THEDFORD, Neb. (AP) — A family ranch has sued Nebraska Public Power District in an effort to protect their ranchland in the state’s environmentally fragile Sandhills region.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Thomas County by Brush Creek Ranch LLC, which was started by Dan Welch and his wife, Barbara. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for damage done to the land when it was entered April 14 by a surveying team. The team is checking land for eventual construction of a transmission line.

The lawsuit says the Welches barred the surveyors on April 13. But the next day the Welches learned the surveyors had gone onto the land but couldn’t get out because they’d been locked inside the gates.

A utility spokesman didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.