Feinstein announces Monument legislation
magicgroove
for the "Mojave Trails National Monument", as well as the Sand to Snow
N.M. So now we'll have a better idea what we're dealing with.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mojave21-2009dec21,0,7093884.story
Feinstein to introduce legislation to establish 2 national monuments
in Mojave Desert
The protected areas would encompass 1 million acres containing
wildlife, extinct volcanoes, sand dunes and ancient petroglyphs. The
senator says the bill could be enacted in late 2010.
By Louis Sahagun
December 21, 2009
Reporting from Barstow
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she plans to introduce
legislation today to establish two national monuments on roughly 1
million acres of Mojave Desert outback that is home to bighorn sheep
and desert tortoises, extinct volcanoes, sand dunes and ancient
petroglyphs.
Its centerpiece, Mojave Trails National Monument, would prohibit
development on 941,000 acres of federal land and former railroad
company property along a 105-mile stretch of old Route 66, between
Ludlow and Needles.
The smaller Sand to Snow National Monument, about 45 miles east of
Riverside, would cover about 134,000 acres of federal land between
Joshua Tree National Park and the San Bernardino National Forest in
San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Its diverse habitats range from
desert scrub to yellow pine forests 9,000 feet above sea level.
The legislation, which had been delayed by efforts to resolve
conflicts among environmentalists, off-roaders and renewable energy
interests, would also designate 250,000 acres of public land near the
Army's training center at Ft. Irwin as wilderness; add 41,000 acres to
the southern boundary of Death Valley National Park and add 2,900
acres to northern portions of Joshua Tree National Park.
In addition, it would designate as permanent five existing off-highway
vehicle areas in San Bernardino County covering 314,000 acres.
Feinstein, author of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, vowed
to make the legislation a priority. "In the best-case scenario, this
legislation could be approved by late 2010," she said in an interview.
"This magnificent land and its lonely beauty are a significant part of
our history, and we shouldn't give it up," Feinstein said, adding that
private donors helped acquire the former railroad parcels "with the
belief they would be protected from development. We have an obligation
to keep them that way."
The railroad land was purchased between 1999 and 2003 with $45 million
in private donations collected by the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy
and $18 million in federal funds, then donated to the Department of
the Interior.
The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing 130 applications for solar
and wind-energy development in the California desert, covering more
than 1 million acres of public land.
At least 19 renewable-energy projects have been suggested within the
boundaries of the proposed Mojave Trails monument, according to
Feinstein, who has discussed her concerns with Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar.
Feinstein's legislation would assist companies with projects currently
proposed inside monument boundaries in relocating to federal energy
zones being developed elsewhere. It would also permit construction of
transmission lines within existing utility rights of way to facilitate
the transfer of renewable energy generated in the Southern California
desert and adjacent states.
Some congressional Republicans accused Feinstein of engaging in a not-
in-my-back-yard campaign when her plans for legislation restricting
renewable energy projects in California deserts surfaced earlier this
year.
The senator countered that she "strongly" supports such projects, but
only if they are built on "suitable" lands.
In an effort to avoid conflicts, BrightSource Energy Inc. and Stirling
Energy Systems recently scrapped plans to build massive solar and wind
farms on a panoramic stretch of the proposed Mojave Trails monument
known as Sleeping Beauty Valley.
"We had a project within what we understand to be the boundaries of
the monument, but we recently decided to withdraw it," said Sean
Gallagher, Stirling's vice president of marketing strategies and
regulatory issues. "We're trying to be respectful of what Sen.
Feinstein has been doing in that area of the desert."
Environmentalists, hunters and off-road vehicle enthusiasts expressed
support for Feinstein's legislation.
Elden Hughes, an honorary vice president of the Sierra Club, described
it as "good news -- and darned important because it means this land
would never be built on or fenced off."
James Conkle, founder of the Route 66 Alliance, which seeks to protect
the historic route linking Chicago with Southern California, said the
bill would "open up the desert to more travelers, sparking interest in
fascinating, out-of-the-way places like Ludlow, Amboy and Essex."
Megan Grossglass, spokeswoman for the Off-Road Business Assn., was
more cautious in her appraisal. Her group "has not had a chance to
fully analyze the bill," she said, "so we cannot give it our
endorsement, but we are supportive of the balanced approach it seems
to take."
Mojave Trail, a four-hour drive from Los Angeles, includes such
environmentally sensitive areas as Afton Canyon, a four-mile ribbon of
green wetlands wedged between weathered rock walls, and Amboy Crater,
a dormant volcano.
Then there is Sleeping Beauty Valley, a 150-square-mile expanse
roughly 60 miles east of Barstow. It contains bighorn sheep, a newly
discovered species of lupine that features showy purple blossoms in
the spring, and unusually dark lizards that appear to have genetically
adapted to the volcanic terrain.
During a tour of the area Sunday, David Myers, executive director of
the Wildlands Conservancy, scrambled up a rocky hill at the base of a
row of snaggletoothed mountains freckled with clumps of brittlebush.
"Heroic country, isn't it?" he said. "Just a few months ago, there
were plans to cover this entire landscape with solar and wind farms.
Instead, with this legislation, we are striking a balance with the
insatiable demands of population growth."
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Kell Brigan
Sorry if there wind up being duplicates.
1) I just mistakenly marked this message as spam. I can't find
anything in the help. If anyone knows how to undo this, let me know.
2) I also just tried to rejoin with my current email address. I might
be able to get this to work at some point. Still me, in any case.
3) Here's a link to the National Parks Traveler with the text of the
proposed legislation and some more info.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/12/senator-feinstein-offers-legislation-protect-desertscape-and-around-death-valley-joshua-tree-nationa5119
4) My head's killing me. I hate computers.
Kell
On Dec 21, 9:40 am, magicgroove <magicgro...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Finally, Feinstein announces she's going to introduce the legislation
> for the "Mojave Trails National Monument", as well as the Sand to Snow
> N.M. So now we'll have a better idea what we're dealing with.
>
> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mojave21-2009dec21,0,7093884....
magicgroove
post through and I hope your migraine has passed! Let me know if you
have future problems posting.
I've been trying to post a map of the proposed legislation to our
Files but haven't succeeded so far. Interestingly, it shows the Base
expansion to the west (Johnson Valley) but not to the south (Wonder
Valley). Of course, the Base expansion is not up to Senator Feinstein
but clearly she has been negotiating with all parties and there might
be a tea-leave factor here. Or not.
Also, the map indicates the Mojave Trails Monument as cutting very
close to 66 through the Bristol Dry Lake area, including Amboy Crater
but skipping essentially everything else, including the Dry Lake, the
salt flats, Cadiz farms, etc. I'm not sure what this means, because I
thought preserving that area from energy projects was part of her
goal; some of the original Catellus donation lands are there. This
also in theory could leave the Eastern Study Area still open to Base
expansion. I must say, the proposed boundaries are much, much smaller
than was under discussion prior.
For more information, here's the press release on Feinstein's
website:
http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=b3a780d4-5056-8059-7606-3936a2f7945f
Here's the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/business/energy-environment/22solar.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&th&emc=th
Here's the Contra Costa Times:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14044794&ct=ga&cd=umdf74uYAAI&usg=AFQjCNE7TRCqXa1AcyP00ijkDOzDlhoMrg
And look at Helen Baker's post from last night on this site for a pdf
of the actual bill. I'll keep trying to upload the map.
Interesting the Senator waited until this late holiday moment to
announce this. And it should be an interesting year ahead!
On Dec 21, 9:52 pm, Kell Brigan <bri...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> This is the third time I've tried to post this and nothing happens.
> Sorry if there wind up being duplicates.
> 1) I just mistakenly marked this message as spam. I can't find
> anything in the help. If anyone knows how to undo this, let me know.
> 2) I also just tried to rejoin with my current email address. I might
> be able to get this to work at some point. Still me, in any case.
> 3) Here's a link to the National Parks Traveler with the text of the
> proposed legislation and some more info.http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2009/12/senator-feinstein-offers...
> > Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
magicgroove
http://groups.google.com/group/desertneighbors/web/California%20Desert%20Protection%20Act%20of%202010%20-%20Map.pdf
You can also find it by looking in our Files.
On Dec 22, 10:12 am, magicgroove <magicgro...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Kell, I have no idea what happened but I'm glad you finally got the
> post through and I hope your migraine has passed! Let me know if you
> have future problems posting.
>
> I've been trying to post a map of the proposed legislation to our
> Files but haven't succeeded so far. Interestingly, it shows the Base
> expansion to the west (Johnson Valley) but not to the south (Wonder
> Valley). Of course, the Base expansion is not up to Senator Feinstein
> but clearly she has been negotiating with all parties and there might
> be a tea-leave factor here. Or not.
>
> Also, the map indicates the Mojave Trails Monument as cutting very
> close to 66 through the Bristol Dry Lake area, including Amboy Crater
> but skipping essentially everything else, including the Dry Lake, the
> salt flats, Cadiz farms, etc. I'm not sure what this means, because I
> thought preserving that area from energy projects was part of her
> goal; some of the original Catellus donation lands are there. This
> also in theory could leave the Eastern Study Area still open to Base
> expansion. I must say, the proposed boundaries are much, much smaller
> than was under discussion prior.
>
> For more information, here's the press release on Feinstein's
> website:http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.Pres...
>
> Here's the New York Times:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/business/energy-environment/22solar...
>
> Here's the Contra Costa Times:http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_14044794&ct=ga&cd=umdf7...
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
