Conservationists Battle Federal Agencies Over Power Line Cutting Through Fossil Monument

Conservation groups are suing the feds over a massive power line that would slice through a national monument protecting Ice Age fossils. The lawsuit targets BLM, the National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service for approving NV Energy‘s Greenlink West transmission line through Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.

Feds face lawsuit for approving power lines through fossil monument

The 470-mile project from Las Vegas to Reno would plant towers up to 180 feet tall right through fossil beds containing mammoth, bison, camel, and tortoise remains. Ground-penetrating radar already found anomalies suggesting vertebrate fossils where they want to build. Nice planning, guys.

Environmental groups including PEER, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and Basin and Range Watch filed suit in U.S. District Court. They’re demanding BLM find a route that doesn’t trash the monument or sprawl across undeveloped desert in seven counties. The groups claim federal agencies broke the law when approving this mess.

Here’s the kicker: a mapping error apparently led to the route going through the monument instead of around it. Oops. BLM says rerouting would add 70 miles and $70 million. So naturally, they’d rather plow through priceless fossils.

The National Park Service, which actually manages the monument, raised formal objections. They warned the project would make fossil sediments inaccessible for future research and damage the monument’s most scenic entrance. They advised careful design to avoid cultural resources but admitted paleontological impacts are basically inevitable.

NV Energy wants this transmission line as part of expanding Nevada’s power grid. The project aims to unlock up to eight gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by connecting the state’s major cities. But conservation groups aren’t backing down. They promise prolonged legal battles if the current route stands, arguing it violates laws protecting park resources and fossils.

The preferred alternative is still technically under review, meaning the route could change. But given how this has gone so far, don’t hold your breath. Federal agencies approved a power line through a fossil monument because of a boundary error, and now they’re defending it to save money. The Biden administration approved this project despite simultaneously considering new national monument designations in California.

The lawsuit seeks to force a reality check: find another way that doesn’t destroy irreplaceable scientific resources. Whether judges will agree remains to be seen.