By Mike Sievers
The Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge are the latest to publicly disapprove of the proposed route of a set of alternative-energy transmission lines that would run across the Rio Grande near San Antonio, N.M.
The Friends’ board of directors on Friday released a response to the proposed route of the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, which is scheduled to be complete in 2014.
The Socorro County Board of Commissioners has also expressed disapproval, citing aesthetics and environmental concerns, including the flight paths of birds that fly to the refuge.
It is still very early in the process. The BLM is preparing its Environmental Impact Statement that is needed to issue a right-of-way permit. SunZia needs that permit to proceed, and the company is working with a number of other agencies that own land that would be affected by the project as well.
The BLM recently had a scoping meeting at New Mexico Tech to gather input from the public about the proposed route and the project overall. San Antonio resident Margi Lucena said she felt the meeting and the proposal were not adequately publicized, saying many residents had no knowledge of the project whatsoever.
The response was e-mailed to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management during the first comment period. The BLM has since extended the deadline for comments to Aug. 28; people can send comments to NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov. A copy also was sent to Sen. Tom Udall.
Members of the Friends of the Bosque were asked in a mass e-mail the week before July 13 to submit their own response to BLM. In the Friends' response, the group's executive director, Leigh Ann Vradenburg, expressed strong opposition to the route that has been proposed by SunZia.
“Following the public meeting in Socorro and the subsequent meeting with Bosque del Apache staff, it is obvious that there are many unanswered questions as to the effect that these power lines will have on migratory birds, specifically the sandhill cranes,” Vradenburg wrote.
“As a former resident of the San Luis Valley, I have witnessed the devastation that power lines can cause to flocks of cranes under adverse weather conditions and how they hastened the demise of the reintroduced whooping crane population,” she continued. “Running two 500kV lines (and countless ones to follow) perpendicular to the daily flight path of many overwintering cranes is further complicating an already obstructed path for this struggling population.”
Vradenburg suggested alternative routes.
“There are alternate routes to the south that appear to be better for this purpose since they do not intersect a daily flight path and may be in a location where many birds are flying higher on a longer migration jump,” she wrote. “However, there is not enough data or time at this point to determine the best route.”
Vradenburg said the Friends want SunZia to consider avoiding the Wilderness Study Areas on the alternate routes by gaining access on White Sands Missile Range in the far northwest corner of the range.
“This minimal use of military lands would be the most environmentally sensitive to the refuge, the Wilderness Study Areas and the local Rio Grande wildlife corridor, and preferred by the community of San Antonio,” she wrote.
John Ryan with SunZia said in a July 15 interview with the Mountain Mail that White Sands Missile Range’s commander was adamant about not wanting the transmission lines going through or bordering the range.
In her response letter, Vradenburg noted the economic impact of the Festival of the Cranes, which she said has an estimated impact of $4.3 million for the region.
“Ecotourism for the county is directly linked to the refuge, and anything that harms the wildlife or mars the view of this rural setting is going to have a negative impact on visitation. Since there is no obvious economic benefit of this project to the area, there is no excuse to compromise our community with this project,” Vradenburg wrote.
She said the Friends has a membership of about 1,000.
“Undoubtedly you (the BLM) have heard from many of our members following my urgent e-mail to a subset of them after the public meeting. Many more Friends, as well as the largely uninformed citizens of San Antonio and Socorro, would oppose this route if they only knew about it,” she wrote.
Vradenburg said the way to choose the best route is to give adequate time to involve biologists and the White Sands Missile Range in the process.
Here is Vradenburg’s letter in its entirety:
On behalf of the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, I would like to express strong opposition to the proposed route of the SunZia 500kV transmission lines through San Antonio, and request that you extend the comment period until August 31st. Following the public meeting in Socorro and the subsequent meeting with Bosque del Apache staff, it is obvious that there are many unanswered questions as to the effect that these power lines will have on migratory birds, specifically the sandhill cranes. As a former resident of the San Luis Valley, I have witnessed the devastation that power lines can cause to flocks of cranes under adverse weather conditions, and how they hastened the demise of the reintroduced whooping crane population. Running two 500kV lines (and countless ones to follow) perpendicular to the daily flight path of many overwintering cranes is further complicating an already obstructed path for this struggling population.
There are alternate routes to the south that appear to be better for this purpose since they do not intersect a daily flight path and may be in a location where many birds are flying higher on a longer migration jump; however, there is not enough data or time at this point to determine the best route. Bosque del Apache biologists have given Tom Wray the name of Rod Drewien, a retired researcher and expert on cranes, and we expect that Rod will be consulted before a route is finalized. Additionally the Friends would like SunZia to consider avoiding the Wilderness Study Areas on the alternate routes by gaining access on White Sands Missile Range in the far northwest corner of the range. This minimal use of military lands would be the most environmentally sensitive to the Refuge, the Wilderness Study Areas, and the local Rio Grande wildlife corridor, and preferred by the community of San Antonio.
Socorro is the second poorest county in New Mexico, and the Festival of the Cranes, held annually at Bosque del Apache NWR is the single greatest income generating event. The Refuge has an estimated economic impact of $4.3 million for the region. Ecotourism for the county is directly linked to the Refuge, and anything that harms the wildlife or mars the view of this rural setting is going to have a negative impact on visitation. Since there is no obvious economic benefit of this project to the area, there is no excuse to compromise our community with this project.
The Friends of the Bosque are 1,000 members strong, and undoubtedly you have heard from many of our members following my urgent email to a subset of them after the public meeting. Many more Friends, as well as the largely uninformed citizens of San Antonio and Socorro, would oppose this route if they only knew about it. The Friends support our country’s efforts to supply renewable energy, and we support the Refuge working with BLM and SunZia to ensure that the corridor chosen for this project has limited negative environmental impacts. The only way that the best route can be chosen is if there is adequate time to involve the biologists and the White Sands Missile Range in the evaluation. This is a monumental project when the impacts of this and future lines are considered, and hasty decisions are not in the best interest of the wildlife, the community, Bosque del Apache NWR, BLM, or SunZia. Please make the time to do this right.
Leigh Ann Vradenburg
Executive Director
Friends of the Bosque del Apache
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