East Idaho Times

BOISE, Idaho - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) released a statement today regarding the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's (ACHP) decision to terminate consultation on the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project. The termination follows widespread concerns about the project's impact on the Minidoka National Historic Site and necessitates further review of the contested wind project in southern Idaho.

“Today’s decision by the ACHP to terminate consultation on Lava Ridge is a win for Idahoans and underscores that this project is obstructive and entirely unwanted,” said Risch. “This battle is not over, and I am committed to fighting until the Biden-Harris administration understands the people of Idaho unequivocally do not want Lava Ridge.”

Earlier this week, the Idaho delegation urged ACHP to terminate Section 106 consultation with the Bureau of Land Management regarding the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project. This request followed a decision by the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office in August to terminate consultation. The proposed Lava Ridge project would visually compromise the Minidoka National Historic Site, where more than 13,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated during World War II.

The Lava Ridge Project has faced opposition from various groups within the Japanese American community, including Minidoka Pilgrimage, Friends of Minidoka, Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community and Exclusion Memorial Association in Washington State, Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium, and Minidoka survivors and descendants nationwide.