A Wisconsin federal judge has sided with the government and utilities, rejecting all claims in the Wis Wildlife Refuge lawsuit that challenged approval of a land exchange allowing a massive power line to carve through federally protected land. Conservationists had argued the deal violated cornerstone environmental protections, but U.S. District Judge William M. Conley ruled otherwise Wednesday.
The ruling extinguishes a high-profile attempt to stop the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line, a 101-mile project already humming with power since September 2024.
The Clash Over the Refuge
The plaintiffs—National Wildlife Refuge Association, Driftless Area Land Conservancy, and Wisconsin Wildlife Federation—launched the case in March 2024, targeting the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. They claimed that federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Rural Utilities Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, broke multiple laws by approving a land swap deal with ITC Midwest LLC and Dairyland Power Cooperative.
Their argument: the exchange flouted the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act (NWRSIA), the Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
But Judge Conley rejected that theory. While acknowledging the project’s completion did not moot the case, he held that the land exchange did not require the strict “compatibility” analysis that plaintiffs insisted upon. Instead, he ruled the law only demanded that exchanged land be “suitable” and provide a net benefit to the refuge.