High-voltage power line easements require site clearing, which means that they will clear vegetation and obstructions all along the line so they can access the lines and minimize the risks of fires and electrocution. (For a more in-depth explanation of the method of site clearing often used, see LCRA's Line Maintenance and Site Clearing page.)
In regard to the North Palo Duro Canyon, the proposed line routes that cross the canyon (Link AA and Link V) are located on two areas that drop and rise in elevation, cross stream beds, and extend out to points mid-canyon, to the lower caprock elevation. Placing huge anchoring towers on the caprock rim, set in huge, deep concrete bases, along with similar tower structures leading up the mid-elevations, over the stream beds and slopes, to the top land would require the deep destruction of a substantial portion of these pristine areas. Clearing vegetation and bulldozing through hills and cliffs along the 175-foot wide easement to create passable roads and ensure access to the line will be even more profoundly damaging to the surrounding natural terrain, not to mention the beauty of the areas.
To make matters worse, road maintenance will be constantly required to ensure access to the lines as the terrain is soft and washes out easily and there will be no other available access. Erosion of the slopes will occur, and fire danger will be high, given the uneven slopes and wild vegetation. Road materials and culverts or bridges will have to be brought in and placed along the easement to make it passable. And traffic along the easement, which would largely consist of the heavy equipment and cranes necessary to service the lines, particularly the lines extending over the canyon, will lead to a huge swaths of permanently destroyed landscape, visible for miles. (See example and pictures of a company clearing the easement and servicing such lines, Line Servicer.)
Site clearing or maintenance in years to come of the vegetation in the canyon bottom beneath the wires strung across the canyon, will add even further erosion and devastation.
In sum, permanent and extensive damage to the terrain would be yet another tragic and devastating result of this ill-conceived idea.
