Responsible Solar
for Montezuma County
Responsible Solar
For Montezuma County
What we can learn from BLM
The Bureau of Land Management conducted an 11 State Environmental Impact Statement on placing solar facilities on BLM land. It was released as a record of decision in December 2024. See document #doi-blm-hq-3000-2023-001-rmp-eis. The summary of their findings .......
The BLM has completed a programmatic analysis to evaluate potential amendments to BLM resource management plans in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming to facilitate solar energy evelopment on public lands while minimizing resource conflicts. The 11-state planning area for this effort includes approximately 162 million acres of
lands that are administered by the BLM.
In short here is a quick summary: from the experience gained across the Four Corners, it's apparent the ideal sites for these large-scale solar projects include previously disturbed landscapes close to transmission lines, but without nearby neighbors and avoiding important wildlife habitat....
Note the above diagram - western Montezuma County showing Canyons of the Ancients and areas around Mesa Verde are considered exclusion areas (in pink). This would be an excellent reason to refrain from building at least two of the proposed projects. It would be a wise decision to take the lead from BLM.
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