The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a scaled-down version of the Lava Ridge Wind Project northeast of Twin Falls, ID.
The approved plan reduces the project’s scope, cutting the number of turbines from 400 to 241 and limiting their height to 660 feet. The project will span 992 acres within 38,535 acres of BLM-managed lands. The agency said it incorporated extensive public input to protect natural, cultural and socioeconomic resources.
“The BLM spent hundreds of hours in the field and in conference rooms talking with Native American leaders, Japanese American community members, cooperating agencies, ranchers, and a broad range of people with deep ties to the Magic Valley, who all helped shape the proposal,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
The decision mitigates impacts on sage grouse, wildlife migration and the Minidoka National Historic Site, balancing renewable energy development with resource conservation.
