The state board of Land Commissioners on Friday voted to withdraw from wind energy development about 1 million acres of state land within the core sage grouse population areas. The board action will not affect wind leases issued earlier within the core areas, said Lynne Boomgaarden, director of the Office of State Lands and Investments. The state office has received 32 special-use leasing applications for wind energy development, including 18 within an identified core sage grouse population area, she said.
The state board of Land Commissioners on Friday voted to withdraw from wind energy development about 1 million acres of state land within the core sage grouse population areas. The board action will not affect wind leases issued earlier within the core areas, said Lynne Boomgaarden, director of the Office of State Lands and Investments. The state office has received 32 special-use leasing applications for wind energy development, including 18 within an identified core sage grouse population area, she said.
CHEYENNE -- The state board of Land Commissioners on Friday voted to withdraw from wind energy development about 1 million acres of state land within the core sage grouse population areas.
The board action will not affect wind leases issued earlier within the core areas, said Lynne Boomgaarden, director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.
The state office has received 32 special-use leasing applications for wind energy development, including 18 within an identified core sage grouse population area, she said.
The board's decision is in keeping with the position the state adopted last month not to allow wind energy in sage grouse core areas.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal set up the core area strategy a year ago through an …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]CHEYENNE -- The state board of Land Commissioners on Friday voted to withdraw from wind energy development about 1 million acres of state land within the core sage grouse population areas.
The board action will not affect wind leases issued earlier within the core areas, said Lynne Boomgaarden, director of the Office of State Lands and Investments.
The state office has received 32 special-use leasing applications for wind energy development, including 18 within an identified core sage grouse population area, she said.
The board's decision is in keeping with the position the state adopted last month not to allow wind energy in sage grouse core areas.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal set up the core area strategy a year ago through an executive order in an effort to head off listing the sage grouse as an endangered and threatened species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that wind energy development is not compatible with the intent of the core sage grouse area strategy.
The governor, who is chairman of the state board, said Friday that the Fish and Wildlife Service isn't expected to move on listing the sage grouse for a year to 18 months.
An Endangered Species Act designation could mean broad conservation measures that could sharply curtail energy development.
If the federal agency modifies its position in the meantime, the state can resume issuing wind leases, the governor said.
"They're pretty adamant," he said of the federal agency.
"This essentially is what the oil and gas people have been living with," Freudenthal added.
A lot of the "gold rush" on wind development will be constrained by weak demand and lack of transmission lines, the governor said.
A story in the New York Times on Friday said Wyoming's wind energy boom is stalling amid growing confusion over state regulations designed to protect environmentally sensitive sage grouse and how those rules should apply to wind power projects.
The article noted the decision by Houston-based Horizon Wind Energy to suspend its plans for a 300-megawatt wind firm in one of the state sage grouse core areas.
Company officials cited regulatory uncertainly about whether proper mitigation plans can be developed that allow for wind turbines to be built in the sage grouse core areas.
State officials said earlier that one snag is lack of research on the impact of the wind turbines on the birds.
Freudenthal said Friday that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is studying the issue.
Freudenthal, along with Auditor Rita Meyer and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride voted to withdraw the state land from wind leasing. The other two members of the state board, Secretary of State Max Maxfield and Treasurer Joe Meyer, did not attend the meeting.