Following NPPD’s June 15 authorization for Forbes Bros. Timberline to begin construction activities from Gerald Gentleman Station to the Stapleton area, work has steadily progressed along this segment of the route. Crews have been actively working east and north from the station, and as of October 7, 72 foundations have been installed. In addition, the contractor is making access road improvements and lattice tower assembly is occurring within the material yards.

On Sept. 18, 2026, NPPD mailed a letter to R-Project landowners and/or their representatives along the line route updating them on construction activities. As explained in the June 2026 R-Project newsletter, on June 8, 2026, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) from relying on the incidental take permit for the American burying beetle issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act for the R-Project. Because the preliminary injunction does not prohibit construction of the R-Project, NPPD commenced construction activities outside the permit area, beginning at the Gerald Gentleman Station and working north towards Stapleton.

NPPD has now decided to extend the construction activities that it has been conducting outside the permit area into a 26-mile segment north of Stapleton. The activities will include surveying and staking, access road improvements, matting, fencing, and excavation and installation of structure foundations. The results of surveys that NPPD conducted for the American burying beetle this August demonstrate that the species is absent from this portion of the project area, which is consistent with the result of surveys conducted in prior years in this area. In addition, during the inactive period for the American burying beetle (generally late September to mid-May, depending on weather conditions) when the species buries itself below the surface, NPPD plans to assemble lattice tower structures on timber mats in assembly yards within the permit area. Once the structures are assembled, and prior to the beetle’s active period, the mats will be removed.

Neither the planned construction activities north of Stapleton nor the lattice tower assembly efforts will result in take of the American burying beetle. Therefore, NPPD does not need to rely on the incidental take permit to conduct those activities, and the activities are not affected by the preliminary injunction.

Now more than ever, the R-Project is critical to ensuring reliable power transmission in north central Nebraska. For 14 years, NPPD has worked to permit the R-Project with reasonable and appropriate environmental controls. While NPPD is disappointed in the court’s decision to enjoin reliance on a Fish and Wildlife Service permit for construction in American burying beetle habitat, the District remains committed and will continue to pursue the R Project to meet Nebraska’s electricity transmission needs, beginning with work in areas outside beetle habitat.