LAUREN GALLUP: A proposed wind project on Washington’s Palouse has raised various concerns. But now, it’s drawing support from some Nez  Perce tribal members. NWPB’s senior environmental correspondent Courtney Flatt has the story.

COURTNEY FLATT: The Harvest Hills Wind project would add 45 wind turbines to private agricultural land in Whitman County. But people raised enough concern about landscape views and wildlife that the county adopted strict rules for commercial wind projects.

Now, developers are going through a state process that overrides county rules. And Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment has stepped in to show its support. Julian Matthews heads up the environmental non-profit, run by Nez Perce tribal members. The project would be built on the Nez Perce’s ancestral lands.

JULIAN MATTHEWS: “We have to have alternative energy sources, whether it's wind or solar.”

FLATT: Matthews says his group doesn’t automatically support all wind projects. But he says responsibly sited projects are needed to help slow climate change – and to reduce dependence on hydropower.

I’m Courtney Flatt.