Is it time for local representatives to enact ordinances for public land within the county? What about at the state level? I would argue that it is, and the proposed Lava Ridge wind turbine project is a prime example of why. Opposition to the project is substantial and broad. Listing the different reasons people are against the project would take too long. I’ll just say this: I have not met one person or group that thinks the project is good for Idaho. Our state and local governments have publicly opposed the project through resolutions and statements. Our federal delegates, our governor, and our legislature all oppose the project, but every time I ask an elected official, I get the same answer. They say it’s the BLM’s jurisdiction and they have the final say. So what happens when the BLM decides to side with the corporate financial incentives? When BLM Director Stone-Manning was questioned on the project, she answered by saying that the President has requested the BLM generate twenty-five gigawatts of renewable energy production on public lands by 2025.
If the BLM is prioritizing the industrial development of public land, then they are not prioritizing their original mandates that were developed over decades by numerous acts of Congress. The BLM was formed by the Taylor Grazing Act in 1934. Courts have recognized that the purpose of the Act “is to stabilize the livestock industry and to permit the use of public range according to the needs and qualifications of livestock operators with base holdings.” Courts also stated that the Act is intended “to define their grazing rights and to protect those rights by regulation against interference” (See Chournos v. United States and Red Canyon Sheep Co. v. Ickes)
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, or FLPMA, imposes a number of different and overlapping requirements, obligations, and priorities on the Department of the Interior and its agency, the BLM. Those mandates, though vast, prioritizes “multiple-use” and “sustained yield” and “the preservation of valid existing rights, including grazing rights, mining claims..,” etc.
These Acts were developed to protect established rights and our nation’s cattle and mineral industry while simultaneously upholding the principle of multiple use for the people. They were intended to keep the peace, keep access, and preserve our Western lands, but what happens when the Department of the Interior no longer follows these directives and instead allows and profits from the industrial development of huge swaths of public land? They say it won’t affect grazing rights, but if that’s true, why is LS Power trying to work out reimbursement with the permit holders? They say it won’t affect access, but we can find numerous instances of these turbines being vandalized and the utilized areas being closed to public access.
If the BLM is going to manage our land contrary to our principles, not to mention their congressional directives and the law, then I believe it’s time for our elected representatives to enact state and local codes that ensure the protection of these very important principles and rights before they are completely abandoned by D.C.
If the county and the state are afraid to codify these rights, and then have this battle in the courtroom, then they leave it to the people on the land. This would be very irresponsible.
Eric Parker,
Hailey
Eric Parker is a States’ Rights advocate from Blaine County, Idaho.
Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities: Keeping Government Accountable
April 22, 2023
Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities, a local government watchdog group, reports that the City has paid $33,000 in fines for filing late audits. Their social media post says,
“YOUR HARD-EARNED TAX MONEY WAS USED TO PAY $33,000 IN FINES!
$33,000 in fines were paid to the Idaho Bond Bank Authority for late filed audits (FY18, FY19, FY20 and FY21.) An additional, $500 fine will be assessed after the 04/30/23 deadline, bringing the total to $33,500.”
P.A.G.E. also shared the following spreadsheet detailing the amounts and dates of the fines paid. Several invoices from the Idaho Bond Bank Authority are included in the post as well.
Courtesy of Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities
(Pocatello Fire Department Advisory, April 21, 2023)
The structure fire at Highland High School was reported today, April 21 at 3:57 a.m.
A full response was dispatched to the fire. This entails 4 engines, 2 ambulances, and a battalion chief.
Chubbuck Fire was requested and sent resources to aid in the suppression efforts. Crews have been working diligently to suppress the fire. As of 12:37 today the fire was contained and crews are currently working to put out hot spots. The fire has been contained to the D building which houses the cafeteria, main gym, band and choir rooms.
There is some smoke and water damage to other portions of the building but no fire damage. No injuries have been reported.
We were made aware of some classroom pets that were in the school and we have worked with school officials to get them removed safely.
The investigation is on-going and is a joint effort between the Pocatello Fire Department, Pocatello Police Department, Idaho State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The investigation is expected to take several days to complete.
We want to thank all the agencies who have reached out and offered assistance. As well as several community organizations who have provided food and drink for our emergency responders.
We ask the community to avoid the area while the emergency responders continue to work the structure fire and conduct the fire investigation. We are also asking people to avoid flying drones over the area during the investigation. Fire officials will provide updates as the information becomes available.
(Attorney General’s Office Press Release, April 21, 2023)
Boise, ID – On Thursday, April 20th, Attorney General Raúl Labrador sent a comment on the Draft EIS for the Lava Ridge Wind Project to the Bureau of Land Management.
Congress mandated the Bureau of Land Management to “protect the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values.” The approval of this Project cannot be justified under the law. The agency’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) fails to account for the numerous harms the Project will cause. It represents a disregard for the environment and other vital interests entrusted to the agency’s safekeeping.
Furthermore, this Project is an assault on the sovereignty of the State of Idaho. “The federal government has once again acted on behalf of corporate interests instead of the people. The Lava Ridge Project will harm Idaho’s farmers, wildlife, and tribes. My office will work within the confines of the law to fight this project,” Attorney General Labrador said.
The Lava Ridge Wind Project is a proposed wind farm from Magic Valley Energy (MVE). The Project proposed would build 400 turbines across 75,000 acres of public land in Idaho. Once completed, Idaho would have the largest wind farm in the nation. If approved, Idahoans would bear numerous harms posed by the project so that MVE can sell the power generated to California. Even the draft proposal acknowledged the irreversible damage the Project would have on our state; such damage includes:
Harm to wildlife: The Project would permanently alter or destroy the seasonal habitat of mule deer and pronghorn, killing many of them in the process. In addition to deer and pronghorn, other vulnerable species will be impacted. The presence of hundreds of sweeping blades slicing through the air will pulverize bat and bird species – animals needed to keep crop-eating insects at bay.
Harm to hunters: The draft concludes that hunting opportunities will be “significantly diminished.” Shrinking hunting opportunities will have an impact on Idaho hunters and on tribal land and their reserved rights to hunt.
Harm to waterways: The draft acknowledges the Project will have long-term impacts on Idaho’s wetlands and surface waters. The wind farm will “remove or alter wetlands, change their function, change the rate and quantity of runoff, compact soils, and alter flow patterns.” Additionally, the Project could inadvertently pollute Idaho’s water through accidental spills of hazardous materials.
Harm to people: The Lava Ridge Wind Project will cause temporary housing, labor, and resource shortages. As federal money sweeps through the Magic Valley region, the risk of a boom-bust economic scenario is high.
Idahoans across the political spectrum oppose this Project. The Bureau of Land Management should listen to these dissenting voices instead of capitulating to the business interests of Magic Valley Energy.
The comment of the draft EIS for Lava Ridge Project can be found here.
Democrats Push Radical Equity Plan to Transform Suburbs into Tenement Cities
By: Dorothy Moon, IDGOP Chairwoman
Dorothy Moon, Chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party
Recently, the City of Boise announced that it would spend nearly $2 million to continue using a hotel as a homeless shelter. Nevermind that local shelters, like Boise Rescue Ministries, said they had the capacity and resources to assist with certain homeless demographic groups, including women and women with children.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean’s continued commitment to the failed policies pushed by her big city colleagues in Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles have garnered plenty of media attention.
Less has been said about her radical plan to remake Boise into a high-density urban jungle. Like the planning experts who have remade San Francisco, Mayor McLean is using public monies to make local governments your landlord.
McLean’s radical city planners have deployed Orwellian-sounding “affordability incentives” to push President Obama’s radical “affirmatively furthering fair housing” regulations and turn quiet neighborhoods into streetscapes that will resemble the government-constructed and government-run “project” housing in places like Chicago and Detroit.
President Trump rescinded Obama’s housing regulations but the Biden Administration has brought them back, as they seek to make housing the centerpiece of their “equity” agenda.
One of the tools Mayor McLean is using is something called “upzoning,” or where planners look to place multi-story or multi-unit dwellings in neighborhoods for single family homes. In layman’s terms, this means radical Democrats want to reconfigure existing zoning rules so that massive low-income apartment buildings can be built right next to your family home — destroying your property value.
Lots of readers will dismiss this as yet another example of the crazy LA-Portland-Seattle ideas taking hold among the wannabe liberal elites in Boise. But it’s much bigger than just Boise.
Affordable housing and the need to responsibly manage massive development is a central issue confronting our state. Liberals know this, and they want to capitalize on the costs and concerns facing so many of Idaho’s working people to implement their radical agenda to remake American life. Their end goal? Putting government bureaucrats — whether they’re urban planners or finance regulators or climate scientists — in charge of your home, your mortgage, your future. Ultimately, they want to make home ownership a thing of the past and instead see every American paying rent in a house or apartment owned by the big hedge funds like Black Rock.
The Democrat’s housing agenda is being pushed all across the country—and all around Idaho. Republican policymakers — in both state and local office — need to start thinking long and hard about the kinds of cities we will live in and pass on to future generations of Idaho’s hardworking men and women. Otherwise, Democrats — like Mayor McLean and her elite friends in LA and Portland — will have us living smashed head-to-toe in tenement towers with no conceivable way to ever own a home.
Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon issued the above guest column that first published in the Times-News, and now will be published in other media outlets around Idaho.
BANNOCK COUNTY, Idaho – The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office recently entered into an agreement with the Pocatello Police Department and the Chubbuck Police Department to share a singular emergency alert system.
In the event of an emergency, Bannock County can now request assistance from PPD or CPD to send an emergency alert if necessary. An example of this would include large-scale events where multiple agencies are needed to respond, such as fires, evacuations, and public safety issues.
Authorized dispatchers for the three law enforcement agencies will be able to alert residents in the immediate area using the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, or IPAWS.
IPAWS is FEMA’s national system for alerting the public of local emergencies and life-saving information through radio, television, and mobile phones using Wireless Emergency Alerts.
Residents and visitors do not need to sign up to receive emergency alerts. Anyone using a compatible mobile device within the geotargeted area of the emergency will receive the alert on their phone.
“However, I encourage everyone to sign up for emergency alerts and weather warnings for your neighborhood or your family’s neighborhood. That way, if an emergency happens while you’re at work or out of town, you will still receive the alert,” said Wes Jones, Emergency Director.
To sign up to receive emergency alerts and weather warnings for a specific area, visit bannock.myfreealerts.com. These alerts are provided free of charge; however, standard text messaging rates and other charges may apply.
This agreement was made possible through the collaboration of the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, Pocatello Police Department, Pocatello Fire Department, Chubbuck Police Department, Chubbuck Fire Department, Bannock County Ambulance District, Dispatch Working Committee, Bannock County IT Director Adam McKinney, and the Bannock County Office of Emergency Management.
In a recent social media post, the Pocatello Police Department announced that they will be accepting unwanted prescription medications at their booth at tomorrow’s Portneuf Valley Environmental Fair at Caldwell Park. The post reads:
The Pocatello Police Department will be at the Portneuf Valley Environmental Fair on Saturday, April 22nd.
Stop by the Pocatello Police Department’s Command Unit at the Portneuf Valley Environmental Fair at Caldwell Park in Pocatello on April 22nd from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. to dispose of any unwanted, unused, or expired medications. This event will allow community members to safely dispose of all non-liquid prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, vape pens, cartridges, and other e-cigarette devices. We DO NOT have the ability to accept liquid medications, needles or other sharps, IV tubing, or IV bags.
If you are not able to make it to the Environmental Fair, you can dispose of medications during regular business hours at the Pocatello Police Department located at 911 N. 7th Ave. in Pocatello.
Caldwell Park is located in the University District, in the city block bounded by E Center St, E Lewis St, S 7th Ave, and S 8th Ave.
(City of Pocatello Press Release, April 20, 2023; Cover photo credit: City of Pocatello)
The City of Pocatello is excited to announce Google Fiber has chosen Pocatello as the first city in Idaho for its high-speed broadband internet service. Google Fiber delivers high-speed, gigabit internet to customers across Pocatello.
Access to high-speed broadband internet is vital for any growing city. Broadband internet is a necessity to attracting job opportunities while creating a prosperous community with diverse work, online learning, and telehealth opportunities.
“Pocatello is growing and reliable high-speed internet is not a luxury anymore, it’s an essential service for life today,” said Mayor Brian Blad. “This is a game changer and will have positive effects on our community and bring additional economic development.”
“Google Fiber is looking forward to launching our services in Pocatello — our first city in Idaho,” said Silvia Castro, Google Fiber Government & Community Affairs Manager. “We can’t wait to connect Idaho residents to fast, reliable internet with great customer service.”
Construction is expected to start by the end of 2023, with the first customers connected in mid-2024. Residents who are interested in more information can sign up for updates HERE.
For inquiries and interviews please contact, City of Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad, at 208-234-6163 or for Google Fiber inquiries contact Kelli Fratto, Love Communications, at 801-828-5052.
