Hold the Mustard Campaign photos from February 18th

Josh Hoines, JTNP Vegetation Branch Chief, shared these pictures of our first mustard pull on 2/18. What a big difference a small group can make in just 3 hours on site. These were taken on park land just beyond Iron Age Road (off Hwy 62 east of 29 Palms). It was a beautiful day, and a very satisfying experience.

Our last pull is scheduled for this Saturday, March 17th, 8AM-1PM. Come on out and get your hands dirty:).

Hold the Mustard Campaign-please join us for scheduled weed pulls

It may be the season of hearts and flowers (Happy Valentine’s Day!), but there is one flower that is not loved in our desert …. that of the Saharan mustard.  This aggressive plant reduces native wildflower abundance and creates fuel for wildfires.

Our annual “Hold the Mustard”  campaign is a cooperative effort with Joshua Tree National Park. Half-day weed pull parties are scheduled for the dates below. Please participate in one work parties listed to help “Hold the Mustard” and preserve the health and beauty of our desert.

8-11AM Saturday February 18th, 

8-11 AM Saturday February 25th

8-11AM Sunday March 4th

8-11AM Saturday March 17th

RSVP if possible so we can anticipate your equipment needs and notify you of any potential schedule changes. Contact Katie Kain 760-367-5575 or Katherine_Kain@nps.gov

We will meet at the oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms prior to carpooling to work sites. Don't forget to bring water, sun protection, and snacks. Tools and gloves will be provided.

For each day that you volunteer, you will earn an entrance-free day pass to Joshua Tree National Park.

MBCA Board members Ruth Rieman and Pat Flanagan (with a very large Saharan Mustard) talk about the importance of eradicating this invasive plant at the recent MBCA Annual meeting.

Action to stop proposed casino in Joshua Tree

We are sharing information here posted on the “NO Joshua Tree Casino”  Facebook page, for anyone who is interested in stopping the casino proposed for Joshua Tree. A local fundraising effort is underway to support a legal battle through Stand Up for California, a statewide organization with a focus on gambling issues affecting California. The fundraising deadline is this Tuesday, February 14. Donations are being collected by the Joshua Tree Health Food Store, located at the corner of Highway 62 and Sunset Road.

It is difficult to simplify the complex legal issue (more detail below), but it is concerned with the regulatory powers of the Secretary of the Interior to grant “fee to trust” status to land acquired by Indian tribes, which allows tribes to place casinos on that land without appropriate consideration for local negative effects.  Many local residents share this kind of concern about the proposed Joshua Tree Casino.

For a great deal more information on this and other gambling issues in California, check the Stand Up for California website.
 

Report on the MBCA Annual Meeting, held January 21st, 2012

Dear MBCA members and supporters:

Despite the huge windstorm provided by Mother Nature that weekend, we had about 50 hardy Morongo Basin residents at our Annual Meeting.  I think everyone would agree that there was a great sense of camaraderie and commitment in the room.  In addition to current Board members, we were glad to see long-time former Board members Chris Carraher and DJ Masker in attendance.  We also thanked D’Anne Albers for her recent service on the Board, and noted to the audience that we will be seeking another person to complete the 2 remaining years of this 3-year Board position.

MBCA has worked very hard in the past year to respond to what we learned from the “How are we doing?” survey last February (with thanks again to Curt Duffy for making it happen).  Via extra meetings and subcommittee efforts during 2012, the Board completed new Mission and Vision Statements, and has plans to expand our communication efforts.  We shared with Saturday’s audience how we have reactivated the website blog, and have begun using Facebook.  We hope these and future technology and communication improvements will help us gain a greater base of support for improving our communities.  Many thanks to Board member Catherine Svehla for getting us started on these efforts.

We then presented an overview of the large number of issues MBCA engaged in during the past year.   Board Members Pat Flanagan, David Fick, and Ruth Rieman provided information on actions taken and the current status of various issues. Seth Shtier of the National Parks Conservation Association also commented on several issues that are of shared concern between our organizations.  Here are the issues:

California Desert Protection Act
Cadiz Water Project
Saharan Mustard annual campaign
CalTrans Highway 62 concrete barrier reconstruction
County OHV Park Proposal in Gold Park
Solar PEIS around Morongo Basin
29 Palms Granite Construction Project
Eagle Mountain Dump, SB 108 mining bill, campaign for return of Park land
Inyo County OHV trial project
Wind towers project on Pioneertown Area Buttes
CEIYV, Super WalMart issue
JT Casino
Dollar General Stores

Board Member Claudia Sall then reviewed the planning, funding, and results of the 2011 Desert-wise Living Series, a new enterprise for MBCA.  She also shared a preview of our plans for a second Desert-wise Living Landscape Tour this spring and another event around November.

The Morongo Basin Dark Skies Alliance provided us with information about their efforts to increase awareness about appropriate outdoor night lighting.  Appropriate night lighting is needed not only to preserve the conditions that already bring tourists and photographers to our area, but also for reasons of safety, energy/cost savings, and health. Of special interest was their description of a new approach to the County Lighting Ordinance (Mountain and Desert Regions) based on land use zones. Within a few months, they hope to bring a draft ordinance proposal to County planning staff.  We give enthusiastic thanks to MBDSA members Victoria Fuller, Seth Shtier, and Stephanie Weigel for the presentation, displays, and handouts, including the colorful hot-off-the-press bumper sticker that reminds people to “Turn out a light, see the night.”  We were also glad that Alan Rasmussen attended.  In his role as field representative to Supervisor Neil Derry he has provided great support for MBDSA, and was also able to respond to some ordinance-relevant questions at the meeting.

Expanding volunteer involvement in MBCA was the final topic of our meeting, and is a key 2012 goal.  No matter what your interest or skills, we would like you to join a bank of MBCA volunteers, and we’re also seeking a volunteer coordinator.  Please respond to this email if you are interested or want more information.

We wrapped up the meeting with audience participation, and many folks shared comments, asked questions, and put forward ideas about improving life in the Morongo Basin.  Please consider attending our monthly Board meetings to learn more and share your ideas. We recently changed the start time from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (second Thursday of each month, see more details on our website), hoping it might offer more people a chance to visit our meetings occasionally. Although the Board has a preset agenda, a time for visitor input is provided at the start of every meeting.

Thanks go out to everyone who helped create this energizing annual meeting!  In addition to Board members and participants noted above, we give special thanks to Tom O’Key for setting up his solar telescope at the break and end of the meeting, to Steve Rieman and Steve Bardwell for setting up the International Dark Skies display, to Danny Sall for his special effort to deliver the brand-new Dark Skies Alliance bumper stickers to us “just in time,” and to Anne Staley for providing snacks and beverages to sustain us.  Also thanks to Charla Shamhart at the welcome table and Sarah Kennington and Deb Bollinger for handling the membership.  And finally, thanks to three very important behind-the-scenes volunteers, Gail Dallas, Harry Bowkley, and David Miller.

New materials will be on the MBCA website soon, including our new Mission and Vision, and new links to organizations and blogs that we believe will be of interest to you.

Thanks to all who attended.

Your 2012 MBCA Board
Laraine Turk, President
David Fick, Vice President
Ruth Rieman, Treasurer
Sarah Kennington, Recording Secretary
Claudia Sall, Events Director
Deborah Bollinger
Pat Flanagan
Charla Shamhart
Anne Staley
Catherine Svehla

Sahara Mustard: Hold the Mustard Campaign

The MBCA is working with Joshua Tree National Park staff to mobilize for this year’s “Hold the Mustard” campaign. We invite you to attend a presentation by JTNP’s Josh Hoines at 7 pm this Friday February 10 at the Old Schoolhouse Museum in 29 Palms.  Josh’s topic is “Flowers versus Weeds: A Race For Resources” and he’ll discuss current threats to wildflowers at Joshua Tree National Park by invasive species, with Sahara mustard prominently featured. We’ll pick up the $5 lecture fee for the first 20 members to join us in launching our campaign on Friday.  An MBCA representative will be at the check-in desk.

The Old Schoolhouse Museum is located at 6760 National Park Drive in 29 Palms.  Interested parties can meet with Josh at 5 pm for a no-host dinner at the 29 Palms Inn.  Contact Marion to RSVP for the dinner at 760.361.1202 or desert29palms@yahoo.com.

And there’s more!  Please join a “Hold the Mustard” work party on one or both of two Saturdays, February 18 or February 25.  We’ll work with park staff to pull mustard in high priority areas surrounding the park.  We’ll notify you of the specific meeting locations and times in the week prior to the event.

We have already had several sightings of mature, blooming Sahara mustard plants along Morongo Basin highways this year.  While we expect we’ll have a breather, with lower populations of mustard expected because of low precipitation, this gives us a great opportunity to regain control of this invasive, and to learn about a new, related species of mustard before it, too, takes over our beautiful desert lands.  Please let us know of any colonies of mustard that you see within the basin so that together we can ‘Hold the Mustard’!

Hope to see you at one or more of these events.

Annual Meeting Saturday January 21, 2012

All MBCA members and supporters are encouraged to attend our Annual Meeting on Saturday morning, January 21, at the Joshua Tree Community Center, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. What will you learn? You’ll hear what MBCA accomplished last year, what we’re planning for 2012 (and how you can help!), and as a bonus, a very timely update from members of the Morongo Basin Dark Skies Alliance.

The alliance is focused on promoting energy-saving lighting and improving the San Bernardino County lighting ordinance. Come to hear their creative proposal to improve the chances of maintaining our precious dark night skies and saving energy in the Morongo Basin.

 

The Milky Way over Hidden Valley image courtesy of Wally Pacholka

Issues: Year in Review

Our annual meeting is Saturday, January 21st from 9AM-1 PM at the Joshua Tree Community Center. The first part of our program will focus on our 2012 goals, followed by a presentations on Dark Skies and Lighting Ordinances. We have an interesting meeting planned and many challenges ahead---Please join us!

Part of planning for the future is evaluating past efforts. In 2011, a number of concerns were presented to MBCA and our high desert community. Here is a partial list of issues that we acted upon this past year:

o    Continued to support S. 138, the California Desert Protection Act of 2011
o    Supported Joshua Tree National Park in the ongoing campaign against invasive Saharan mustard
o    Requested modification of CalTrans’s Hwy. 62 concrete highway divider to accommodate wildlife crossings
o    Commented, in cooperation with NPCA, against creating a County OHV Park in the Gold Park area east of 29 Palms
o    Continued to review and comment on development of industrial solar in inappropriate places in the Mojave Desert
o    Commented with concerns about Granite Construction’s expansion in 29 Palms
o    Supported the fight against the Eagle Mountain Dump and supported return of that land in that area to Joshua Tree National Park
o    Commented, in cooperation with NPCA, against the proposed Cadiz Water Project
o    Partnered with Twentynine Palms Water District in updating and improving the 10-year old “Let’s Go Native” brochures
o    Commented against AB 628, which would allow Inyo County to expand OHV traffic on a trial basis
o    Commented against adoption of SB 108, a mining bill that could reopen the possibility of a dump at Eagle Mountain.

More information about these issues is available here or on the MBCA website. Thank you for your continuing support.

Monthly Board Meeting

The next regular board meeting of the Morongo Basin Conservation Association is Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 5:00 PM at 7491 Barberry Avenue in Yucca Valley (NE corner of Pueblo Trail and Barberry Avenue).

Please join us and add your voice and experience.
 

Update on proposed Joshua Tree casino

On November 19, Cheryl Schmit of the group “Stand Up for California” gave a very knowledgeable and comprehensive presentation about the issues of Indian gaming facing us in Joshua Tree and the Morongo Basin.  We learned that several other California communities are facing this same off-reservation casino issue as the aftermath of recent approvals of such casinos in Yuba and Madera Counties.

“Off-reservation casinos are in direct violation of the promises made to voters that Indian gaming would remain on Indian lands,” said Stand Up for California’s Executive Director, Cheryl Schmit. “If off-reservation gaming is allowed, a dangerous precedent will be set, opening the floodgates for tribes across California to shop around for the most profitable locations to build casinos, with complete disregard for how our local communities are impacted.”

You can learn more in this article on Stand Up for California’s website: Stand Up for California

Perhaps the other most important point in her article is this:

The fate of the casinos already approved by the Department of Interior rests in the hands of Governor Jerry Brown, as off-reservation sites must pass through what is called a “two-part determination.” Although the federal government has mistakenly opened the doors for these casinos, the Governor has the chance to reject the proposals, keeping in line with what California voters agreed to when they passed Propositions 1A and 5 that allows tribal gaming to take place on reservation land only.

Anyone opposed to the off-reservation gaming facilities is encouraged to contact the Governor, asking him to not concur with the proposals.

If you are opposed to having a casino in Joshua Tree and have not yet contacted the Governor, please do so now.  We understand that a strong anti-casino message from the community may not have the desired effect in the federal process, but repeated and significant response directed at the state level may affect the outcome.  Email Governor Brown at this link.. You can write  or call the governor's office at:

Governor Jerry Brown
State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento CA  95814
(916) 445-2841
 

The Economic Relationship Between Natl. Parks and Gateway Communities

Joshua Tree National Park and Joshua Tree Gateway Communities Chamber of Commerce invite you to attend speaker series "The Economic Relationship Between National Parks and Gateway Communities", featuring National Park Service and Gateway Community experts.

December 6th, 2011 1:00pm to 4:00pm at the Twentynine Palms Community Center, 74325 Joe Davis Drive.