Public meetings Sept. 6th and 7th: Tell our public officials what You think about renewal energy development in the Mojave

The Desert Renewal Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) will guide plans to develop renewal energy (solar and wind) in the California deserts. Federal, state, and county agencies are involved. The plan will cover both public and private land. Nothing final has been drafted yet. We have an opportunity to make a difference in the process that will shape our future.

The DRECP claims to:

·        Provide for the long-term conservation and management of Covered Species within the Plan Area,

·        Preserve, restore, and enhance natural communities and ecosystems that support Covered Species,

·        Streamline environmental review and permitting for compatible renewable energy project, and

·        Identify appropriate areas or zones within the Plan Area for the development of utility-scale renewable energy projects.

But the plan has some big gaps and needs to incorporate current scientific data; bio-studies, and local economic issues.   We asked for a meeting in our area and were granted one. Officials from the California Energy Commission, Fish and Wildlife, the BLM, and San Bernardino County will be present to hear from us about life in the Mojave, the right way to develop renewal energy in our desert, and what we must preserve.

Information about the DRECP is available on the National Parks Conservation Association website;  and on the  California Desert Coalition website.

Also check out Renewable Energy Topics by Chris Clarke. You can read the DRECP at http://www.drecp.org/

 Meeting details are below. Please come and be heard.

 

Important hearing on the DRECP next Tuesday, April 16th

Dear MBCA members and supporters:

MBCA has partnered with the National Parks Conservation Association on many issues, and we hope you will consider the following request for support from our local NPCA Field Representative Seth Shteir.   Your appearance at the San Bernardino County Supervisors’ DRECP hearing next Tuesday afternoon would be incredibly helpful if possible.  See details below.

NPCA will also be presenting at this Thursday’s California Desert Coalition (CDC) program about DRECP, at 6:30 PM at the Yucca Valley Community Center.  Hope to see you there.

Thank you,

Board of Directors, MBCA

Dear Friends,

I hope you are enjoying this fantastic spring weather and what one national park biologist has called the best Joshua tree bloom in 25 years!

Perhaps no other issue in the California desert is as important as the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), which seeks to identify the best locations for wind, solar and geothermal renewable energy on 22.5 million acres in seven California counties.  This plan has the potential to profoundly alter our desert landscape and our desert communities.  I’m writing you today to urge your attendance at a critical Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor’s Hearing on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 1:00 PM in San Bernardino. 

Our County Supervisors are influential decision makers in the DRECP plan and they need to hear from you about the value of protecting our desert national parks, public lands, communities and recreational tourism economy.  We are currently organizing people from the Morongo Basin to attend this meeting via vans and carpools.  Please RSVP as soon as possible to sshteir@npca.org.  Once you’ve RSVP’d, I’ll provide information on rides, as well as some key talking points that can help you craft your public comment for the meeting.  Please plan on leaving the Morongo Basin at approximately 10:30am and returning by dinner.  A bag lunch, snacks and a drink are encouraged!

 

Respectfully,

Seth Shteir

Seth Shteir

California Desert Field Representative

National Parks Conservation Association

61325 Twentynine Palms Highway, Suite B

Joshua Tree, CA 92252

760-366-7785- Office

760-332-9776- Cell

Anza-Borrego's tough eradication project: Cutting the mustard

The invasion of Sahara mustard in Anza Borrego State Park is seriously threatening the wildflowers that grace the area each spring and draw visitors that are essential to the local economy. Details can be found in a recent article in the LA Times.

Is the Morongo Basin next? Please learn to identify and remove this plant from your property (you can find photos and facts at the MBCA website) and join us next Saturday, March 30th for a mustard pull in Joshua Tree National Park. The weed pull is from 8AM-1PM and volunteers meet at the Oasis Visitor center in 29 Palms to carpool to work sites.

RSVP for details and so we can anticipate equipment needs:
Kipp Callahan, 760-367-5575
Kipp_Callahan@partner.nps.gov

Our native flora and fauna thank you!

It's time to "Hold the Mustard"

Many thanks to Josh Hoines of Joshua Tree National Park for his informative and entertaining lecture on February 12, and to the Hi Desert Nature Museum for hosting the lecture.  Invasive species threaten native vegetation and provide fire fuel.  Learning to recognize and destroy them – early – was perhaps the most important lesson from the lecture. On that note----

Mustard Pulls

Joshua Tree National Park has partnered with MBCA for several years in the “Hold the Mustard” campaign. We received recent coverage in the Riverside Press Enterprise for this effort and YOU can be part of the solution!

There are mustard pulls in the Park every Saturday in March.  There is still time to join us on March 23rd and 30th.  This a great way to enjoy the recent warm weather in the company of kindred spirits, and eradiction of this invasive plant helps to preserve our glorious spring wildflower displays and to prevent fires. Find more details at:  MBCA Sahara mustard.

And don’t forget the closer-to-home MBCA Clean Team efforts to keep both mustard and trash from our assigned area on Twentynine Palms Highway in Joshua Tree.  Find out more via Deb Bollinger at stopinvasives@live.com or 760.819.9939.

Eagle Mountain dump developer files bankruptcy

After twenty-five years of struggle, it looks like the Eagle Mountain mine landfill project is dead. Kaiser Ventures (Mine Reclamation LLC) has filed for bankruptcy. Read more in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Donna and Larry Charpied, who have been in the forefront of the battle to stop the dump, sent a note to their supporters that includes this cautionary note:

We MUST now be diligent.  We need to pressure Secretary Salazar to once and for all restore the ole Kaiser mine, as well as the other approximately 24,000 acres of land in the Eagle Mountains back to Joshua Tree National Park, where it originated.  The Give It Back! Campaign is designed to restore the 29,755 acres.

MBCA will keep you informed when the “Give it Back!” campaign ramps up!

Free workshop: “Take the Step to Go Solar”

The Morongo Basin Conservation Association invites the public to “Take the Step to Go Solar” with a free workshop on how to use solar energy to produce the power for our homes and businesses. The workshop will be held Saturday, January 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Joshua Tree Community Center, 6171 Sunburst in Joshua Tree.

The workshop is an opportunity for residents to learn practical steps from those who have already made the move to solar in the Morongo Basin. Helping to demystify why and how we can go solar will be representatives from Southern California Edison, the California Public Utilities Commission, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Copper Mountain College, and Joshua Tree National Park. Local homeowners and their solar equipment installers will also share their real-life experiences in team presentations.

“We believe that those who want to take the steps to ‘go solar’ will gain confidence by sharing the experience of users, producers, regulators, and installers and also by being connected to the resources that make it possible,” explains Ruth Rieman, solar workshop committee chair of MBCA.

“Take the Step to Go Solar” is free of charge and all Basin residents are welcome. The workshop is part of the annual meeting of MBCA, a 501(c)4 non-profit, community-based, all-volunteer organization dedicated to preserving the economic and environmental welfare of the Morongo Basin since 1969.

For more information on MBCA and “Take the Step to Go Solar” go to http://www.mbconservation.org/ or call 760-364-3455.

BONUS: Print out a Solar workshop flyer (pdf).

BLM acquires lands to southwest side of JT Park

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced the purchase of 621 acres to the southwest of Joshua Tree National Park that had formerly been considered for a large-scale residential and commercial development. The land, considered crucial to protection of the sand dunes ecosystem, will be added to the Coachella Valley Preserve.

In addition to protecting the only known habitat for fringe-toed lizards, the acquisitions also provide a linkage for bobcats, kit foxes and desert bighorn sheep to move between the national park and the Coachella Valley Preserve.

BLM Desert District Manager Steve Borchard explained, “We were able to take advantage of federal legislation that allows us to use funds from sales of unneeded public lands to purchase lands like these adjacent to specially designated areas.”

Borchard explained the BLM purchase was just part of a total acquisition of about 14 square miles near Palm Springs, made possible through the partnership of a number of organizations.

“In particular, it was through the efforts and generosity of the nonprofit Friends of the Desert Mountains,” said Borchard, “that BLM was able to purchase the final 621 acres for the Coachella Valley Preserve at a considerable discount.”

Read more in the Hi-Desert Star.


FOR MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: See the Wildlife and Land Use/Development pages on the MBCA Website. Previous blog posts: Wildlife, National Park.

Partying with the stars

The Andromeda Society will host a Star Party on Saturday, Aug. 30, at the Hidden Valley Campground in Joshua Tree National Park. Find out more here.

Our deep and starry night skies are one of the finest and most valuable assets of the Morongo Basin. Careless lighting needlessly threatens this resource. Learn more about why dark skies matter and how to keep the stars shining on the Lighting Issues pages of the MBCA Website. There you'll also find copies of the Lighting Ordinances for Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, and the County areas, and learn how to use them.

Besides hosting regular star parties in the Park, the amateur astronomers of the local Andromeda Society also publish a monthly round-up of celestial movements on their Website.

Desert tortoise burned in Park

The burned remains of [a desert] tortoise were discovered Aug. 4 in a fire grate at the Black Rock campground, according to a park news release issued Tuesday. Officials estimate the animal was about 45 years old.

Park officials are investigating. Read the rest at The Desert Sun.


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

Concealed weapons to be allowed in National Parks?

Citizens have an opportunity to register comments on-line regarding a proposed rule change allowing concealed weapons in National Parks.

"The federal government is considering a proposal to allow visitors to carry loaded, concealed weapons in some national parks, wildlife refuges and monuments," as explained in the New York Times.

The proposed rule is supported by the N.R.A. "But opponents, including several former National Park Service officials, say that the current rules are effective — there is little crime in national parks — and that the change would threaten visitors’ safety and could easily ruin the family-friendly atmosphere of the parks and other attractions." - NYT

Access the on-line comment form here. Deadline: June 30.