Comanche transmission rebuild

Comanche National Grassland

The agency files it as “Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) 9254/9257 and 9255 Transmission Line Rebuild”

Timing

The agency stopped taking comments on September 28. What you find still counts: it backs the formal objections from people who did comment, it goes to the lawyers on the fight, and it is the story.

What to go and check

Walk the existing powerline right-of-way on the Comanche National Grassland and photograph the two-track ranch roads and footpaths people actually use under it, plus the unbroken grass and open horizon on either side.

The decision

Xcel Energy proposes to replace wood poles with steel monopoles, H-frame, and three-pole dead-end structures on its 115kV transmission line circuits where they cross Forest Service and BLM lands near Leadville and Buena Vista. The project would also add administrative use access routes and adjust the right-of-way width, while keeping the existing voltage rating the same. A draft Decision and Findi

Read the whole thing, and write to the agency about it

How to record it so it counts

01Go to the place. Photograph it so someone who has never been there can see what you mean.
02Write the paragraph only you can write: what it is, how you know, how long you’ve known it, and what the project would do to it.
03If it’s a sensitive site (a nest, a den, a cultural site, a rare plant), say so and it goes into the sealed record.

What would count

A thing the agency can’t have answered yet, because nobody told it. This is often the strongest item in a record.
Your years, in your words, under your name.

All of it, with the phone settings, in the field guide

Are you going?

Say yes or no. It tells the next person whether anyone has this ground covered, and it is the only way we know a request was answered rather than just read. You can change your mind any time, and nobody follows up.

Join, then say you’re going

Nobody has answered yet

Before you go

Public land only. Plenty of land inside a national forest or park boundary is privately owned, and that is not yours to walk on. A gate or a closure sign means stop. Check the rules for the specific place you are going, because they differ.
Don’t touch survey stakes, flagging, equipment or anything a crew left. Photograph it; leave it.
Don’t approach crews, contractors or agency staff about the project. Don’t interfere with any operation.
Wildlife at a distance. No drones in wilderness or anywhere they’re prohibited. Stay off closed roads and trails.
If you’re not sure, don’t. Weather, terrain, water, fire and people are your call, and yours alone.

More Than Just Parks doesn’t direct where you go or what you do. Terms.