Support Peter’s Else’s legal action to #reroutesunzia and #keepthesanpedrowild by donating to the Cascabel Conservation Association’s legal fund or sending a check made out to “CCA Legal Fund” to CCA, Attn: Treasurer, 6146 N. Canyon Road, Cascabel, AZ 85602.
Journalist Wyatt Myskow tells KJZZ radio why residents of Arizona’s San Pedro Valley and Native American tribes oppose the planned route of the SunZia transmission line. May 16, 2024.
Peter Else says his case challenging the granting of the SunZia line’s state permit in the Arizona Court of Appeals “hinges on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s primary mandate, which is to balance electricity benefits with the ecological impacts in Arizona.” Peter was quoted in an article in Inside Climate News. May 8, 2024.
“The nearly 50 miles of SunZia lines that would cut through the middle of the San Pedro Valley have sparked one of the nation’s most consequential fights over developing green spaces for green energy,” writes Wyatt Myskow in Inside Climate News. Apr. 21, 2024.
The latest video from San Pedro Film highlights the false dichotomy between protecting wildlands and addressing climate change in the middle San Pedro River Valley. Apr. 21, 2024.
“Don’t allow private corporations to call the tune on [route] selection based on what’s least expensive for them,” said Peter Else in an interview with Politico’s E&E News about the SunZia transmission line. Nov. 29, 2023.
Researchers at the Desert Botanical Garden have found “agave species that represent remnant populations of plants domesticated and farmed by pre-contact peoples” in Arizona. Sweetwater Center works with the researchers to learn more about the ancient agaves in our area. Oct. 10, 2023.
“[B]oth the BLM and the [SunZia] developers were afflicted with this tunnel vision and were unable to see the harm the project would inflict on the San Pedro River and the people who consider it sacred.” Jonathan Thompson thinks about power lines, birds, sacred sites, and the San Pedro at the Land Desk. Sept. 2, 2023.
“In Arizona, there are still concerns about potential ecological damage from SunZia… Critics plan to appeal a recent court decision affirming regulatory approval in that state,” says an Associated Press article. Sept. 1, 2023.
Sweetwater Center’s co-founders and board members, Tom Orum and Nancy Ferguson were awarded the Raymond Turner Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science for their nearly 50 years of annual saguaro monitoring at Saguaro National Park. June 2, 2023
SunZia “still faces opposition from small, all-volunteer conservation groups on the Lower San Pedro River. Activists there want to see the power lines built elsewhere using established transmission routes,” according to the Arizona Daily Star. May 25, 2023.
Jonathan Thompson, at High Country News, says the long vetting process for the planned SunZia transmission line is a good thing and notes our opposition to the proposed route through the middle San Pedro. Apr. 30, 2023.
The Arizona Republic describes how the SunZia transmission line is likely to affect the Middle San Pedro Valley. Peter Else, who is challenging the AZ Corporation Commission’s permit for SunZia, says he’ll keep working “so that my conscience will be clear that I did everything possible to keep this travesty from happening.” Mar. 30, 2023.
ABloomberg article describes Peter Else’s legal action, “that contends Arizona officials broke the law by approving a route [for SunZia] that slices through saguaro-studded wilderness.” Mar. 18, 2023.
Many in our valley have opposed the proposed SunZia power line for years. An Arizona Daily Star article highlights our concerns. Dec. 19, 2022.