Administrative action challenging a hydropower company's proposal to pump water out of Summer Lake and tunnel through Winter Rim, potentially impacting ONDA-proposed Wilderness Study Areas and important Western Snowy Plover habitat.

May 14, '08 - FERC issues preliminary permit, allowing applicant only to conduct economic and technical feasibility studies.

Apr. 4, '08 - See the press.

Apr. 3, '08 - ONDA filed a motion to intervene in opposition to an application to build a hydroelectric project that would pump water out of Summer Lake, tunnel through Winter Rim, and store water in a newly-excavated reservoir on the rim top in the Fremont-Winema National Forest. Concerns include impacts to wilderness values (including ONDA's proposed Diablo Mountain WSA Additions and Burma Rim proposed WSA) and to the Summer Lake Wildlife Area, a haven for resident and migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, including the threatened Western Snowy Plover. Oregon Wild and WaterWatch join the protest. Other parties moving to intervene and expressing concern about the proposed project include the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Oregon Water Resources Department, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Forest Service, and a group of local landowners, businesses, and the Friends of Summer Lake. FERC also received comments and protests from over 100 individuals regarding the Summer Lake project, unanimously opposing its construction.