LATEST NEWS... NT-Hydro Surrender!
Read their surrender letter click here (pdf)

Well known to both naturalists and outdoorsmen, the Summer Lake Wildlife Area is a haven to over 250 species of birds and is an important stop on the Pacific Flyway for the annual migration of tens of thousands of geese, ducks and swans. Often the natural silence is broken only by the gabbling of thousands of birds as they feed in the shallow waters, safe from predators.
With more livestock than people in the 20 mile long valley, life here is a seasonal round of gathering cows, branding, bringing in the hay crop and calving. Cattle drives on the valley’s only highway are a common sight as the descendents of pioneers work ranches homesteaded along the lake shore in the 1870’s.

The Problem
NT Hydro, an Idaho based energy development firm, filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in October of 2007 to begin studies for a pumped storage hydroelectric project here in Summer Lake. They propose taking 652 million gallons of water from the lake and pumping it uphill to an 80 acre artificial lake blasted into the rock of Winter Ridge. During the day, when power rates are high, they intend to run water down the hill to generate electricity to be sold. At night, when power rates are cheaper, they plan to pump water back up the hill and use the difference in peak and off-peak electricity rates to make a profit. Ignoring over a hundred letters of protest from citizens and multiple motions to intervene from private, state and federal respondents the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted a 36 month preliminary permit to NT Hydro in May of 2008.

The Plan
Use the buttons at the top of this page to learn more about this issue and then join landowners, conservationists, sportsmen and naturalists in letting NT Hydro know how you feel.