New Wells field manager introduced; BLM staff outline SWIP North, Nevada North lithium and conveyance work

Elizabeth Buentes introduced recent staff changes at the Tuscarora Field Office and turned the floor over to newly identified staff. Melissa Fisher introduced herself as the new Wells Field Manager and said Brady Owens had been acting in the interim; Owens then described transmission-line cultural reporting and near-term geophysical work for the SWIP North transmission project.

"Brady has been kind of running things for the past few months in the interim, and so I'm gonna let him go ahead and give the brief," Fisher said when introduced. Brady Owens summarized the SWIP North transmission-line work: cultural reporting is nearing completion and geophysical work is planned to inform tower spacing. He also described cadastral-surveyor research tied to a proposed conveyance of land to West Wendover and Tooele County for airport runway exclusion zones under the NDAA and said Nevada North lithium exploration is under supplemental environmental review.

Owens noted that the pace of public review for several projects depends on receiving outstanding technical reports from proponents; he said that some projects will move to public review in the next couple of months if baseline reports come in. The board asked clarifying questions about lithium activity in the area and how baseline surveys are being handled.