Dear BLM Nevada State Director Raby,

We are asking you to provide immediate protection for the proposed Esmeralda/Fish Lake Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) that Friends of Nevada Wilderness submitted to you in August of 2023. 

We are concerned with how fast the Bureau of Land Management is moving to authorize transmission lines and huge industrial solar facilities using land use plans dating from the previous century and no balance with conservation. 

The BLM’s fast-tracking of the Greenlink West Transmission line and Esmeralda Seven solar projects within the proposed ACEC will  forever change the wild character of this landscape that contains significant cultural, wildlife, natural and dark sky resources. We are in full support of the need to develop alternative energy to address the impacts of climate change. But it must not be done at the peril of our most cherished intact landscapes. 

There is a viable alternative: co-locate the Greenlink West transmission line in the already developed transmission right of way to the north and move the proposed solar development complex into and nearby the previously identified Solar Energy Zone. 

Director Tracy Stone-Manning said the BLM is “publishing land use plans that truly and responsibly balance all uses across our public lands rather than allowing one industry or one extractive use to dominate.” We urge the BLM to do just that here in Esmeralda County before fast-tracking these projects. Finding the right balance to protect our natural and cultural heritage while helping the nation move to more green energy is critical.

If the BLM is unwilling to provide protection for the Esmeralda/Fish Lake ACEC, we ask that the Nevada delegation work with the Yerington and Walker River Paiute tribes, the conservation community, the sportsmen community and Esmeralda County officials for a legislative solution. 

Thank you.

CC: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

Senator Jacky Rosen

Congressman Mark Amodei