Rally The Valley-Cedarville!

Surprise Valley is a water-limited, internally drained Basin and Range watershed. Water that enters the valley largely remains within it. Groundwater, springs, wetlands, alkali lakes, agricultural lands, wildlife habitat, and the communities that depend upon them exist as parts of one interconnected system. Unlike many areas of California, Surprise Valley has no imported water supply to replace water that is depleted or contaminated. Domestic wells, agricultural wells, ranching operations, wetlands, springs, and wildlife all depend upon water originating within the basin, much of it replenished by seasonal snowmelt. The valley also contains an interconnected mosaic of alkali lakes, seasonal wetlands, wet meadows, sagebrush steppe, agricultural lands, and mountain habitats. Because much of the region remains relatively undeveloped, ecological processes that have been substantially altered elsewhere in the West continue to function here. Experience throughout the Great Basin—including well-known examples such as Mono Lake and Great Salt Lake—illustrates that internally drained basins can be especially sensitive to long-term changes in water balance. Once ecological decline begins, recovery may be difficult, slow, or incomplete.

Surprise Valley supports: important migratory-bird habitat within the Pacific Flyway; what local and regional experts have identified as California’s largest concentration of breeding Greater Sandhill Cranes; Greater Sage-Grouse and other sensitive wildlife; seasonal wetlands, wet meadows, and alkali-lake habitats; groundwater-dependent agriculture and working ranches; tribal cultural landscapes and places of enduring significance; natural geothermal features and hot springs; exceptionally dark skies adjacent to the Massacre Rim International Dark Sky Sanctuary; the Surprise Valley/Barrel Springs National Back Country Byway; and a rural landscape whose openness, quiet, scenic character, and ecological integrity are increasingly rare in California.

For those of us who live here—or whose families have lived here for generations—these are not simply environmental resources. They are the foundation of our community and the relationships among people, land, water, wildlife, work, and history that make Surprise Valley what it is.

Ormat Surprise Valley, LLC has proposed an exploratory geothermal drilling project that they are currently pushing through the permitting process and claim that that the environmental effects of the exploration project can be reduced to less-than-significant levels through mitigation. Many residents disagree with that conclusion and remain concerned that important scientific, ecological, procedural, and public-interest questions have not been adequately addressed. Our concern is not with geothermal energy as a technology, but with whether Surprise Valley is an appropriate place for industrial geothermal development.

The public is being asked to evaluate a project whose stated purpose is to pave the way for a much larger decision, while many of the most consequential impacts are reserved for future review if exploration succeeds. Many residents of the valley believe that an official environmental review is needed.

We are seeking to raise money to hire the necessary legal council to fight for the future of our valley.