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Boise, Idaho • Federal authorities have rejected a request by an irrigation company in southeastern Idaho to build a dam on the Bear River.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday voted to deny Twin Lakes Canal Co.' license application for a 109-foot-high dam with a 10-megawatt powerhouse.
"While we recognize the potential benefits of the Bear River Narrows Project, we conclude, consistent with staff's findings, that the project's unmitigable adverse impacts outweigh its benefits such that we must deny the application," the commission wrote in a 19-page decision.
The commission cited the popularity of the area among hikers, campers, wildlife watchers, river-based anglers, whitewater kayakers and tubing enthusiasts in its decision. The report cites the canal company's estimate that the area draws more than 55,000 recreation day visits a year, about 47 percent of those for angling and 38 percent for whitewater boating and tubing.
The canal company, which began the attempt to get a license for the project more than a decade ago, said the proposed reservoir would have provided irrigation water to about 230 farmers and ranchers.
"We don't' know whether we will appeal or not," said Twin Lakes Canal Co. President Clair Bosen. "We will look at our options and make a decision."
He said the canal company was surprised by the decision, having expected the commission to request some changes before possibly approving the project.
Commissioners said the project would inundate the Bureau of Land Management's Oneida Narrows Research Natural Area with resulting loss of recreation, wildlife and fishing resources that could not be replaced.
A final environmental impact statement released last month recommended commissioners reject the project, citing the potential loss of 4.5 miles of river, 425 acres of wildlife habitat and the scenic Oneida Narrows.
"Today's action ends a nearly 14-year fight to protect a unique and beautiful river canyon," Kevin Lewis, executive director of Idaho Rivers United, said in a statement. "For generations local citizens have hunted, hiked, camped, fished and floated along this section of the Bear River. Now, future generations will be afforded the same opportunities."
Among the other problems the commission cited in denying the license application was that it was inconsistent with the Bureau of Land Management's designated purpose of the Oneida Narrows Research Natural Area, which would have been partly inundated.
The federal agency also said that the dam would destroy habitat for Bonneville cutthroat trout, a species of special concern in Idaho.
"In this instance, after weighing the potential power, irrigation, and other benefits of the proposed project against its unmitigable impacts on fish, wildlife, aesthetics, and recreation, we conclude that the project would not be best adapted to a comprehensive plan for improving or developing the Bear River for beneficial public uses," the commission wrote.