BOISE, Idaho — On Tuesday, Feb. 7 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held an open house in Boise where people could learn about and give feedback on the agency's proposal to update its Western Solar plan.
The current plan is from 2012 and does not include some states in the region, including Idaho. Nada Culver, BLM principal deputy director, said they are getting a lot of applications for solar development throughout the Gem State.
"This is part of a national effort to define how our public lands help to support our nation's transition to renewable energy," Culver said.
Several conservationists showed up to the event. Garret Visser hopes the BLM excludes valuable winter ranges and mapped migration routes.
"Southern Idaho is really blessed with a lot of public land managed by the BLM," he said. "And a lot of that public land is actually really valuable habitat for these big game species — pronghorn, mule deer and elk specifically."
Adrian Gallo, Idaho Conservation League climate campaign coordinator, supports renewable energy and an updated plan. He said including Idaho will ensure there are clear guidelines about what solar projects are allowed and where.
However, he still has some concerns, partially about where the BLM is hosting the open houses.
“They are visiting multiple states," he said, "but they're visiting metropolitan centers. And a lot of where these renewable energy projects will occur are not directly adjacent to metropolitan centers. So, we are considering, you know, reaching out to some of these, you know, small counties that would be most affected.”
The BLM encourages Idahoans to provide feedback. Tuesday's open house was the only one scheduled in Idaho, but people can participate in virtual meetings and submit written comments.
The public comment period ends April 18.
"We want to make sure that we hear from people in Idaho about what lands make the most sense for this kind of development," Culver said.
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