Local News

Proposed Fredericksburg Power Line Threatens Wildlife Preserve

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Tony Maples Photography

 

One rancher is fighting Big Utilities and their proposed Fredericksburg power line, hoping to save a wildlife habitat in Texas Hill Country on the 1,561 acre Hershey Ranch.

According to a report released this past Sundaythe Lower Colorado River Authority intends to push forward with the plan unless something changes in the public discourse. Public Utilities Commission of Texas is united with them, arguing that the chosen route will actually reduce wildlife habitat damage.

The fight to persuade regulators to change the power line’s path comes amidst fast-growing Fredericksburg’s demand for more electrical infrastructure.

Hershey Ranch was originally donated as a land trust to prevent future development.

Blair Fitzsimons, director of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust, had this to say to the American-Statesman: We all recognize we need energy, but what’s concerning here is that no consideration is being given for land that’s under a conservation easement.”

In the Digital age, electricity is at a higher demand than ever, creating a unique need for balance between natural preservation and connectivity to the grid. But for off-the-grid specialists, the $30 million power line represents a threat to Texas nativistic wildlife species.

“The routing of a transmission line bisecting the Hershey Ranch conservation easement is directly at odds with the ranch’s vital, permanent role in wildlife habitat protection and the preservation of the inherent aesthetic values of the Texas Hill Country,” Hershey Ranch said in the motion.

The fight has the flavor of Ammon Bundy’s in There Will Be Blood, a perilous battle that pitted a man and his ranch against the rail road companies occupying and monopolization of ranch land in the Industrial era.

Texas Hill Country will track the power line developments on as they occur, and keep you posted.