Wind farm plans clash with pristine site in eastern Oregon

Steens Mountain stretches through the open lands of southeastern Oregon's Harney County for more than 30 miles, a twisting spine of rock and brush punctuated by steep gorges and rushing streams.

Remote and rugged, it has come to symbolize the state's wild, austere side.

It's also becoming a battleground for a wind power developer that sees gold in the Steens' stiff breezes -- and red in the eyes of environmentalists.

At issue are about 200 wind turbines that Columbia Energy Partners wants to build along the northern boundary of the Steens Mountain Wilderness.

The projects would be the first to rise in Harney County, far south of the Columbia River Gorge where most of the region's wind farms are concentrated.

Chris Crowley, president of Columbia Energy Partners, calls the projects a perfect fit for Oregon, which will require that 25 percent of the electricity used in the state come from renewable energy sources by 2025.

The winds on the ridges of the Steens blow strongest in the winter, Crowley said, complementing Columbia Gorge breezes that peak in the summer.

Many local residents are eager for the jobs and tax revenue that would come to a county whose economy depends primarily on agriculture.

But environmental groups have gathered for a fight. They claim the 250-foot turbines, access roads and transmission lines would harm fragile wildlife, such as sage grouse and pygmy rabbits, and destroy a scenic treasure.

The controversy highlights what are fast becoming the troublesome contradictions of wind energy: Wind farms promise aid to rural communities and respite from global warming, but they also can carry environmental consequences.

The conflicts come into sharp relief in a state that prizes its green credentials and its pristine lands.

"Some people would prefer the view in this very isolated area not change," Columbia Energy's project application says. "But the company also believes many will understand there are trade-offs to be made to help reverse the impacts of global warming and to improve the Harney County economy."

The Oregon Natural Desert Association says it's all for clean energy, just not in this location.

"It's about balance and thoughtfulness," said Dave Becker, the association's attorney. "It's about not letting companies greenwash a project by saying, 'It's renewable energy, it's clean -- we should get a free pass.'"

Each of the projects would have 40 to 69 turbines. Each would carry a 104-megawatt capacity and produce enough electricity to meet the annual demands of about 30,000 homes.

Three -- one has received county approval -- would be near the Steens Mountain Wilderness, 170,000 acres designated by Congress in 2000 and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The Little Blitzen, Big Indian and Kiger gorges cut through steep terrain within the wilderness boundaries. On the milder side, a 60-mile gravel road veers off Oregon 205, climbs to the Steens' 9,733-foot summit, then loops back to the highway.

Motorists would be able to see the turbines when looking north from the Kiger Gorge viewpoint, Becker said.

A county staff report for the proposed West Ridge and East Ridge projects concluded that "naturally occurring geological formations are expected to screen the project from most viewpoints accessible to the public."

The desert association and the Audubon Society of Portland also are worried about the projects' potential effect on wildlife. The turbines and access roads would fragment the habitat of sensitive species such as sage grouse and pygmy rabbits, they said.

The Steens Mountain area and nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge also make up "one of the most important areas for migratory birds," the desert association and the Audubon Society wrote in comments to county planners.

In their preliminary approval of the West Ridge and East Ridge applications, planners have drafted a long list of conditions for wildlife protections. Columbia Energy must study the environmental impacts and design and operate the turbines to protect fish and wildlife "as much as practical," the staff report said. The impacts on wildlife, it said, are "expected to be minimal."

The desert association "very likely" will appeal the decision, Becker said. The Echanis wind farm, which the county approved last year, "was completely off everyone's radar," he said.

A fourth application, farther north on state-owned Riddle Mountain, hasn't been presented to the county. The other projects are on private rangeland.

The Otley family has long owned the thousands of acres pegged for the East and West Ridge projects. Charles Otley, 87, grazes cattle on his land, which slides off the Steens and into the valley.

"We think it's a good deal, a big boost to Harney County," Otley said. "We've had a lot of bad years around here," he said, citing the economy's boom-bust nature.

Under an agreement being negotiated, Columbia Energy Partners would lease Otley's land, tying annual payments to a set fee per turbine or to the amount of electricity produced.

A 40-turbine project could add more than $100,000 to Otley's annual income. "It would help like the dickens," said Otley, who declined to disclose details of the lease. "I could fix up the machinery and such. ... And it would make a nice retirement for us old people."

The taxing districts in Harney County also would benefit from the projects, each of which would cost more than $200 million to design and build. Instead of property taxes, Columbia Energy Partners probably would pay the county about $500,000 a year for each project under the state's Strategic Investment Program.

"That's huge," said Steven Grasty, who chairs the county commission, especially in a county that stands to lose $2.5 million annually when a federal timber revenue program expires.

If all three wind farms were built, $1.5 million would flow into county government coffers each year, enough to increase the county budget by 40 percent and all taxing districts, including schools and cities, by 25 percent.

It's not just about the money, Grasty said. It's also about energy independence and cleaner air. "If we don't put those turbines up, what are our options? Coal-fired plants, is that what we want?"

Becker is convinced there are other, better places for the wind farms to go. "Why put them in one of the most beautiful and unspoiled spots remaining in Oregon?"