Pronghorn Resort’s utilities will be delivered by wires stretched between 43-foot-tall wooden power poles on Bureau of Land Management land, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Robert Towne, field manager for the Prineville District of the BLM, signed a final decision to allow the luxury golf course resort to use above ground lines to supply the resort with power.

Originally, the resort planned to bury utilities in a trench on BLM land.

Resort developers have a right of way access to bring power from Highway 97 to the resort. Pronghorn is located about five miles southwest of the junction of highways 97 and 126. Once the utilities come within 300 feet of the resort, developers plan to bury utility lines. By building above ground utility poles, the resort stands to save about a million dollars, power executives calculated.

Although exact figures are not available, power executives said, on average, it costs $270,000 per mile to build an above ground power line. By contrast, it costs about $400,000 per mile to bury a line, they said.

Unless someone files an appeal with the BLM, Towne’s decision ends a debate over how Pronghorn would deliver electricity, phone and cable service to the development.

In October, the BLM released an analysis that concluded burying the utility lines would cause more environmental damage than stringing them above ground.

Thirty-seven people commented on the October analysis, 19 of whom said the agency should not allow developers to depart from their original plan regarding the utilities.

Among the complaints were that BLM would set a bad precedent if officials allowed developers to stray from the original agreement; that the agency was showing a bias toward developers by allowing them to change plans; and that the poles will impede views.

Towne defended the decision, saying that building the towers above ground will not require deep trenching through bedrock, as the original plan would have. That means there will be less ground disturbance, he said.

”When you look at the amount of ground disturbed and the minimal visual impact, this is a decision that is easy to justify,” Towne said.

The utility corridor will run from Highway 97 to the resort. Officials plan to place a utility pole every 300 feet, using an estimated 49 poles. The utility companies would also use some existing poles located near Highway 97.

The request from the developer to change the utility line placement came in May, about 14 months after the BLM signed a decision giving the resort – located on private land surrounded by public land – rights of way for power, water and roads.

Developer Scott Denney, a partner of High Desert Development Company of Bend, which is developing Pronghorn, said he was pleased with the decision.

”We have always thought overhead lines were more environmentally sensitive,” he said. ”This is great, and we hope to have the lights on by mid-March.”

Rachel Odell can be reached at 541-617-7811 or rodell@bendbulletin.com