Public Lands in Public Hands: What a Proposed Data Center Means for an Idaho Landscape We All Share

For generations, Idaho’s public lands have been part of what makes this state special. They are places where we hunt, fish, hike, camp, recreate, and simply get outside. They are also the same place that our wildlife call home. Keeping those lands in public hands means taking a thoughtful look at how they are used, what they provide today, and what we want them to provide for Idahoans tomorrow.

That conversation is becoming increasingly important as a proposed data center near Boise seeks to put a new kind of development on Idaho’s public lands. That makes it very personal for all of us who call Idaho home. There are still far more questions than answers about what the project could mean for the surrounding landscape, wildlife, water, recreation, and public access.

Rhea Data, a subsidiary of Nevada-based Arevia Power, has submitted an application to build a roughly 4 million square foot data center complex on BLM-managed public lands in south Ada County near Blacks Creek Reservoir, an area that already provides recreational, fishery, and wildlife values close to the Treasure Valley. The proposal covers roughly 3,700 acres. Initial plans also include a natural gas power plant and additional electrical infrastructure, including a transmission corridor extending into Elmore County. 

The BLM’s Four Rivers Field Office received the application in 2025 and is currently gathering information before releasing a Notice of Intent, which will begin the formal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and open the door for public involvement. BLM officials have said there will be opportunities for public comment and meetings as the project moves forward.

For IWF, this is an important conversation because public lands are more than acreage on a map to be disposed of. They provide habitat for wildlife, places to hunt and fish, opportunities for recreation, and access to the outdoors for Idahoans. When major infrastructure is proposed on those lands, we need to take a critical look at the footprint and the larger impacts that come with them.

BLM officials have identified big-game habitat and bird migration routes in the broader area, including pronghorn and bird migration through the proposed area. The nearby Black’s Creek Public Shooting Range is also an important recreational resource, serving thousands of hunters and sport shooters each year. Wildlife does not recognize boundaries, and the effects of development extend beyond the acres occupied by a building. Roads, fencing, transmission infrastructure, changes in water, noise, lighting, and increased human activity all affect how wildlife move across a landscape and how people use public lands.

Public Lands Require a Public Process. Let’s keep it that way. 

The BLM manages nearly 12 million acres in Idaho under a multiple-use mission. That means public lands can support a variety of uses, including recreation, grazing, energy development, and wildlife habitat. The challenge is making sure that one use does not undermine the other values Idahoans depend on these lands to provide.

A 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to accelerate permitting and environmental reviews for qualifying data center projects and encouraged the use of federal lands for data center infrastructure. No matter the priority level, it is important to evaluate how a project fits within the existing local landscape, how it affects wildlife and recreation, or whether the proposed location is appropriate for the infrastructure being considered. The good news is that this proposal is not a final decision, and it is not a BLM project. It is, however, an application that the agency is required to evaluate. The environmental review process will provide an opportunity to better understand the project's potential impacts and for Idahoans who hunt, fish, recreate, graze, and otherwise use these public lands to weigh in.

For Idaho’s sportsmen and women, it’s important to pay attention to this. Public lands are a shared resource, and decisions about their future should be informed by good science, a clear understanding of impacts, and public participation. As more information becomes available, IWF will continue following the proposal and sharing updates about what it could mean for Idaho’s wildlife, habitat, recreation, and public access.