Bureau of Land Management seeks public comment for communications site right-of-way project

Prineville, Ore. — The Bureau of Land Management is opening a 30-day public comment period today for feedback on the environmental assessment for the Powell Butte Communications Site Right-of-Way Project. The wireless communications facility will provide wireless telecommunications and first responder services in the Powell Butte and Alfalfa areas.

The environmental assessment considers the potential impacts from the construction, operation, and maintenance of a wireless communications use facility located near Powell Butte on both BLM-administered lands and private property. The proposed facility will consist of a 150-foot-tall monopole tower and related panel and microwave antenna, radio transmitters, radio receivers, and cables. The facility will also contain an equipment shelter, back-up emergency power generator, fuel tank, and buried utility line. There will be an access road associated with the project as well. 

The public comment period ends at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time on June 30, 2023. Comments will be accepted at the address below, via email to [email protected], or by calling 541-416-6711. Project information can be accessed through the BLM’s ePlanning website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2018065/510.

Deschutes Field Office 
Lisa Clark 
3050 NE 3rd Street 491
Prineville, OR 97754 

Please be aware comments, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, it is not guaranteed.   

For additional information, please contact Ferris Couture, Planning and Environmental Coordinator, at (541) 416-6711 or by email at [email protected]. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

-BLM-