WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has ended the historic preservation consultation process on a controversial wind energy proposal off Cape Cod after the developer failed to convince the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag nations to abandon its opposition to the project, which would be built in an area they consider sacred.

The nations declined a $1 million incentive from Cape Wind to give up their opposition.

Salazar, who had set a March 1 deadline for the tribes to reach an agreement on the proposal, announced in a media release that he has notified the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation “that the parties to the consultations have not been able to reach agreement on mitigation actions for the proposed wind turbine farm in federal waters off Nantucket Sound.”

Nantucket Sound is a sacred area to the Wampanoag nations – the People of the First Light. The wind energy plant would obscure their view of the rising sun in ceremony, and the Sound, which was once dry land, is where the ancestors lived and were buried, the nations say.

Massachusetts’ Office of the State Historical Preservation Officer determined that the proposed Cape Wind site is a traditional cultural property and in early January, the National Park Service said Nantucket Sound is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a significant traditional, cultural, historic and archaeological property. A designation on the National Register would place Nantucket Sound under a number of federal laws providing protection and preservation of historical and sacred sites.

Cape Wind proposes to build a commercial wind power facility on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound, which lies between Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The plant would include 130 wind turbines rising some 440 feet above the ocean surface across a 25 square mile area in federal – public – waters in the Outer Continental Shelf.

The wind energy plant would generate a projected maximum electric output of 468 megawatts and serve communities in the Nantucket Sound area.

“The time has come to bring the reviews and analysis of the Cape Wind Project to a conclusion,” Salazar said. “It is clear to me that the consulting parties are not able to bridge their divides and reach agreement on actions to minimize and mitigate the Cape Wind Project’s effects on historic and cultural resources. I am asking the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for their comments and I will then make a final decision on the proposal. The parties, the public, and the permit applicants deserve resolution and certainty.”

The notification begins the clock ticking on a 45-day public comment period that will put the proposal on track for Salazar’s targeted mid-April decision.

Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Cedric Cromwell said his nation anticipates the rest of the review process.

“We look forward to the historic preservation review process mandated by Section 106 (of the National Historic Preservation Act). We are confident that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will agree with the National Park Service and Massachusetts Historic Preservation Officer that Nantucket Sound is worthy of protection as a place with great historical, cultural and spiritual importance to the Mashpee Wampanoag people.”

In the week before the consultation period ended, Cape Wind offered the nations each $1 million – $50,000 a year for 20 years, according to Cape Cod Online.

Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers told the online news site that a “financial mitigation” offer was made to the tribes but he would not confirm the amount of money.

“Cape Wind proceeded as constructively as possible with other parties in the spirit of working together and we’ll find out on Monday (March 1) from the secretary’s office what, if anything, they were able to arrange,” Rodgers told the news site.

The offer was rejected by both nations.

“Nantucket Sound is a place of great cultural, historical and religious significance for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. As such, we have raised concerns about the impact of Cape Wind for many years. A financial offer was made to our tribe and it was rejected. This issue has never been about money for us,” Cromwell said.

Aquinnah Wampanoag Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais expressed the same sentiment.

“For me personally, there is no amount of money that would justify selling out our people and our right to practice our traditions and ceremony; now and/or into the future.”

From a purely business point of view, the offer was “very poor” and “a token,” Andrews-Maltais said.

“Most folks I know wouldn’t even consider taking a million dollar settlement over 20 years at $50,000 a year.”

Bettina Washington, the Aquinnah Wampanoag’s tribal historic preservation officer, said the tribe had no room for compromise with Cape Wind. The company had declined the nation’s request to relocate the wind plant further out where it would not impact the view shed, but that suggestion was rebuffed.

“We don’t have an alternative option, the Nantucket Shoal is a one-of-a-kind traditional cultural property; on the other hand, the proponent is choosing not to move the project when there are other viable locations for an industrial park wind farm.”

Washington said the nation intends to participate in Advisory Council of Historic Preservation review.

In February, Jeff Madison, a former member of the Aquinnah’s tribal council, wrote to Salazar, calling the claim that the wind energy installation would harm the tribe’s cultural tradition a “fabrication” invented by opponents of the project. He included a petition signed by a few tribal members.

Madison is an attorney with the firm Wynn and Wynne that Cape Wind hired recently to advise the company on Indian affairs.

“It is truly unfortunate when a few of your own people decide to go outside their community, and challenge those who have cultural knowledge rather than go to the cultural representatives who have standing and who have been designated to speak to these issues,” Andrews-Maltais said.

Not all tribal members have the same level of traditional and cultural knowledge, she said.

“This is no different than any other culture or religion. There are some who are serious about it and committed to it and some that are not.”