CDC needs support to stop Green Path North

California Desert Coalition has announced that Riverside County has joined San Bernardino County in issuing a resolution opposing Green Path North. View the resolution and other news on CDC's Website here.

CDC has also issued a statement following the July 19 meeting with LADWP in Yucca Valley:

Thank you to all who attended the meeting and to all of you who have supported our grassroots effort in so many ways. It is thanks to you that we have made significant progress in this ongoing battle. Your volunteer efforts and donations have enabled CDC to educate and engage individuals, communities, environmental organizations, and regional, state, and federal legislators to support the CDC mission.

Your support makes our outreach possible and your donations pay for brochures and other print materials, the CDC website, and merchandising opportunities, such as our CDC T-shirts. Looking to the future, in addition to these continuing expenses, substantial funds are needed to support expenditures for legal counsel and professional consulting services. Challenging the forces that want to continue business as usual will not come cheap. Whatever you can contribute will be very helpful. Donation details are at www.cadesertco.org/donate.html.

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Supervisor Derry ready to fight over Green Path North

According to The Sun, incoming 3rd District Supervisor Neil Derry says he is "ready to go toe-to-toe with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on behalf of the voters who elected him."

Derry said he is tracking the [Green Path North] project to make sure no environmental laws or energy regulations are broken.

[snip]

Derry said he also practices what he preaches. His house in San Bernardino is outfitted with 40 solar panels. "If David Nahai wants to learn how to run an energy-efficient house," Derry said, "I'll be happy to show him. I'd be happy to show him mine."

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Bighorn Water Agency approves budget

In the face of a shortfall Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency directors have approved a new budget, with General Manager Marina West recommending laying off a management-level employee and raising rates. The Agency will be holding meetings with the public to discuss the new rate plans; the first one will be at the Johnson Valley Community Center on August 9. Read more in the Hi-Desert Star.

Press accounts of LADWP/Green Path meeting

Press accounts of the Yucca Valley meeting on July 19 of Los Angeles Department and Water and Power on Green Path North are in agreement: It was a little tense.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ended years of silence on some of the details surrounding a proposed path of power lines Saturday at a public meeting with High Desert residents that quickly turned hostile.

[snip]

In recent years, the agency has earned a reputation for not disclosing information to the media or public, a reputation [general manager David] Nahai is attempting to redeem.

Still, Mike Cipra, a program manager with the National Parks Conservation Area, scolded the LADWP for not responding to a letter he sent the agency with concerns about the proposed path's impact on Joshua Tree National Park. "Since I never heard back, I have to assume you didn't read it," he said.

Carrie Hyke, a San Bernardino County planner, read a strongly worded statement reminding the LADWP that the Board of Supervisors is opposed to a project that cuts through environmentally sensitive habitat.

In addition to Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Azusa and Banning plan to use energy from the project, said Bill Carnahan, executive director of the Southern California Public Power Authority. - The Sun

The Press-Enterprise also has informative coverage of the boisterous meeting, as does the local Hi-Desert Star, which includes a number of quotes:

“Electricity seeks the path of least resistance,” said crowd-pleasing speaker Scott McKone. “These routes are the path of most resistance — the people’s resistance!”

And, as noted previously, LADWP General Manager David Nahai was visibly ruffled by the crowd's displeasure:

As more speakers described the LADWP and by extension Nahai as untrustworthy and disingenuous, Nahai appeared to be losing his earlier cool. “I didn’t have to come here today,” he said, prompting a chorus of sarcastic groans. “I came for constructive comments.”

Finally, the editorial in Saturday's Star sums up the battle ahead:

As this infant project begins to grow, we ask the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Morongo Basin to remember that no world, no matter how small, should fall silently before another. No sacrifice should ever be taken for granted.

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Gardeners invited to stump the pro's

"Gardeners will answer questions at the Garden Club meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Belfield Hall" in Landers, according to the Hi-Desert Star.

Local gardeners are encouraged to bring their most unusual or perplexing problems and try to stump the garden club members. A trophy will be given to the winner. Members of the trophy club have over 100 years experience in plant survival and share their successes. Belfield Hall is at 58340 Reche Road just east of the Landers Post Office and behind the Landers Association Thrift Store. For information, call Wilma Ochoa at 364-2838.

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Plant Life page of the MBCA Website.

Water supplies and compliance in west Basin

According to the Hi-Desert Star, in back-to-back meetings of the Hi-Desert Water District and the Warren Valley Basin Watermaster:

Director Wade White questioned why Hi-Desert Water District is putting more State Water Project water into the ground than it is pumping out, yet the water level dropped over the last 12 months at 10 of the district’s 14 producing wells.

[snip]

[Legal counsel John] Brown advised that any discussion about available and future water supplies and requirements include a closed session on the same agenda because there was the potential for litigation from other area pumpers.

The District also "failed to meet monitoring requirements for drinking water after coliform bacteria was detected in March", according to a separate article in the Star. This violation "was characterized as procedural in nature. 'It’s not that the water wasn’t in compliance,'" District Engineer Joseph Glowitz said.

Old skills and new learners

In a time of spiraling fuel costs, the lack of local agricultural resources in the Morongo Basin can leave residents vulnerable to rising food prices. But growing one's own produce is possible in the desert, with the right techniques. An article in last Saturday's Hi-Desert Star details the adventures and tasty rewards of two Yucca Valley boys planting an organic vegetable garden with their grandmother in Joshua Tree.

Basin residents show up in strength to question LADWP on Green Path North

The Yucca Valley High School gym was packed this morning as residents of all stripes, ages, and persuasions and from as far south as Desert Hot Springs and as far north as Lucerne Valley met Los Angeles Department of Water and Power with an impressive display of community strength and determination not to be the victims of the Green Path North transmission project.

LADWP General Manager David Nahai attended personally but seemed unprepared for the aggressive questioning and frank lack of trust exhibited by the audience. He was visibly ruffled by his reception, and when asked what benefits Green Path North would bring to the Morongo Basin, he could not answer.

More details soon.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Endangered Tortoise found on proposed Casino site

Few are surprised that the endangered Desert Tortoise has been found to be inhabiting the site of the proposed NuWu Casino and RV Resort at Adobe and Baseline, bordering Joshua Tree National Park. The discovery will require extension of the environmental assessment (pdf) for the project and push back the planned opening date 30 to 60 days, according to Rod Wilson, spokesman for the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians.

He said Tuesday, July 15 that sometime next week the tribe is expected to have a finalized version of a wildlife habitat conservation plan, not only for desert tortoises but for any other endangered animals and plants found at the site.

Protocols for tortoises, he said, will include the placement of fencing to protect the animals and establishment of a location on the 160-acre site for tortoises that have to be relocated because of construction.

The protocol, he said, is based on one created by Copper Mountain College in Joshua Tree for its construction plans.

Read the rest in the Desert Trail.


FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Desert Tortoise page on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Casino.

Seats open on Hi-Desert Water Board

"People interested in running for a seat on the Hi-Desert Water District Board of Directors in this year’s Nov. 4 election could begin filing candidate papers Monday," according to the Hi-Desert Star. Learn more here.

Assemblyman Paul Cook to address JT MAC on Thursday

The special guest at this Thursday's Joshua Tree Municipal Advisory Council Meeting will be Assemblyman Paul Cook with an Update on Sacramento.

Assemblyman Cook was elected in November 2006 to represent the 65th Assembly District, which includes Joshua Tree and the rest of the Morongo Basin. Per the JT MAC:

An infantry officer in the US Marine Corps for 26 years, Assemblyman Cook’s actions in combat earned him many honors, including the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He would later use his training and experiences to teach courses at the University of California Riverside and Copper Mountain College.

Prior to running for Assembly, Assemblyman Cook campaigned for and won a seat on the Yucca Valley Town Council. He has also held leadership posts with area United Way and Red Cross chapters and is the past Executive Director of the Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Paul is a member of the Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and
American Legion. He and his wife Jeanne reside in Yucca Valley.

Thursday, July 17, 2008, 7:00 pm, at Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst Avenue, Joshua Tree.

LADWP in Yucca Valley for Green Path meeting this Saturday

MBCA urges you to attend this critical meeting with L.A. Power Officials on Saturday! Per California Desert Coaltion news release:

Desert Residents to Meet, Learn and Express Their Concerns to Los Angeles Power Officials

On Saturday morning, July 19, local residents will have their first opportunity to meet with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) to discuss the utility's proposed 500kV transmission line project through high desert communities. The meeting will be held in Yucca Valley at the high school, 10 a.m. to noon.

The California Desert Coalition (CDC), a group formed specifically to oppose the transmission line route through the high desert, has planned a "Stop the Towers" poster contest before the meeting, referring to the massive metal transmission towers that would be constructed. CDC Vice Chair Ruth Rieman says that "A strong showing of community residents at this LADWP public meeting will be the tipping point in getting LADWP to choose a more appropriate route than the one through our communities and desert."

From 9 to 10 a.m., everyone is invited to enjoy refreshments and participate in the poster contest. Prizes will be awarded for the top three most creative protest signs brought to the event. Prizes are $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place. Judging of the protest signs will be at 9:15 a.m.

April Sall, CDC Chair, says there has been a lack of transparency on the part of the Los Angeles public utility in its planning for the transmission lines. She wonders why it has taken so long for LADWP to hold public meetings, which have been promised for over a year. Sall sees a clear analogy between LADWP's actions on this project and its previous actions in its taking of water from the Owens Valley.

CDC suggests that LADWP has better alternatives for increasing its renewable energy supply (the stated purpose for the project) than a new transmission line through rural high desert communities and pristine desert lands. Use of the existing I-10 transmission corridor is one of these options.

LADWP has requested a new federal energy corridor and route for high transmission power lines along an 85-mile-long route that begins in Desert Hot Springs and passes through Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Pioneertown, Flamingo Heights, Landers, Johnson Valley, Lucerne Valley, and Apple Valley, terminating in Hesperia. The project is called Green Path North (GPN).

According to Bureau of Land Management records, if approved, the energy corridor would be between 2 and 5 miles wide on public lands managed by the agency, and once designated would be open to oil and water pipelines, as well as electrical transmission. One difficulty is that private property is interspersed with public lands and makes up 30 miles of the proposed route. According to CDC spokesperson Dave Miller, LADWP would have to "connect the dots" of publicly owned land with unnecessary condemnation of more than 1000 private properties through eminent domain powers allowed by the 2005 federal Energy Policy Act.

Resolutions in opposition to the power line route have been passed by cities and community organizations all along the route, as well as by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. Exclusion of the public from the planning process and the lack of clear benefits to the county as a whole have left local residents feeling the project is not being fairly pursued. Most commonly mentioned concerns are the taking of properties by eminent domain; devaluation of properties; health risks, especially to children, from EMF; damage to the local tourist-dependent economy (associated with neighboring Joshua Tree National Park); scarring of scenic vistas; and environmental devastation to desert wildlands.

Meeting Location: Yucca Valley High School, 7600 Sage Avenue, Yucca Valley (Google Map Link)

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: At California Desert Coalition and on the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts on this blog: Energy, Green Path North.

Alert! PEIS Scoping deadline Tuesday, July 15

If you want to get in on the ground floor with your concerns about the solar industrialization of the Mojave Desert, the deadline is this Tuesday, July 15, to submit your Scoping comments on the Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Study (PEIS).

At this stage you get to tell the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Energy what kinds of issues you think they should cover when they are evaluating the impacts that blanketing the desert with solar arrays will have on the environment. And don't forget, "the environment" includes desert communities, too!

Morongo Basin Conservation Association has asked that the agencies include in their analysis the alternative of putting rooftop solar on every roof in the "load" areas - the urban areas that will be receiving the electricity generated by the solar facilities - instead of degrading the desert and inefficiently transmitting the power for many miles. We've also asked them to consider the economic losses to desert communities from the destruction of the surrounding open space and viewshed that attracts tourists, recreationists, retirees, cyberworkers, film crews, etc., to our communities and supports our economies. We support solar, but to demand sacrifices only from the desert and not the load areas is not fair!

You can read MBCA's full comments on our Website here.

You can learn where and how to submit your own comments here.

Defenders of Wildlife also has an electronic message that you can personalize easily; view it here.

The PEIS process may be the only chance you get to give your opinion on the idea of the solar industrialization of the Mojave. Make your voice heard!



MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous posts: Energy.

MBCA Calendar now operational

The Calendar feature on the MBCA Website is now on-line! We'll be adding items regularly. View it now and often here.

Bighorn-Desert View Water looks at budget shortfall

Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency was informed by General Manager Marina West their 2008/2009 draft operating budget would have a shortfall of 12.6 percent, or $141,459. According to this article in the Hi-Desert Star, the Directors plan on organizing public meetings on the situation in Flamingo Heights, Landers, and Johnson Valley.

Power "Flex Alert" through next Thursday

"The California Independent System Operator has declared a 'Flex Alert' through Thursday to urge Californians to reduce their energy use during the late afternoon, when air conditioners drive consumption to the highest point of the day."

The Hi-Desert Star lists some useful power conservation tips from Southern California Edison here.

"The Saudi Arabia of solar"

San Bernardino County 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt is not happy with the Bureau of Land Management lifting the moratorium on applications for solar projects in the Mojave.

“At a time when we are trying to protect habitat, provide for recreation, maintain the expansive beauty of the desert while providing for responsible growth, not to mention the expansion of desert military bases, we cannot afford to surrender vast areas of public land to solar energy projects,” Mitzelfelt said in a news release. “We are not opposed to alternative energy; we just need to be careful and judicious when we are talking about taking away hundreds of square miles of land that belongs to the American people.”

Per the Victor Valley Daily Press, "Mitzelfelt supports the Programmatic EIS as the best way to take a broad overview of the challenges posed by developing these sprawling, land-intensive projects."

The usually shy and unvalued Mojave continues to show up in unexpected places as the rush to Big Solar permeates the news - especially the financial news. Fortune Magazine enters the act with a scary but highly informative article about the players and the "hot real estate" involved:

A solar land rush is rolling across the desert Southwest. Goldman Sachs, utilities PG&E and FPL, Silicon Valley startups, Israeli and German solar firms, Chevron, speculators - all are scrambling to lock up hundreds of thousands of acres of long-worthless land now coveted as sites for solar power plants....It's not just a federal-land grab either. Buyers are also vying for private property. Some are paying upwards of $10,000 an acre for desert dirt that a few years ago would have sold for $500.

Solar prospectors tend to be as secretive about their land as forty-niners were about the veins of gold they discovered. Most bids are placed by limited-liability corporations with opaque names that conceal their ownership. And no one has been as quick to move into the Mojave - or as tightlipped about it - as Solar Investments. That entity, it turns out, is Goldman Sachs's (GS, Fortune 500) solar subsidiary. The investment bank's designs on the desert are a topic of intense interest and speculation. Goldman declined to comment.

Highlighting the tremendous challenge facing desert communities and conservationists to get their views understood, Forbes Magazine portrays the triumph felt on Capitol Hill when the BLM lifted the moratorium. Quoting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.:

"I am glad the Bureau of Land Management has arrived at this good decision. Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of solar energy and is poised to lead a global clean energy revolution. We need to do all we can to encourage public and private investment in projects to develop this amazing potential."

The Las Vegas Sun provides even more detail on the drama behind the reversal:

The onslaught of media and political attention...made the moratorium all but unsustainable... [G]rowing criticism of the moratorium stretched as far as the Daily Telegraph of London and the Economist, which headlined an article “Freezing the Sun.” When The New York Times picked it up Friday, the end was near. The story line that emerged was politically poisonous in an election year.

But closer to the action local concerns are beginning to penetrate the media. In "BLM Stirs Up a Desert Storm" the San Bernardino Sun quotes Joshua Tree resident Jim Harvey, a founding member of the Alliance for Responsible Energy Policy, on the BLM lifting of the moratorium:

"This is horrible news, devastating news for the well-being of the Mojave. I want to see it (solar) on our rooftops, and I don't want to see it in our wilderness. They are going to kill millions of acres of wilderness all for the sake of profit."

MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Energy.

YV Council steps up, sends Stadum back to Planning Commission

According to an attendee's report, last night the Yucca Valley Town Council rejected an appeal by developer Bob Stadum, sending his Yucca Valley Homes project back to the Planning Commission. The vote was 4-1, with Councilmember Frank Luckino opposing.

Per our source, Mayor Bob Leone castigated Stadum for an obvious political move of bringing the project to the Council and not even attempting to work with the Planning Commission. Stadum had three times failed to present alternatives to mass-grading of the 60 acres, a plan that did not meet Town regulations.

Could the Council finally be getting the message that residents want grading regulations followed?

ADDENDUM: Read the Hi-Desert Star account of the meeting here. (07/12/2008)


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See Grading/Clear-Cutting pages on MBCA Website. Additional posts: Yucca Valley, Grading.

MBCA Meets Thursday, July 10

The next regular board meeting of the Morongo Basin Conservation Association is July 10, 2008, at 9:00 AM at PFF Bank & Trust, 57271 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley.

Please join us and add your voice and experience.

Alert! Stadum Project Appeal Tuesday, July 8!

Note: This is the hearing that had to be postponed on June 25 because the Wal-Mart Supercenter hearing went so late. The Stadum Project ("Yucca Valley Homes") is for 90 homes on 60 acres and would include mass grading. - ChrisC.

Greetings Members and Friends of MBCA,

The Yucca Valley Town Council is considering the "appealed" Yucca Valley Homes LLC (Stadum Project) that was denied by the Planning Commission on recommendation of Town Planning staff.

The applicant had three chances to present alternatives to mass grading of the two twenty-acre parcels at Acoma Drive and Joshua Lane. They basically told the Planning Commission to "take it or leave it". The Planning Commission denied it.

The Town Council had a special meeting about "Rural", "Lot sizes" and "Mass Grading" on May 15th. There were more than three hundred people there and by the show of hands in support of statements made, about 90% present were in support of stopping "mass grading".

Bob Stadum and Philip Fomotor didn't want to take notice of this local uprising, and we don't know if all members of the Town Council did either.

A test of the Native Plant Ordinance "as is" is coming to the Yucca Valley Town Council on Tuesday, July 8th, at 6:00 pm. Please attend this meeting if possible and make your concerns known to the Yucca Valley Town Council.

Sincerely,

David Fick,
President, MBCA


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See Grading/Clear-Cutting pages on MBCA Website. Additional posts: Yucca Valley, Grading.

Illegal off-roading is a national problem

Joshua Tree resident Victoria Fuller has the Guest Soapbox in the Hi-Desert Star this week and writes about her experience testifying last March before a hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on this issue:

The emphasis of my testimony was the impact on private property owners. I found that my concerns and the concerns I have heard from other members of the Morongo Basin were mirrored across the country.

The use of ORVs has grown exponentially over the past few years. Information to parents on the risks has not been disseminated and the impact to the community and local property owners is just being assessed.

Legislation that was discussed included: License plates for identification the same size as those used on cars; for children under age 16, limiting the use of ORVs to age-appropriate ORVs; suggested by the American Pediatric Association was not allowing use by any child under the age of 16.

Read the rest of Victoria's Soapbox here.


MORE INFO ON THESE ISSUES: On Community ORV Watch and on the Off-Road Vehicle page of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Off-Road Vehicles.

Yucca Mesa Improvement Association

Yucca Mesa Improvement Association reminds us in a letter this week to the Hi-Desert Star that it's an historic organization with strong roots and a history of working together for the good of the community:

YMIA once had a membership of over 600 people. These people were instrumental in bringing services to the Mesa area, including water, phone, electrical, mail, TV and fire service, to name a few.

[snip]

The Yucca Mesa Improvement Association is a member of the Homestead Valley Community council, a group which is politically influential with the county government specific to the entire area north of Yucca Valley, including Flamingo Heights, Landers and Johnson Valley.

The Association needs support and participation or is in danger of folding. Find out more on their friendly Website at YuccaMesa.org.

BLM suspends moratorium on solar applications

The rush to industrialize the Mojave with solar plants ("Big Solar") was much in the national news this week as the energy crisis deepened.

The Bureau of Land Management, after announcing last month that it would temporarily stop accepting applications for solar plants until it completed an environmental study it estimated to take up to two years, has caved to pressure and re-commenced accepting applications "in response to public interest in solar energy development."

The BLM will process these applications, while continuing to identify issues during public scoping currently underway for the programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS).

"We heard the concerns expressed during the scoping period about waiting to consider new applications," said BLM Director James Caswell, "and we are taking action. By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections."

The condemnation of the moratorium had been intense, with ignorance of the biological importance of the territories of the Mojave and a dismissal of desert lands as having any intrinsic value rife among public and industry alike. New players also don't seem to be familiar with the rules: It appears many of the firms proposing solar facilities are financial firms and others not usually in the business of siting utility operations on federal lands and are outraged that long-standing environmental regulations may interfere with their desire to swiftly satisfy their stockholders. Per Reuters:

Fred Morse, senior advisor for U.S. operations at Abengoa Solar, a Spanish company with a solar plant in development in Arizona, said the moratorium could hurt many companies in the burgeoning U.S. industry.

Companies could face hefty fines if they don't deliver on previously signed agreements to supply power, and a blanket freeze on the industry is a mistake, he said.

The desert and its communities are faced with an immense challenge as panicked citizens and opportunistic investors rush to exploit the Mojave. The Desert Protective Council has asked for an additional public scoping meeting on the PEIS, and this has been scheduled for El Centro on Thursday, July 10. Read more about the issue and DPC's efforts on their blog. Read the BLM Press Release regarding the meeting and how to participate here.


MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Energy page of the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Energy.

Reptiles for kids at the Museum

Through July and August the Hi-Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley is presenting Art and Science Tuesdays for kids, from 10 a.m. to noon. This week featured "Reptiles of the Desert". Future programs feature such diverse topics as animal scat, where our water comes from, and sand-painting. Find out more here.

Aide to former 1st District supervisor Postmus arrested

Authorities yesterday arrested a top deputy of County Assessor Bill Postmus, formerly Supervisor of the desert's 1st District including the eastern end of the Morongo Basin.

Adam Aleman, 25, was charged with six felonies, including presenting false evidence to a county grand jury and destroying public records.

Less than three hours later, that same county grand jury issued a scathing report on the operations of the assessor's office, concluding that many of the hires, including Aleman, "lacked experience or training directly associated with assessor work."

The grand jury found that employees in Postmus' executive staff engaged in political activities during normal working hours and found e-mails on the county computers arranging political meetings and soliciting campaign contributions. - Press-Enterprise

John Goritz, an assistant district attorney with the Public Integrity Unit, said the destruction of public records and vandalism charges stem from Aleman's work for Postmus when he was a county supervisor, according to the San Bernardino Sun.

Read the account in the Sun here and in the Press-Enterprise here.

Open Space Group staffer at Basin Wide Foundation

At the Breakfast Meeting of the Basin Wide Foundation this Thursday:

Stephanie Weigel, Regional Land Use Planner for the Morongo Basin Open Space Group, will facilitate a short community engagement exercise as an introduction to speaking on the Open Space Group’s ongoing collaborative efforts at regional conservation and land use planning for the Morongo Basin. She will discuss Sonoran Institute’s involvement with the Open Space Group, implementation of their 2008 Action Plan, community involvement in the process, and conservation planning goals.

Thursday, July 3, 2008. Helen Gray Center at the Hi Desert Medical Center. Questions: (760) 365-7219.