The proposed land swap for the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line has been halted by Judge William Conley due to a lawsuit filed by the Driftless Area Land Conservancy (DALC), the National Wildlife Refuge Association, and the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.
The transmission line was proposed to go through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, but conservation groups are claiming that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rural Utilities Service, and Army Corps of Engineers didn’t receive public input for the land swap and violated the National Environmental Protection Act.
Conservation organizations are concerned that construction of the transmission line could disrupt wildlife within the refuge, especially for the hundreds of migratory birds that frequent the area.
“It’s a key stop on the Mississippi flyway. It’s a wonderful place in terms of wildlife habitat. (Utilities) were trying to bulldoze and build first,” says Howard Learner, who is the executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
Read more in this WPR article and on Driftless Area Land Conservancy’s website.
Photo by Driftless Area Land Conservancy.
