Wabaunsee County Wind War Collection
1 COLLECTION SUMMARY
1.1 Introduction
This collection contains materials related to Roger Zimmerman et. al., and A.B. Hudson and Larry French v. Board of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County, Kansas (Zimmerman I). It was organized and donated to the Kansas Historical Society by Michael Stubbs, a Flint Hill conservation activist and founder of Mount Mitchel Heritage Prairie Park, Tallgrass Ranchers and Protect the Flint Hills. He was among the many advocates who campaigned against commercial wind farm development in the Flint Hills.
1.2 Abstract
As the United States entered the 21st century two movements collided in the plains of Eastern Kansas; renewable energy companies and a local conservancy movement laid claim over the Flint Hills, just under 10,000 square miles of intact tallgrass prairie stretching from Kansas down to the north of Oklahoma. Local agitation against the development of commercial wind farms resulted in the Tallgrass Heartland wind moratorium introduced by then Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in late 2004. This moratorium came on the heels of a county level ban of commercial wind farms in Wabaunsee County. Local landholders and two ‘Intervenors’, with contracts from commercial wind farm companies, then sued the county. That suit, Zimmerman I, was appealed up to the Kansas Supreme Court, which heard the case in 2009.
1.3 Dates
2002-2010
1.4 Quantity
14 cubic ft.
1.5 Creator
Michael Stubbs
1.6 Title
Wabaunsee County Wind War collection, 2002-2010
1.7 UID and/or Call #
532397
1.8 Language
English
1.9 Notes
This finding aid describes materials held by the Kansas State Historical Society. Materials may be used in the Research Room during regular research hours. Support for telephone, mail, email, and online research and reference is available through email: KSHS.reference@ks.gov, phone: 785-272-8681, ext. 117, or on-site: Tuesday-Friday 9:00-4:00 and Saturdays 9:00-12:00.
1.10 Repository
Kansas Historical Society
2 BIOGRAPHY OR HISTORY
In October of 2002 the Board of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County was contacted by a company interested in building a commercial wind farm. Up to that point there were no specific zoning regulations related to commercial wind farms. Article 2 of the county’s zoning regulations states,
"The purpose of this [Agricultural] District is to provide for a full range of agricultural activities on land used for agricultural purposes, . . . and at the same time offer protection to land used for agricultural purposes from the depreciating effect of objectional, hazardous, incompatible and unsightly uses. The District is also intended to protect watersheds and water supplies; to protect forest and scenic areas; to conserve fish and wildlife habitat . . . ."
Thus, citing the above text, it was decided, by the Board, that its Commissioners had discretionary powers to choose whether to issue a special use permit to the developers.
After this initial contact in November of 2002 the board enacted its first 120-day moratorium on the acceptance of applications for any such special use permits for the development of wind farms. This moratorium would be reenacted five times, with the final moratorium ending in June of 2004. Alongside the announcement of the moratorium the Board explained that it would use this time to conduct a review of its regulations and the potential impacts of commercial wind farm development in the county.
The entry point for local activists came the following month, in December of 2002, when the Board held its first public meeting on changing zoning regulations related to commercial wind projects. It would be the first of 54. Over the course of the next year and a half groups like The Nature Conservancy, Audubon of Kansas, Kansas Wildlife Federation, Tallgrass Ranchers, Protect the Flint Hills and other local stakeholders organized to draw media attention to their cause as well as campaign to influence the Board Commissioners.
The reasons and arguments in opposition to commercial wind farms varied some from group to group. Michael Stubbs described these reasons thus, “quality of life, property values, aesthetics, infrastructure, economic (agrotourism etc.) and recreation (hunting, bird watching, hiking, horseback riding).”
In April and June of 2003, as the County was preparing for its review, 10 Wabaunsee landowners entered into an agreement with J.W. Prairie Wind Power L.L.C. for the purpose of developing Commercial Wind Energy Conversion System (CWECS) on their properties. These included Roger and Angelina Zimmerman, Harris and Virginia Zimmerman, Bill and Linda Unruh, Robert and Janet Goss, and Kenneth and Colleen Anderson. Later, in March of 2004 two ‘Intervenors’, A.B. Hudson and Larry French, entered into an agreement with Workingman’s Friend Oil, Inc. giving them rights to develop wind farms in the Flint Hills. The last landowners, Glen Eberle and Wilson Valley, L.L.C., entered into the same agreement as the 10 landowners mentioned above with J.W. Prairie Wind Power L.L.C. for the development of CWECS on their property in March of 2004. These 14 landowners and ‘Intervenors’ were to be the plaintiffs in Roger Zimmerman et. al., and A.B. Hudson and Larry French v. Board of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County, Kansas.
On July 12nd, 2004 the Board’s decision was formally established in Resolution No. 04-18:
“The basis of the amendments to the Zoning Regulation is that Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems would not be in the best interests of the general welfare of the County as a whole. They do not conform to the intent and purpose of the Zoning Regulations. In light of the historical, existing and anticipated land uses in the County, they would adversely affect the County as a whole. They would be incompatible with the rural, agricultural, and scenic character of the County. They would not conform to the Wabaunsee County Comprehensive Plan, including the goals and objectives that were identified by the citizens of the County and incorporated as part of the Plan. They would be detrimental to property values and opportunities for agricultural and nature based tourism. Each reason stands on its own. This motion is based upon what has been presented at public hearings, public meetings, letters and documents that have been produced, as well as experience and personal knowledge of the issues involved.”
While the Board’s decision prohibited the development of CWECS in Waubansee County no such prohibition extended to residential wind farm development for county landowners. Also, following the County’s decision in December of 2004 then Governor Kathleen Sebelius (2003-2009) declared a moratorium on wind development throughout the Flint Hills including the counties of: Butler, Chase, Coffey, Cowley, Geary, Greenwood, Lyon, Marion, Morris, Pottawatomie, Riley, and Wabaunsee. This moratorium was subsequently reaffirmed by Governor Sam Brownback (2011-2018) and Governor Laura Kelly (2019-Present).
After the decision by the Board the Plaintiffs mentioned above sued the county claiming: (1) State Preemption, (2) Failure to Follow Proper Procedure, (3) Unconstitutional Taking, (4) Violation of the Contract Clause of the US Constitution, (5) Violation of the Contract Clause of the US Constitution, (6) Federal Preemption, (7) 42 U.S.C 1983, Deprivation of Rights.
On February 23 and July 22, 2005, in two decisions, District Court Judge Klinginsmith dismissed five of the Plaintiff’s claims, reserving judgement on claims (3), Unconstitutional Taking and (7), Deprivation of Rights. These claims were not resolved until February 28, 2007, when Judge Klinginsmith’s replacement, Judge Ireland dismissed claims (3) and (7) after the Board had provided all the facts they relied upon to make their decision. Judge Ireland stated, “[The] County has taken into account the benefit or harm involved to the community at large and has exercised a decision on that basis which is not so wide of the mark that its unreasonableness is outside the realm of fair debate.” He held that the Board’s actions were reasonable.
Upon appeal in 2009 the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the County, reaffirming most of Judge Irelands findings.
3 SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The collection is organized by material type with a folder level description. There are four series that stand out based on the material type organization: AV, Publications, Legal Documents, and Research Files.
Research Files have these material types as well: clippings, correspondence, notes, reports, guides, pamphlets, meeting minutes, and conference presentation slides. These materials correlate with each other in multiple subtopics. The subtopic of law, with court cases and testimonials, is large enough to warrant its own series. The single subtopic of law makes up about a third of the collection. A folder level description in the “Contents List” helps to provide exact information on the material type or subtopics found in both the Research Files and Legal Documents series.
AV and Publications do not have a folder level organization. They take up one cubic foot box and are described under the “Contents List.”
4 CONTENTS LIST
Box 1:
Series 1: AV, 1996-2010
Series 2: Publications, 1998-2009
Series 3: Legal Documents, 2003-2006
Location 145-01-01-01
Box 2:
Series 3: Legal Documents, 1999-2008
Location 145-01-01-02
Box 3:
Series 3: Legal Documents, 2008
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 1980; 2001-2005
Location 145-01-01-03
Box 4:
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 2000-2008
Location 145-01-01-04
Box 5:
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 2002-2005
Location 145-01-01-05
Box 6:
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 2002-2006
Location 145-01-01-06
Box 7:
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 2000-2008
Location 145-01-01-07
Box 8:
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 2005-2009
Location 145-01-01-08
Box 9:
Series 4: Research Files (labeled), 2002-2008
Series 4: Research Files (binders), 1997-1998; 2004-2005
Location: 145-01-01-09
Box 10:
Series 4: Research Files (binders), 1994-1995; 2001-2005; 2007
Location: 145-01-01-10
Box 11:
Series 4: Research Files (binders), 2003-2005
Location: 145-01-01-11
Box 12
Series 4: Research Files, 1997; 2002-2008
Location: 145-01-01-12
Box 13
Series 4: Research Files (clippings), 2003-2007
Location: 145-01-01-13
Box 14
Series 4: Research Files (clippings), 2003-2006
Location: 145-01-01-14
5 RELATED MATERIALS
- Ill blows the wind / Marcene Grimes Call no. K 813 G882
- The green footprint / by Madeline Bodin ; photographs by Jim Richardson Call no. 333.72 N219 v.59 no.3 p.44
- Board and Task Force files UID 222517
6 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nuss, Justice Lawton. Zimmerman v. Bd. of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County (Supreme Court of the State of Kansas October 30, 2009).
Adamson, Erin. “Controversy in the Air.” Topeka Capital Journal, July 23, 2003.
Aber, James S., and Susan W. Aber. “Twenty-First Century Wind-Energy Development in Kansas.” Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (1903-) 115, no. 1/2 (2012): 1–4. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23264069.
Austin, Jonathan. “Prairie Winds: A Look at Commercial Wind Farm Regulation within Kansas. Zimmerman v. Board of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County.” Journal of Environmental and Sustainability Law 18, no. 1 (2010). https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1389&context=jesl.
Motter, Sarah. “Gov. Kelly Reaffirms Tallgrass Heartland Wind Moratorium.” https://www.wibw.com. WIBW, July 28, 2020. https://www.wibw.com/2020/07/28/gov-kelly-reaffirms-tallgrass-heartland-wind-moratorium/.
Streator, Scott. “Wind Industry Faces ‘Prairie Rebellion’ in Kansas County - NYTimes.com.” Nytimes.com, 2009. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/11/05/05greenwire-wind-industry-faces-prairie-rebellion-in-kansa-34024.html.
7 INDEX TERMS/SUBJECT HEADINGS/ACCESS POINTS
- Wind farms
- Wind turbines
- Wind energy
- Windmills
- Wind power industry
- Wabaunsee County Wind Wars
- Wabaunsee County (Kan.) – History
- Wabaunsee County (Kan.) -- Politics and government – 21st century
- Power resources -- Kansas
- Renewable natural resources -- Kansas
- Renewable energy sources -- Kansas
- Kansas -- Wind power
- Renewable energy sources -- Law and legislation -- Kansas
8 ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
9.1 Restrictions on access
No restrictions on access.
9.2 Restrictions on use
Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The user is cautioned that the publication of the contents of this collection may be construed as constituting a violation of literary property rights. These rights derive from the principle of common law, affirmed in the copyright law of 1976 as amended, that the writer and/or producer of an unpublished letter, other manuscript or audio-visuals has the sole right to publish the contents thereof unless he or she affirmatively parts with that right; the right descends to his or her legal heirs regardless of the ownership of the physical manuscript itself. It is the responsibility of a user or his or her publisher to secure the permission of the owner of literary property rights in unpublished writing.
9.3 Custodial History/ Provenance
Michael Stubbs, founder of Tallgrass Ranchers and Protect the Flint Hills as well as an advisory board member for the Symphony in the Flint Hills, was owner of the collection. He created a collection on the topic of wind turbines in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, specifically the period in the 2000s where the county encountered legal battles with advocation for and against wind farms. He was an advocate against wind farms and amassed this collection of material that encompassed multiple perspectives, arguments, and challenges during that time to help him lobby.
9.4 Alternate forms
There are no alternate forms.
9.5 Preferred citation
Note: [document and/or series description, date], Wabaunsee County Wind War collection, Kansas State Historical Society.
Bibliography: Wabaunsee County Wind War collection, Kansas State Historical Society.
9.6 Acquisition information (Accession #)
#2025-203
9.7 Processing information (Processor name)
Olivia Irwin
