Historic Sites and the proposed BECI Transmission Lines through Jefferson County
Note from LMAHS President, Robin Untz:
Much of my focus has been on the proposed 765kV transmission lines in our area for the past few weeks like so many other property owners in Jefferson County. Part of being an advocate for preservation even as a volunteer is using our voices when it matters and this projects negative impact on Jefferson County as a whole is staggering. I shared the following impact statement to BECI/MGS. Keep using your voices for yourselves, your neighbors, and your community even as this project process continues to unfold over the next year. The images provided are only a few of the Native American Mound sites impacted by the proposed routes. There are thousands of other historic sites throughout Jefferson County impacted by this project.
To learn more about Jefferson County Historic Sites, visit Jefferson County's Website. We are in the process of identifying all of the sites on an interactive map and historical data will be added in the future. Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council
September 3, 2026
RE: Opposition to the Proposed BECI 765-kV Transmission Line Project and Its Potential Impact on Jefferson County’s Historic and Cultural Resources
To Whom It May Concern:
I am submitting my comments as a resident of Jefferson County a property owner affected by one or more of the proposed BECI 765 kV routes and as the current President of the Lake Mills Aztalan Historical Society (LMAHS) as well as the Chair of the Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council to express my personal opposition to the proposed Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–Illinois/Wisconsin State Line (BECI) 765-kV Transmission Project and, specifically, my profound concerns regarding the potential routing of this project through the historic and culturally significant landscapes of Jefferson County.
While my service as Chair of the Historic Sites Preservation Council and role with LMAHS has greatly informed my understanding of Jefferson County’s historic resources and the importance of their preservation, I am submitting these comments in my individual capacity. This letter should not be interpreted as an official position, resolution, or action of the Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council or Jefferson County or that of LMAHS.
Through my work with the Council and LMAHS, I have had the opportunity to better understand both the richness of Jefferson County’s history and the responsibility we have to protect the physical places that tell that history. Jefferson County has formally recognized that the protection, enhancement, perpetuation, and use of places of special historic interest or value are matters of public interest. That commitment includes safeguarding our historic and cultural heritage and promoting an understanding of these resources for the education, enjoyment, and general welfare of the people of Jefferson County.
It is from that perspective that I find the scale and potential impacts of the proposed BECI project troubling.
Jefferson County possesses a remarkable historic landscape shaped by thousands of years of human occupation. Throughout the county are archaeological and Native American resources, early transportation corridors, pioneer settlements and farmsteads, historic communities, cemeteries, churches, schools, agricultural landscapes, and structures associated with generations of families who created the communities we know today.
Historic preservation is about much more than preventing the demolition of an individual historic building.
A historic property often derives much of its significance from its setting, landscape, viewshed, and relationship to the surrounding community. A historic farmstead surrounded by agricultural fields, a rural cemetery overlooking an open landscape, a historic roadway retaining its rural character, or an archaeological and cultural landscape cannot be adequately evaluated simply by determining whether a transmission structure physically touches the resource.
Large-scale transmission infrastructure and the associated rights-of-way would introduce substantial and permanent changes to portions of Jefferson County’s rural landscape. In my view, the visual and physical effects of infrastructure of this scale must be considered when evaluating impacts to historic resources.
Once these historic landscapes and settings are compromised, they cannot simply be recreated somewhere else.
I am particularly concerned about historically significant resources that have never received formal designation. The absence of a listing on a local, State, or National Register does not mean that a property, landscape, archaeological resource, cemetery, or other site lacks historical importance.
Indeed, one of the challenges of historic preservation is that we often do not fully recognize the significance of a place until it is threatened with alteration or loss.
For that reason, I believe any assessment of the BECI project that considers only previously designated historic properties would provide an incomplete picture of Jefferson County’s historic and cultural resources.
Before any route through Jefferson County is advanced, I strongly urge that a comprehensive cultural and historic resource assessment be undertaken by Midcontenient Grid Solutions and submitted with any and all applications to the Public Service Commission and published for review of the public. Such an assessment should consider not only formally designated historic properties, but also archaeological resources, historic farmsteads, cemeteries, historic transportation corridors, cultural landscapes, traditional community landmarks, and resources identified through consultation with local historians, historical organizations, Tribal representatives, municipalities, and property owners.
The cumulative effect on Jefferson County’s historic landscape must also be considered.
Looking at historic sites individually can fail to recognize that much of Jefferson County’s historic character comes from the relationship between its communities, farms, roads, waterways, archaeological resources, historic buildings, cemeteries, and open countryside. Collectively, these places create a cultural landscape that tells the story of how Jefferson County developed.
For generations, individuals, families, historical organizations, municipalities, and Jefferson County itself have invested considerable time, volunteer effort, public resources, and private resources in identifying, documenting, preserving, and sharing this heritage.
Those efforts are not simply about preserving the past for its own sake. Historic resources contribute to community identity, education, heritage tourism, economic activity, and quality of life. They provide tangible connections between present-day residents and the generations who came before us.
Infrastructure decisions made today should not unnecessarily erase or diminish resources that have survived for generations.
I recognize the importance of reliable electrical infrastructure and the need to plan responsibly for Wisconsin’s future energy requirements. However, energy infrastructure and historic preservation should not be treated as mutually exclusive goals.
Responsible planning requires historic, archaeological, cultural, and scenic resources to be identified before routes are selected, while there is still a meaningful opportunity to avoid them.
I therefore respectfully request that Midcontinent Grid Solutions and the local, state, and federal agencies involved in reviewing this project give serious consideration to the following:
Give the highest possible priority to avoiding Jefferson County’s identified historic, archaeological, and culturally significant resources and landscapes.
Conduct a comprehensive historic and archaeological resource review before narrowing or selecting routes through Jefferson County.
Evaluate impacts to historic settings, cultural landscapes, and viewsheds in addition to direct physical impacts to historic structures.
Consult with the Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council, local historical societies, municipalities, Tribal historic preservation representatives, historians, property owners, and other organizations and individuals knowledgeable about Jefferson County history.
Recognize that historically significant properties and landscapes may warrant consideration and protection regardless of whether they have previously been formally designated or listed on the State or National Register of Historic Places.
Fully evaluate alternatives that utilize existing utility and infrastructure corridors and minimize the creation of new disturbances through intact historic and rural landscapes.
Remove from consideration routes where significant and irreversible impacts to historic, archaeological, or cultural resources cannot reasonably be avoided or adequately mitigated.
The decisions surrounding the BECI project will have consequences extending far beyond its construction period. Infrastructure of this magnitude has the potential to alter Jefferson County’s landscape for generations.
Our historic resources belong not only to those of us living here today. We are temporary stewards of places that existed before us and, if we make thoughtful decisions, will remain for those who come after us.
My service with LMAHS and on the Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council has reinforced for me how easily historic resources can be overlooked and how difficult—often impossible—it is to recover them once they have been lost or their historic setting has been permanently altered.
For these reasons, I personally oppose routing the BECI 765-kV Transmission Project through areas of Jefferson County where it would adversely affect significant historic sites, archaeological resources, cultural landscapes, historic viewsheds, or the rural historic character of our communities.
I strongly urge those responsible for planning and reviewing this project to treat the preservation of Jefferson County’s historic and cultural resources as a fundamental consideration when evaluating potential routes and alternatives.
Jefferson County’s history cannot be relocated, reconstructed, or replaced once it is lost.
Thank you for considering these concerns and for recognizing the importance of protecting Jefferson County’s historic and cultural heritage as decisions regarding the BECI project move forward.
Respectfully,
Robin Untz
Chair, Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council
President, Lake Mills Aztalan Historical Society
Writing in an individual capacity; the views expressed herein are my own and do not represent an official position of the Jefferson County Historic Sites Preservation Council or Jefferson County or that of the Lake Mills Aztalan Historical Society.
