That’s why we sought outside assistance to help us better understand these issues, conduct research based on our own questions and priorities, and ideally weigh in on the MSTI siting process in an informed manner.

The MSTI Review Project, a collaboration between Madison, Jefferson and Beaverhead counties, along with five non-governmental organizations: Western Environmental Law Center, Craighead Institute, Future West, Headwaters Economics, and the Sonoran Institute, was launched in an effort to provide an independent, transparent analysis that would help counties better understand a number of the impacts of the line.

The final MSTI Review Project reports will be released later this month, and two public presentations before county commissioners and citizens in Idaho and Montana have provided a clear picture of the results.

While a tremendous amount of information was compiled, findings highlighted the importance to both communities and to wildlife, of co-locating new transmission lines with already existing roads and lines. We also saw that private lands are the driving force of many community values, while also providing wildlife habitat for a number of important species. We became better informed on the range of revenues that the line could provide to counties in both Montana and Idaho, and we were learned that it is difficult to generalize about property value impacts from market research.

This was a groundbreaking effort. As a pilot project, it had its limitations but also its strengths, and there are a number of lessons for MSTI-related counties as well as for other regions facing the prospect of high voltage transmission lines.

First, it would have been better to have initiated the MSTI Review Project earlier in the permitting process. Involving local county government, and arming us with needed and accurate information, can only make for a better process for all interests.

Second, because of time and resource constraints, the target audience for the research and mapping was county officials who serve as representatives of their citizenry. Ideally though, all project stakeholders could be meaningfully engaged in this process.

Third, the MSTI Review Project demonstrated that complicated issues related to transmission lines can be illuminated in an objective, easily understandable way.

Fourth, the project proved that there are mapping tools that can be used to collect and display community values and potential corridor routes that try to minimize impacts on these assets, as well as on fish and wildlife.

We are pleased with the information that this initiative has provided, and will consult these products when commenting on the EIS. The MSTI Review Project summary reports and interactive map are available now, and final reports and maps will be available to anyone at the project website: www.mstireviewproject.org http://www.mstireviewproject.org.

Large-scale developments like MSTI could affect our communities and rural landscapes for decades to come. As county officials, we felt that it was worth spending the time and resources necessary to fully understand the costs and benefits of this proposed transmission line.

We are now better prepared to provide meaningful comments on the proposed MSTI line – and that is our duty as county commissioners. We are glad that we entered into this unique partnership and hope that it will serve as a model across the West.

Dan Happel is a Madison County commissioner, Leonard Wortman is a Jefferson County commissioner, and Tom Rice is a Beaverhead County commissioner.