Sample Letter to Send to BLM
Below is a sample letter with the main issues listed. You can copy and send to BLM. Please personalize the message to give them a diverse selection of comments. Your own ideas will make a difference to them when considering comments. Comments are due on April 11th.
Comments can be emailed to: BLM_NV_SND_EnergyProjects@blm.gov
or mailed to: BLM Las Vegas Field Office
Attn: Rough Hat Clark County Solar Project
4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive
Las Vegas, NV, 89130
Comments can also be uploaded to the BLM web portal here.
To Whom it May Concern,
·
Please select the No Action Alternative for the Rough Hat Clark County Solar Project
The Environmental Impact Statement and project application should be suspended indefinitely in order for the BLM to make the long-term commitment to protect declining desert tortoise habitat throughout the southwest. Or BLM should select a No Action Alternative for this project and use the Resource Management Plan Amendment to establish a long-term Conservation Plan for the region like establishing a desert tortoise conservation - oriented Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
The project will be built on high quality desert tortoise habitat. The estimated population density is 5.6 per square kilometer, higher than many of the critical habitat units originally established to protect the species. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the desert tortoise has seen a range-wide decline of 37 percent and large-scale solar energy is one of the main threats. All located adult tortoises will be moved but many juveniles will be missed and killed by construction. The EIS does not even estimate how many juveniles would be impacted by the project. Approval of the project could contribute to the extinction of the desert tortoise.
A recent study by the United State Geological Survey on Mojave Desert solar projects confirmed that a heat island effect created a warming atmosphere over solar panels and noted a pulse of heat 10 degrees Celsius warmer stretching 1 mile downgradient from the projects during the night in September. They noted that the leaf water content for creosote was decreased and worry that desert tortoise brumation would be impacted.
The project will remove 49,000 Mojave yuccas, 52 Joshua trees,1,050 rare Parish's club cholla cactus, habitat for kit fox, burrowing owl, American badger and a host of other species. Millions of living organisms would be killed in the construction of the project.
Approval of the project would result in the removal of over 49,000 Mojave yuccas and cacti which are not known to return after being bulldozed. Many of the plants are hundreds of years old and provide habitat and food to the wildlife of the area.
Solar projects can mimic lakes and will often kill a number of bird species. The project would be in the vicinity of Stump Spring and the Amargosa River which attract several birds.
The project will require 800 acre-feet of water for construction and 16 acre-feet per year for panel washing and maintenance. This, along with water requirements for all the other solar projects planned in the area, could threaten the water for local wells, Stump Spring and the Amargosa River Basin.
The project will create fugitive dust by destroying biological soil crust and 100,000 - year - old desert pavements. The project is literally adjacent to State Route 160 and dust blackouts could cause bad traffic accidents.
The project would be located near the Old Spanish National Historic Trail. Developing 6 large solar industrial projects in the area will destroy the historic character of the region. The project will also destroy prehistoric artifacts and Native American cultural landscapes.
If BLM approves the project, they will downgrade the Visual Resource Management objectives for not only the project site, but an additional 7,000 acres surrounding the site. This is so more solar projects can be built without impacting BLM's current regional management to protect visual resources. BLM should not officially make the scenery uglier!
The project will cut off access to 3.75 square miles of public land and be visible from recreation trails, Highway 160, Mt. Charleston, Death Valley National Park, the Kingston Range Wilderness in California and the South Nopah Range Wilderness also in California.
The project will degrade the quality of life and lower the property values of those living in the south part of Pahrump.
Signed,
Your name
