July 10,  2024

Dear President Biden,

Members and allies of the Japanese American community object to the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project on federal public land in southern Idaho. The sanctity of Minidoka National Historic Site will forever be harmed by Lava Ridge – we know you understand the importance of preserving sites of trauma, where people need to heal and reflect. This massive commercial wind development is far too obstructive on this nationally important, cultural landscape. We need your help. 

Early in your administration, you pledged to tackle the climate crisis as well as advance racial and environmental justice. Last month, you promised to fight efforts to erase AANHPI history. However, Lava Ridge breaks these promises. In Volume One of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, it states that with the Preferred Alternative, “...Disproportionately high and adverse impacts to the Japanese American community and Tribes would still occur…”(FEIS ES-18).

Care has not been taken to protect the sanctity of Minidoka National Historic Site where Japanese Americans were unconstitutionally incarcerated at the historic Minidoka War Relocation Center during WWII because of racial discrimination, war time hysteria, and a lack of political leadership, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signing Executive Order 9066 which paved the way for the incarceration.

The lessons and legacy of one of our country’s worst violations in civil liberties is critical for our country to acknowledge and preserve in this solemn, reflective, immersive experience at Minidoka so we, as American citizens, can strive to live up to the values upon which our nation was founded, and the values for which you, President Biden, have yourself espoused in Executive Orders (Environmental Justice E.O.12898, Advancing Racial Justice E.O. 13895) and Day of Remembrance Proclamations. 

More can be done by the BLM to protect this sacred historic site. We, in the Japanese American community, and our allies, feel our history is being devalued and our trauma is being dismissed by the government recognizing the impact of the project, yet continuing to proceed.

There are terrestrial and visual negative impacts with the Preferred Alternative, both of which the agency admits are problematic. The FEIS states that the Preferred Alternative will encompass 55 degrees of 120 degree sightline of Minidoka NHS (3-167). We find this offensive to the memory and the history of the tragedy that occurred here by the federal government 82 years ago. The agency is utilizing BLM’s 1984 visual management standard which was created decades prior to the surge of renewables and these massive 600-700 foot wind turbines. Additionally, the FEIS states that 30,000 cultural resources could exist in the non-physical Area of Potential Effects (3-157). This means the project could move ahead without even knowing if artifacts will be destroyed. 

We support renewable energy, and your policies say you will protect Japanese American history and heritage, but the FEIS says otherwise. We need your intervention. We have submitted a nomination for an Area of Critical Environmental Concern for 231,495 acres and request that the agency place an interim management plan with a minimum 20-mile buffer between Minidoka NHS and any development, now or in the future.

We know you care because you stated in your Day of Remembrance proclamation “Preserving incarceration sites as national parks and historic landmarks is proof of our Nation’s commitment to facing the wrongs of our past, to healing the pain still felt by survivors and their descendants, and to ensuring that we always remember why it matters that we never stop fighting for equality and justice for all. My Administration is committed to maintaining these national parks and landmarks for future generations and to combating xenophobia, hate, and intolerance.”

We believe your decision on Lava Ridge and our ACEC nomination can be part of the healing process for our community and further the goals of permanently preserving this important incarceration site.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Cc: Deborah Haaland

Tracy Stone-Manning

Erika Moritsugu

Mike Simpson

James Risch

Mike Crapo