Rural Subdivisions for the UP?

In northern WI & the UP, real estate companies specializing in subdividing wilderness lands, have a horrible reputation. Most appear only interested in windfall profits from land division & development, not in protecting the environment or helping local economies.

Rural subdivisions may create initial growth in tax base, but as the infrastructure ages, it will always cost local towns more in services like road construction & maintenance, storm damage control, snow plowing, school bus routes, & policing. Many miles of roads will be required for accessing these now remote lands. With plans for 400 homes at Bond Falls, at least 100 miles of driveways & roads will be built, requiring millions of yards of fill.

PR Firm Guides Land Deals

Naterra & We Energies are listed as clients of AkinsCrisp Public Strategies - a slick public relations firm from Tennessee. According to its web site, AkinsCrisp assesses the political environment for its clients & identifies decision-makers & other key people influential in the targeted community. Messages are devised to pave the way to get fast results with county & township councils & zoning boards.

Naterra seems to play this game well. It comes in under the radar, making friends with local officials, & breezes through much of the bureaucratic process before the public gets wind of their plans.

Public Utilities

A public utility is a private business providing an essential commodity, such as electricity, to the public. It is subject to government regulation, because it has characteristics of a monopoly. For electric power, it is most efficient to have a single supplier for an area. Because no competition exists for goods & services, public utilities are subject to price regulation & distribution of its goods.

In addition to Public Utility Commission regulation, power companies running hydroelectric facilities, such as We Energies & UPPCO, are subject to regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC has jurisdiction over all hydroelectric projects in US waterways. It regulates management of water flow, endangered species, recreation, etc., which is influenced by activities allowed on the surrounding lands.

More Information

UPPCO: uppco.com

We Energies: we-energies.com

Naterra Land: naterraland.com

Akins Crisp: akinscrisp.com