The Bureau of Land Management says it will prepare a new environmental analysis for the Greenlink North transmission line after challenges from conservation organizations and local governments. The roughly 350-mile line is designed to carry electricity from energy projects in northern Nevada to population centers farther south.
Opponents argue the original environmental review failed to adequately assess impacts to sensitive wildlife habitat, particularly for the greater sage grouse, a species whose range has steadily declined across the West.
Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the debate is not about whether new transmission lines are needed, but where they are built.
“Transmission is going to get built, and we need to pick the least harmful places to do it,” said Donnelly, noting the proposed route would cut through some of the species’ most important remaining habitat in Nevada. “Greenlink North is in the worst possible place it could be for the greater sage grouse. It is going to cause irreparable harm to the greater sage grouse and to sage grouse habitat all through central Nevada.”
The sage grouse depends on large, intact stretches of sagebrush ecosystem, much of it on public land, and has long been a flashpoint in disputes over energy development, grazing and mining across the region.
BLM officials say the supplemental environmental review will take a closer look at routing options, land-use conflicts and wildlife impacts before the project moves forward. The agency has not said how long the new analysis will take.
Advocates say the decision could have ripple effects beyond Nevada, as federal agencies face growing pressure to balance rapid energy development with conservation protections on public lands throughout the Mountain West.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNR, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
