The 400 Wind Turbines Knocking on Idaho’s Door

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAMILLE DAW

The Minidoka National Historic Site honors the nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans forced from their homes and into prison camps. Now, a wind farm threatens the area.

BY ARIANNA CRETEAU

Locals, descendants of Minidoka National Historic Site, ranchers, and groups from across the U.S. voiced their concern over potential environmental and cultural impacts of the Lava Ridge Wind Project when it was introduced in 2021. Today, some feel hopeful that their unity and overwhelming objections to the project will prevent it from gaining approval. Magic Valley Energy insists that there is a need for renewable energy throughout the West and that local communities benefit by using wind power.

The Lava Ridge Wind Project proposes to build up to 400 wind turbines, at a maximum height of 740 feet tall, and associated infrastructure on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Department of Lands. By 2025, Magic Valley Energy hopes to have finished construction and begin operations on what would be one of the largest wind farms in the U.S., producing over 1,000 megawatts of power distributed throughout the Western states.

A reconstructed guard tower looks over the harsh desert that once interned 13,000 Japanese Americans at Minidoka.

PHOTO BY STAN HONDA

Many opposed to the project say that they understand the environmental efforts for cleaner energy but do not agree with Magic Valley Energy’s approach. LS Power is an affiliate of Magic Valley Energy, and in the past has introduced projects around Jerome, Lincoln, and Minidoka counties.

In a public comment, one person stated what many echo: “I support renewable energy projects. Climate change is definitely one of the most pressing issues of the day. However, I was deeply disappointed and angered that there was little regard for the Minidoka community.”

The Minidoka National Historic Site is a result of Executive Order 9066, signed in 1942. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, attitudes towards Japanese Americans intensified wartime hysteria and racial prejudice. Nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced from their homes and scattered across the U.S. into prison camps. More than 13,000 people were moved to Minidoka. Surrounded by sage brush and dust in Southern Idaho, the landscape, living conditions and way of life were extremely harsh. Present-day Minidoka serves as a site to educate, remember, and preserve history.

Minidoka is a place of healing for the Japanese American community.

“Minidoka is a place of healing for the Japanese American community,” said Janet Matsuoka Keegan, a third-generation Japanese American.

Keegan has maternal and paternal relatives who were incarcerated at Minidoka. “LS Power has basically no respect for the cultural resources on that proposed 200,000 acres. There’s the Minidoka site, Native American cultural resources, pioneers, wildlife, and more in this rich area to consider,” she said.

Keegan is part of the grassroots group Stop Lava Ridge and Friends of Minidoka. For over 20 years, she has been involved with Friends of Minidoka and this is not the first threat to the Minidoka site that she has seen. She is a key figure involved in efforts to oppose Lava Ridge. “I’m 71 years old! Who would have thought that I’d be doing this? But inaction is not an option,” Keegan said.

Farmers say that the proposed energy project limits grazing for cattle that have been on the land for generations.

PHOTO BY STAN HONDA

The Lava Ridge Project is one of many projects affecting rancher John Arkoosh, but he said that Lava Ridge is detrimental to his business. “It’s really affected me personally and my way of life. I’ve worked hard all my life and finally got a nice place to live on my farm,” Arkoosh said. His family has been farming for five generations.

With a cow-calf operation and feeder cattle, access to land is key. 34% of feed available to cattle for grazing could be lost during the construction phase alone, displacing a third of the cattle. Since the 1930s, cattle have been allowed to graze on the proposed project site.

Seven ranching families affected by Lava Ridge banded together to oppose the project, despite potential wealth they might have gained from the big companies. “I am feeling optimistic. We have so much support in the state and from diverse groups and I think we’re working really well together,” Arkoosh said.

Present-day Minidoka serves as a site to educate, remember, and preserve history, which locals fear will be lost if the Lava Ridge project proceeds as planned.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAMILLE DAW

Tom Koto, a descendant of incarcerated peoples from Minidoka and a member of Boise Valley JACL and Stop Lava Ridge, is concerned for the people and wildlife that Lava Ridge would impact.

“I feel more confident and I’m grateful for the BLM. I really believe that the BLM is doing their job to make sure this is done correctly,” Koto said. “If this is allowed to happen, it’s going to open the floodgates for more wind farms, solar farms, and other alternative energy projects, which I totally support within reason.”

Minidoka was featured by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s 11 most endangered historic places as of 2022.

At 4 years old, Actor/Social Justice Advocate, George Takei and his family were incarcerated at Rohwer War Internment Camp in Rohwer, Arkansas in 1942. He is an ongoing critic of the injustices of the Executive Order 9066 and advocates the importance of remembrance of this legacy of racial discrimination in America to prevent it happening again.

PHOTO FROM BAMBOO AND BARBED WIRE, DIRECTED BY KAREN DAY

“I live here and am close to the site,” Keegan said. “The BLM was flooded with comments from the Japanese American community telling the story of incarceration and being survivors and descendants. We don’t have very many survivors. I am concerned about the Magic Valley as a resident, but I’m also concerned about the Minidoka National Historic Site as a descendant.”

Both sides eagerly wait to see what will come next. Will it be cutting edge wind turbines, or is the wild Idaho desert here to stay? Either way, it will have a large impact on the West and future projects on Idaho land.