Beginning in 2003, WLC Engineering and Surveying was contracted by PacifiCorp, one of the country’s largest power providers, to renew power line right-of-way easements on the Crow Indian Reservation located in South Central Montana. This project posed a unique challenge as the reservation land is managed by The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal representatives. Therefore, WLC was required to obtain the necessary current ownership and permission of right of entry to perform the surveys. The surveys included were locating existing power lines, boundaries, allotments, and access to roads. WLC’s work on the Crow Reservation project is being used by PacifiCorp as the preferred template for all renewals of right-of-way easements on future reservation projects. The Tribal right-of-way project provided many terrain and weather challenges. WLC employed 4X4 pickups, ATVs, snow machines, and helicopters to combat the terrain and weather in order to ensure the project was executed as scheduled.
