Our Legacy of Impact
Protecting the Van Loon Bottoms State Natural Area
Clean Wisconsin’s position as a leading voice for wetland protections was reinforced in 2012 when plans for a transmission line threatened to disrupt the Van Loon Bottoms State Natural Area.
Located in northwestern La Crosse County, the Van Loon Bottoms State Natural Area encompasses much of the floodplain of the lower Black River and features floodplain forests, sand prairies and oak savanna. The area provides a rich habitat for wildlife, and is considered an important bird area. According to the Department of Natural Resources, it is home to yellow-crowned night herons, Acadian flycatchers, cerulean warblers and prothonotary warblers that breed there.
In 2012, the Public Service Commission was considering a construction projects for a transmission line that would run through this sensitive area. Clean Wisconsin intervened in the case, arguing the project should be rerouted in order to protect the wildlife refuges, floodplains and stopover habitat for birds. The PSC agreed, ordering an alternative route for the transmission line. Clean Wisconsin’s arguments in the case helped bring more consideration for and protection of wetlands in the process.
Case Details
Northern States Power and Dairyland Power Cooperative proposed building a 345-kilovolt transmission line across the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Wisconsin and extend it 50 miles south along the river. The Line would cross parts of the Van Loon Bottoms State Natural Area. The utilities argued that routing the new transmission line through the Van Loon would not harm the ecosystem and would cost less than alternative routes.
Clean Wisconsin intervened in the Public Service Commission contested case proceeding to advocate for siting the transmission line outside the Van Loon and for using independent environmental monitors who would not be employees of the utilities building the project. We consulted with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Wetlands Association, and retained a wetlands expert who analyzed and testified to the impacts of proposed construction methods and the importance of the resource.
Clean Wisconsin successfully persuaded the agency to order an alternative route outside the Van Loon and that independent environmental monitors must be used to ensure minimal construction impacts on sensitive areas.
Why It Matters
The case set a precedent for more thorough evaluation of how wetlands are impacted by transmission lines. In addition, through the use of our experts, it set a precedent intervenors like Clean Wisconsin to make recommendations about specific construction practices to minimize impacts.
