Community Partner · Lakefront & Geothermal Claim
The Shoreline Band of Lake Noeta
Holders of the Lake Noeta lakefront and a contested but credible claim on the geothermal resource the region now wants. The most leverage in the valley, held by the community with the least margin for a bad deal.
Who We Are
This Time Is Different — Because We Will Make It Different
The Shoreline Band is tied to the lakefront of Lake Noeta and holds territorial claims over the geothermal water rights the microalgae and biofuel prospects need. That makes the Band the single most pivotal party to the region’s future — and, historically, the most economically pressured. Both things are true at once, and the Band treats that not as a contradiction but as leverage.
The Band’s newly formed Resource & Futures Committee was built to meet this moment on its own terms. It has seen extraction booms arrive promising prosperity and leave pollution and poverty behind. It is not anti-development. It is anti-being-used.
The Band wants binding remediation of the reservoir, real ownership in what is built, and protection against another boom-and-bust cycle. It trusts no projection it did not help build.
At a Glance
| Leadership | Veronica Yepa, Resource & Futures Committee |
| Core authority | Lakefront + geothermal claim |
| Stakes | Highest leverage, least margin |
| Non-negotiable | Binding remediation; ownership |
Leadership
Resource & Futures Committee
Veronica Yepa
Lead · Shoreline Band Resource & Futures Committee
Yepa leads the Band’s newly formed Resource & Futures Committee, which holds the contested geothermal claim and the Lake Noeta lakefront the extraction needs. Younger, fierce, and organized, she has seen extraction booms promise prosperity and leave pollution behind. She is not anti-development; she is anti-being-used. She wants binding remediation of the reservoir, real ownership stakes, and protection against another boom-and-bust, and she trusts no projection she did not help build.
“Everyone discovers us right when they need something under our feet. Then they’re gone. Not this time.”
Current Priorities
What the Band Is Working Toward
Fix It First
Binding Remediation
Remediation of the reservoir is a written, enforceable condition of any project — not a benefit deferred until after the returns are collected.
A Real Stake
Ownership, Not Royalties
The Band seeks genuine ownership in what is built on its claim, so the value of the resource stays with the community that holds it.
No Repeat
Protection From Boom-Bust
Agreements must hold when the boom ends — guarding against the cycle of extraction, departure, and abandonment the Band has seen before.
The Band on FlyForward
The Lake Noeta prospect that helps fund the region’s transition sits on the Band’s claim. The Band will engage — on the condition that remediation is binding, ownership is real, and no timeline is allowed to rush a decision its people will live with for generations. It is right about the human cost of moving fast, and right about the remediation others would prefer to defer.
— Resource & Futures Committee, Shoreline Band of Lake Noeta