May 8, 2020 - Pahrump Valley, Clark County NV - Basin and Range Watch submitted comments on Bureau of Land Management's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Yellow Pine Solar Project, which closed on May 4, 2020. We found many deficiencies in the analysis, including a lack of proper--or any--detailed discussion of mitigation measures, and a poor review of Visual Resources. The mitigation seems to be to shift the project north of the Tecopa Highway and call it done.

Despite the fact that 90,000 Mojave yuccas grow on the proposes solar project site, and are proposed to be mulched, bulldozed, mowed, and graded down to make way for photovoltaic panels which should go over parking lots and rooftops in already-developed areas.

High Quality Desert Tortoise Habitat

March 3, 2019 - Pahrump Valley NV - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will release the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Yellow Pine Solar Project in mid-April. This will be a 3,000 acre photovoltaic project located in the South Pahrump Valley, Nevada on pristine, Mojave Desert habitat for rooftop friendly solar panels. It is very good desert tortoise habitat. Combined with the proposed Gemini Solar Project to the south, the BLM is about to approve the removal of 10,000 acres of desert tortoise habitat. The region is recovering from a drought, so the tortoise count is not as high as Gemini. They found 53 on the survey. But the US Fish and Wildlife Service has identified the site as one of the last important in tact desert tortoise connectivity sites in the Mojave Desert. A 4.6 square mile solar project will change this. The BLM tells us that all Joshua trees and Mojave yuccas on the site will be shredded and mulched. The original application was 9,000 acres. The project will be built right next to a new desert tortoise translocation area. This area was put aside to relocate tortoises from other development projects. The project will be built next to and be visible from the Old Spanish Trail. 

Construction Impacts

Tortoise Translocation Die Off!

July 7, 2021, South Pahrump Valley, NV. Our email alert:

Basin and Range Watch Files an Appeal to Stop Yellow Pine Solar Project

December 10, 2020 - Pahrump NV - The Pahrump Valley Times wrote an excellent article about our appeal to stop the destruction of over 90,000 Mojave yuccas on prime desert tortoise habitat in south Pahrump Valley, Nevada. 

https://pvtimes.com/news/conservationists-file-appeal-to-stop-solar-project-near-pahrump-93326/

Final Environmental Impact Statement Out For Yellow Pine Solar Project

September 4, 2020 - South Pahrump Valley, NV - Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that proposes to develop over 3,000 acres of prime Mojave Desert habitat and shred over 80,000 unwanted Mojave yuccas currently thriving on the site.

Here is the BLM site: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/81665/510

Public comments are overwhelmingly in opposition to developing an energy sprawl project here. More on this project soon. We will be appealing this project and trying to conserve our non-renewable public lands.

COVID-19 Times, Yet Interior Barges Ahead With Solar-Sprawl Projects on Desert Full Steam Ahead

May 8, 2020 - Pahrump Valley, Clark County NV - Basin and Range Watch submitted comments on Bureau of Land Management's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which closed on May 4, 2020. We found many deficiencies in the analysis, including a lack of proper--or any--detailed discussion of mitigation measures, and a poor review of Visual Resources. The mitigation seems to be to shift the project north of the Tecopa Highway and call it done.

Despite the fact that 90,000 Mojave yuccas grow on the proposes solar project site, and are proposed to be mulched, bulldozed, mowed, and graded down to make way for photovoltaic panels which should go over parking lots and rooftops in already-developed areas.

We requested BLM delay this review during the COVID-19 pandemic, in our comment letter (we were ignored):

It is our understanding that the Southern Nevada district of the BLM did request a comment extension for this review over the Covid-19 crisis. Some of use made that request and we do appreciate the efforts that this office made to meet those requests. Ultimately, we were told that the Interior Secretary said no. He is using the pandemic to streamline this review. 

This is very irresponsible. Our organization has several people assisting, some are volunteers and some of them were not able to participate in the narrow time frame of this EIS due to the unique stresses from the crisis. We had our own situation which created problems getting these comments on time. You will most likely miss comments over this. Equally, the Interior Department has eliminated public meetings for this review. It may be legal to eliminate public meetings, but it is unique to do such a thing and this weakens the public’s opportunities to be heard on the issue. We were told by BLM in Reno that this comment period can’t be extended because Yellow Pine has made Fast 41 Status. There is nothing in the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Lands Policy Management Act or the National Environmental Policy Act that requires the BLM to eliminate public meetings or prevents the BLM from extending a public comment period. In fact, the BLM has delayed the review of the Gemini  SolarProject 3 times. Gemini is also a Fast 41 Project.

Furthermore, the BLM has not really made the case that Yellow Pine is an essential project. In fact, pushing it through like this can further endanger the workers as well as the residents of Pahrump, Nevada and Charleston View, California. This is because those suffering from Covid-19 symptoms are more susceptible to respiratory issues and no large-scale solar project to date in arid regions of the southwest has ever adequately mitigated the fugitive dust caused by construction.  Over 25 workers contracted Valley Fever on a solar project in San Luis Obispo County, California.

https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2020/apr/27/nevada-fight-over-bombing-range-pits-tribes-vs-us/
If someone is Covid – 19 positive, Valley Fever could make their immunity even more compromised and there are not enough tests available. 

One other suggestion for the Southern Nevada offices of BLM would be to answer questions directly and not make us go to the state office for answers.

Excerpt from E&E Newswire (paywalled) article Solar project highlights 'unprecedented challenge' facing BLM by Scott Streater, quoting Kevin Emmerich, Co-Founder of Basin and Range Watch, on the lack of consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic:

But despite requests for delay, BLM is scheduled to publish the draft environmental impact statement in tomorrow's Federal Register, kicking off a 45-day public comment period running through May 4. Details of the draft EIS are included in a notice in today's Federal Register.

"Holding a full environmental review in the midst of a pandemic is nothing short of irresponsible," Kevin Emmerich, co-founder of the Nevada-based group Basin and Range Watch, said in a statement to E&E News. "The State of Nevada has closed down all non-essential business for 30 days in light of the COVID-19 crisis. How can the BLM expect to get the normal range of public comments in this situation?"

Emmerich shared several emails with E&E News that he received this week from top BLM Nevada officials. They provide insight into the difficulties the bureau is facing during the pandemic.

Emmerich on Tuesday sent an email asking Shonna Dooman, the manager of BLM's Las Vegas Field Office, to postpone release of the draft EIS for the Yellow Pine project for two months "until we can get a better handle on this crisis."

Herman Pinales, BLM Nevada's energy and infrastructure project manager, wrote in an email to Emmerich yesterday that the bureau is "in the early stages of trying to see if we can do [a] virtual open house" for public comment on the draft EIS. Pinales wrote that they "hope to have an answer in the next couple of weeks."

Emmerich responded that, in his opinion, even this step would fail to "compensate for all the disruption and unemployment that has been caused by Covid-19."

BLM Nevada Director Jon Raby wrote Emmerich yesterday thanking him for his comments and promising to address his concerns.

"We are well aware of the situation and responding accordingly," Raby wrote. "Please be patient as we all work through the challenges of this unprecedented challenge."

Conservation groups and other advocates have been pressuring BLM to delay activities like oil and gas lease sales, as well as completing environmental reviews of large projects or revising regulations such as those governing livestock grazing on federal rangelands, during the pandemic (E&E News PM, March 18).

But BLM has said it has no plans to do so (Greenwire, March 17).

Meanwhile, the Yellow Pine Solar Project, proposed by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, moves forward.

Dooman, in an email to Emmerich, said BLM plans to publish the draft EIS tomorrow.

"We are aware of our inability to hold in-person public meetings in the current conditions. As Herman mentioned, we are evaluating other options," Dooman wrote.

"Continuing our service to the public while doing our part to address COVID-19 is very important," she added. "We are also in early discussions about a potential extension on the review period. If we proceed with this, we will determine the amount of time to extend based on where we are in the review period and what the public situation is at the time."

The Yellow Pine project is one of a handful of large-scale solar and wind projects that BLM wants to finalize this year as part of President Trump's "energy dominance" campaign that, to date, has mostly focused on oil and gas development (Greenwire, Jan. 2).

BLM is aiming to issue a final EIS for Yellow Pine this summer, followed by a record of decision approving it this fall.

Visual Resources are not fully addressed

Key Observation Point Simulations: There are none in the DEIS or appendices! It appears that the BLM just forgot to include these. It is impossible to submit substantive comments on visual resource KOP without being able to see them.  The DEIS says 11 KOP’s were created. Again, a proper review of this project will need a supplemental EIS. 

The Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan: 

 
Yellow Pine Solar will have a major impact on the threatened desert tortoise.  A Recovery Plan for the tortoise was written in 1994 and updated in 2011.

A "recovery plan" determines the "threats" that are hurting the species, suggests actions that will reduce or eliminate these threats so species can fully recover, and recommends ways to ensure that the population remains stable.

 
The goal of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is to conserve the ecosystems upon which listed species depend and to recover species to levels where protection under the ESA is no longer necessary. Section 4 of the ESA directs the Service to develop recovery plans for the conservation and survival of a listed species.
Key elements of the revised plan include the following:  

          
Develop, support, and build partnerships to facilitate recovery;   

   
Protect existing populations and habitat, instituting habitat restoration where necessary; 

Augment depleted populations in a strategic, experimental manner;     
Monitor progress toward recovery, including population trend and effectiveness monitoring;  

    
Conduct applied research and modeling in support of recovery efforts within a strategic framework; and  implement a formal adaptive management program that integrates new information and utilizes conceptual models that link management actions to predicted responses by Mojave desert tortoise populations or their habitat. 

 
The DEIS fails to integrate new information about drastic declines in most Recovery Units of the Mojave Desert tortoise in the last 10 years.

Moving Yellow Pine Solar Project to North Side of Tecopa Highway Will NOT Lessen Impacts to Desert Tortoise

March 3, 2019 - Pahrump Valley NV - The Bureau of Land Management will release the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Yellow Pine Solar Project in mid-April. This will be a 3,000 acre photovoltaic project located in the South Pahrump Valley, Nevada on pristine, Mojave Desert habitat for rooftop friendly solar panels. It is very good desert tortoise habitat. Combined with the proposed Gemini Solar Project to the south, the BLM is about to approve the removal of 10,000 acres of desert tortoise habitat. The region is recovering from a drought, so the tortoise count is not as high as Gemini. They found 53 on the survey. But the US Fish and Wildlife Service has identified the site as one of the last important in tact desert tortoise connectivity sites in the Mojave Desert. A 4.6 square mile solar project will change this. The BLM tells us that all Joshua trees and Mojave yuccas on the site will be shredded and mulched. The original application was 9,000 acres. The project will be built right next to a new desert tortoise translocation area. This area was put aside to relocate tortoises from other development projects. The project will be built next to and be visible from the Old Spanish Trail. The BLM and one environmental organization are trying to spin this by saying the habitat is not as important on the NW side of Tecopa Road. Trust us - that is bullshit. More information here:

https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-seeks-comments-yellow-pine-solar-project-near-pahrump?fbclid=IwAR0ONIiE11b_vOMa3ValDF3HoLSmiAy-_CfXHnTHiATDWcvbjxuxDW0c9kU

Beetle in a Baileya flower (Baileya sp.), paper daisy (Psilotrophe cooperi), and cottontop cactus (Echinocactus polycephalus) on the proposed project site.

From the Archives: Yellow Pine Solar Project

June 20, 2020 - What you can do and who to write letters to, opposing utility-scale solar project construction on this senstive desert ecosystem on public lands:

Take Action! 

Below are addresses and a sample letter to send to decision makers

Bureau of Land Management Nevada State Director Jon Raby:

jraby@blm.gov

Clark County Commissioners:

District A - Commissioner Michael Naft

ccdista@ClarkCountyNV.gov

District B - Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick

ccdistb@ClarkCountyNV.gov

District C - Commissioner Larry Brown

ccdistc@ClarkCountyNV.gov

District D - Commissioner Lawrence Weekly 

ccdistd@ClarkCountyNV.gov

District E - Commissioner Tick Segerblom

ccdiste@ClarkCountyNV.gov

District F - Commissioner Justin Jones

ccdistf@ClarkCountyNV.gov

District G - Commissioner Jim Gibson 

ccdistg@ClarkCountyNV.gov

Nevada State Assemblywoman Heidi Swank, Chair, Legislative Committee on Public Lands:

Heidi.Swank@asm.state.nv.us

Nevada Division of Environmental Protection:

Greg Lovato

901 South Stewart Street, Suite 5003

Carson City, Nevada, 89701

glovato@ndep.nv.gov

Your Senator, Congressperson: 

You can find your representative here:  https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative, and Senator here: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Sample letter:

The Honorable (Name)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Decision Maker,

The Bureau of Land Management is now in the process of trying to permit the 3,000 acre Yellow Pine Solar Project on valuable public lands in Clark County, Nevada.

Approval of the project would result in the removal of over 3,000 acres or 4.6 square miles of good quality desert tortoise habitat. The desert tortoise is Federally Threatened and is losing habitat throughout its range. It may need to be up-listed to Endangered status with the cumulative developments happening on its habitat.

There are no peer reviewed studies that show that vegetation mowing and allowing desert tortoises to re-enter a site with solar panels has long-term success.

Based on population estimates, approximately 53 adult desert tortoises, 276 subadults or juveniles, and 69 hatchlings are anticipated to be displaced or killed by project-related construction activities via translocation.

Vegetation mowing will have very big impacts. All vegetation will be cut. Burrowing animals would be killed and deafened. Many of the estimated 398 desert tortoises would be missed and killed. Biological soil crusts would be destroyed. Invasive annual weeds would move in on the mowed site.

Tortoises would be allowed to re-enter the site. Tortoises could be killed by operation and maintenance activities because vehicles will enter the habitat for maintenance. Shade from solar panels could inhibit tortoises coming out of hibernation in late winter and spring.

The project would destroy 92,930 Mojave yuccas, many hundreds of years old

The project would be near part of the historic Old Spanish Trail. The massive build-out of solar panels, new roads and transmission lines will permanently destroy the historic and wild character of the area.

The project will have visual impacts that cannot be mitigated. It will be visible from the scenic Tecopa Road, Mt Charleston and 3 California Wilderness Areas.

A large-scale solar project of this size only creates about 5-15 full time jobs.

Several thousand acres of land are being developed in the Las Vegas Valley for new housing. The amount of space located on the rooftops and over parking lots provides a more efficient alternative for solar panels, and eliminates the need for costly transmission lines. This easily justifies a No Action Alternative for the Yellow Pine Solar Project.

(Sign name and address)