FRENCHGLEN, Ore. - The vision of up to 70 wind turbines lined up across Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon is just too much for advocates of preserving the state's stark, high-desert landscape. They have filed a lawsuit to keep a wind developer from building 400-foot-high turbines, access roads and 40 miles of transmission lines in order to supply electricity to customers in California.

The project would dissect land protected by Congress in 2000. Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), says going to court was a last resort.

"We've spent four years trying to work with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other stakeholders, the counties and the developer, to try to sort out some sort of solution. Clearly, we weren't able to do that, and that's what puts us where we are today."

According to Fenty, the proposal is for a 230-kilovolt transmission line, several times the size that the developer has said is necessary, which ONDA believes opens the door for more development in the area. The turbines would be visible from popular vistas, including the mountain's summit overlook, adds Fenty.

The other plaintiff is the Audubon Society of Portland. Conservation Director Bob Sallinger cites concerns about the golden eagle and prime sage-grouse habitat that would be affected by the proposed wind project.

"We're asking to stop the project. Southeastern Oregon is really one of the strongholds for sage grouse. We need to be very, very careful, on a landscape scale, what we do down there; otherwise, we are going to wind up with a species that is listed in the next few years."

Since 2000, Steens Mountain has been jointly managed by the BLM and a special advisory council. Fenty says the 12-member council has been unable to weigh in, however, because members' conflicts of interest prevented a quorum. He points to plenty of windy spots in Oregon's high desert that he's convinced would be better suited for the project.

"It would be much easier for developers to push for development in those other areas. Instead, they've chosen to pursue development in an area that has a tremendous amount of conflicts. You would be hard-pressed to find an area in Oregon's high desert that has more conflicts than Steens Mountain."

Southern California Edison wants the additional power. The BLM approved the plan in December. The lawsuit was filed against U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, as chief executive of the agency.

More information about the issue and a copy of the complaint filing are available at http://bit.ly/I8zE7T.



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Correction: An earlier version of this story attributed a quote to Rep. Zinke which was made by Alex Blackmer. (5:05 p.m MST., May 12, 2025)

Montana lawmakers this session voted down a bill supporting the transfer of federal public lands to states but a similar conversation is growing on the national stage.

Last year, Utah sued the United States, claiming the state is deprived of "sovereign powers" because the federal government owns public lands there. Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion, brought a resolution to fellow lawmakers in support of Utah. It failed 66-34 and received no public comments in support.

Alex Blackmer, senior communications manager for the advocacy group Wild Montana, said such efforts point to a larger trend.

"All of this really goes hand-in-hand with what we're seeing at the federal level," Blackmer observed. "Which is this attempt to dismantle regulations, to dismantle the agencies, dismantle all of these things that have been the foundation of our way of life."

In Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources has passed a Republican budget package including an amendment to authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public land in Nevada and Utah. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the committee, said the package would "save billions and deliver American energy dominance." Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., called it "breathtakingly reckless."

Also last week, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and more than a dozen other lawmakers launched the bipartisan Congressional Public Lands Caucus to help conserve and maintain access to public lands.

Blackmer noted Zinke has been "pretty outspoken" in support of public lands.

"We certainly appreciate any efforts of elected officials to take a stand to keep public lands in public hands," Blackmer acknowledged. "But I think time will tell how that actually shakes out."

Zinke served as U.S. Interior Secretary during the first Trump administration before stepping down amid allegations of misconduct. At a news conference launching the caucus, Zinke said land sales should not be in the federal reconciliation bill.


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The Mississippi River is the drinking water source for 20 million people and its starting point in northern Minnesota has new protections following completion of a deal to preserve several thousand acres of forested land.

The Conservation Fund and Northern Waters Land Trust said the deal, years in the making, covers more 8,200 acres across nine counties between Walker and Duluth.

Emilee Nelson, associate Minnesota state director for The Conservation Fund, said her group purchased a larger chunk of land in 2020 and since then, the Land Trust worked to secure state funding for the acreage in the deal. She pointed out downstream, the river has seen surrounding land converted to other uses, which takes away key buffers.

"The importance of leaving forests on the landscape really helps to soak up water that hits the landscape like a sponge," Nelson explained. "It helps to filter any sort of debris before it hits the Mississippi River."

Separate plans are being finalized with county governments to ensure permanent management and public access to the lands. Nelson emphasized it should benefit hunters and anglers, while protecting wildlife habitat. She added the timing is important with political pressure on the landscapes for possible industrial uses. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., is part of the push, citing the need for jobs.

Nelson pointed out with such a deal, local timber companies can still benefit from effective forest management, including the need to clear out dying trees.

"When we own it, we would contract with local loggers to help do prescribed thinnings, and to then deliver lumber to local mills, like in Bemidji," Nelson noted.

Organizations involved in the deal said it will protect jobs in the outdoor recreation and tourism sector.

Access to the beloved Pacific Crest Trail may soon be limited - due to a drop in federal grants and big layoffs proposed for federal public lands agencies.

In the next two weeks, the Trump administration is expected to release the reduction-in-force targets for the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Megan Wargo, chief executive officer of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, said federal grant money dried up last October, so they've had to cancel 56 weeks of crew maintenance work on the trails.

"If large sections of the trails are forced to be closed because of this lack of maintenance and care, that's devastating that folks won't be able to access their public lands because of these cuts," she explained.

Volunteers help keep the trails clear of debris and repair erosion from storm damage. The Pacific Crest Trail runs more than 2,600 hundred miles from Mexico to Canada and includes landscapes from Anza Borrego in the South, to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Lake Tahoe in the Sierras, and points north.

Wargo said the National Trails System Act calls for a public-private partnership to manage the national scenic trails. The Pacific Crest Trail Association normally gets between $667 million per year in federal funding - about a quarter of what it needs to help maintain the PCT.

"Typically, that breakdown is about 25% value that's coming from the federal government, while the other 75% is coming through private donations and that volunteer service hour value," she continued.

Wargo added that cuts to the federal workforce hobble agencies' abilities to make grants and approve volunteer projects. And that means less brush gets cleared, raising the risk of wildfires in California.