s decision on Lava Ridge flies in the face of the people of Idaho. Despite the outcry from Idahoans and the broader Japanese American community, the Biden-Harris White House refuses to listen. Instead, this administration will spend its final days attempting to inflict irreversible damage on Southern Idaho and the Minidoka National Historic Site. This is far from over. I will continue to fight Lava Ridge and this abuse of our public lands," said Risch.

Risch has led the Idaho delegation in introducing legislation and other measures to block the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project, which would build hundreds of wind turbines on nearly 150,000 acres of public land in Southern Idaho.

In September, the Idaho delegation urged the Department of Interior to adopt the “No-Action Alternative” on the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project. The delegation’s letter followed the decision by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and Idaho State Historic Preservation Office to terminate Section 106 consultations with the Bureau of Land Management on the project. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the consequences of their actions or affiliated projects on historic properties. A Section 106 agreement outlines how adverse effects to historic properties will be mitigated, treated, or avoided. 

The proposed Lava Ridge project would visually compromise the Minidoka National Historic Site, a relocation site where more than 13,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War Two. The project has received repeated, formal, and passionate opposition from the Idaho State Legislature, Idaho’s Constitutional Officers, impacted county and city officials, and many in the Japanese American community.

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