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Dear Editor;
Thinking of signing a wind lease with Pattern Energy for the Uplands Wind project? As a landowner in western Wisconsin, who has experienced what happens when a wind developer comes to town, I implore you to think twice.
In the early days of opposition, one of my neighbors, a life-long farmer, wrote a letter to the editor for our hometown newspaper. He quoted Matthew 16:26, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Ultimately it will be those that sign wind leases who will be held accountable. For the sake of your neighbors, your community, and yourself decide wisely.
Consider that the effects of a wind turbine don't stop at a property line; the wind developer gets your nonparticipating neighbor's land, too, as part of the project footprint. There will be opposition, and your township will be divided. Be prepared for family members to go silent, cousins to shun one another, decades-old friendships to fracture, church members who avoid looking one another in the eye, and your neighbors' despair that you sold them out along with your decision.
Brenda Salseg
Emerald, WI