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Planned Powerline Concerns Reindeer Herders

Reindeer herders have some concerns about a planned Statnett powerline from Balsfjord to Hammerfest.

Reindeer herders are concerned that the animals will avoid a planned 500-km powerline in northern Norway.

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Some reindeer herders are concerned that a planned Statnett powerline from Balsfjord to Hammerfest could interfere with herding in Finnmark. 

Reindeer might avoid the planned powerline from as far away as five kilometers, reducing the amount of area herders can use, said Anders Eira, a reindeer herder and a senior adviser in the Sami group Protect Sápmi, to the BarentsObserver. 

A 150-kilometer segment of the project is expected to be completed by 2018 but there is no definite timetable for the remaining 350 kilometers. 

Eira said the powerline will go through 30 herding districts and could affect as many as 300 herders. He said he is particularly concerned about reindeer seeing ultraviolet light from the powerline.

According to a 2011 study in the Journal of Experimental Biology, in order to adapt to the extreme seasonal light changes of the Arctic region, a reindeer’s eyes do not block out all ultraviolet rays. 

Another study from March in Conservation Biology noted that during darkness, reindeer perceive the ultraviolet light from powerlines as stretched out flickering lights. The study said while the reindeer do not perceive the powerlines as flickering during the light, they are conditioned during darkness to avoid them. 

“We really don’t know how the effect will be,” Eira said. “The only thing we know is it will be negative.” 

But Nigel Yoccoz, a biology professor at the University of Tromsø, said the impacts of powerlines on reindeer have been poorly documented and are still just speculation. 

He said the extent of the potential impact depends on the distance reindeer keep from powerlines. 

“Lack of evidence doesn’t mean there’s no effect,” he said. 

If the powerline did deter reindeer from a significant distance, both Yoccoz and Eira said it could hinder the animal’s growth. 

Yoccoz said if the reindeer use less land, they would then be in a higher density space which could restrict the growth of cubs because of limited food resources.

A smaller body mass could then lead to a lower survival rate during the winter for the reindeer and less money for herders.

The project has tried to identify the major reindeer breeding areas and had more than 100 meetings with herders, said Kirsten Faugstad, the powerline’s project director. 

She said one challenge with satisfying every herder is that the project is meeting with district leaders but not each individual herder. 

Eira and Faugstad both acknowledged that herders’ concerns vary by district. 

The area needs a new powerline because it currently has a 132-kilovolt line that is susceptible to outages, Faugstad said. “It’s not very robust,” she said. The new powerline will be 420 kilovolts.

The area also needs a new powerline because of growth from natural gas development in Snøvhit, the gas field outside of Hammerfest.