No wind towers on the buttes!

Dear MBCA members and supporters:

Late breaking news that we all wanted to hear:  Element Power has asked BLM to terminate its right-of-way grant for wind testing on the Black Lava Butte and Flat Top Mesa, essentially closing the door on its plan to cover the Buttes with wind towers. 

Bravo and thanks to the California Desert Coalition and Save Our Desert, who fought the project together.    

Desert-Wise Landscape Lectures – October 13

The MBCA’'s next event in the Desert-Wise Living Series is an afternoon of presentations and demonstrations of water-wise and energy-wise desert landscaping from many local residents and experts, on Saturday, October 13, in Joshua Tree.  It’s exactly at the right time of year to get the best results from planting and landscaping.  Go to the MBCA home page to learn more, then click the link to register via PayPal.

www.mbconservation.org

It’s only $10 for the general public and $5 for MBCA members-- it will be well worth your time and money!

Update on the Joshua Tree casino issue

Governor Brown unfortunately made a bad decision.  Per the LA Times,  “Gov. Jerry Brown approved a plan for two tribes to open casinos away from their ancestral lands, a move that he said would create jobs and help local communities.  But critics say the plan could lead to a massive expansion of gambling in California.”  Here is a link to the rest of the LA Times article on his recent decision: LA Times blog

This does not bode well for the Joshua Tree Casino.  However, the conditions cited by Gov. Brown in his decision letters describe situations quite different from Joshua Tree. Links to his full letters of approval are below, but here are some excerpts (underline added for emphasis):

·        “A large tribal population will directly benefit from the gaming facility.”  (The 29 Palms Band is very small.)

·        “The gaming facility is supported by both Madera County and the City of Madera.”  (Joshua Tree residents have come out in great numbers against the Casino.)

·        Each tribe “has a significant historical connection with the land.” (This does not seem to be the case in Joshua Tree.) 

·        “The gaming facility has increasing public support…”  (Not in Joshua Tree!)

·        “The facility will be located within a sports-and-entertainment zone created by Yuba County.”  (There’s no situation like that in Joshua Tree.)

Here are the actual letters sent by the Governor:

http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17699 

http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17700 

UCR Master Gardener Program

As a follow-up to those of you who have enjoyed learning about desert-wise landscaping from MBCA’s Landscape Tours, we have learned that there is going to be a new Cooperative Extension master gardener program at the University of California, Riverside campus in the Coachella Valley.  The program is tailored to Coachella Valley gardening (with some overlap with our Mojave Desert environment), and there is a volunteer requirement upon completion of the program.

Here is UCR’s advertising about the program:UCR Master Gardener program

Urgent meeting on the Cadiz Valley Project this Wednesday July 25th

Please join us (MBCA) along with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and other groups to attend the Santa Margarita Water District Board Meeting, to demonstrate our great concern about the “Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery, and Storage Project.”   

This is critical!  The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) on the project will be presented, and we must have many desert residents present to speak publicly about the folly of this project and its harmful effects to “our” Mojave Desert.

The SMWD Board Meeting this Wednesday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. will be held at the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center, Sycamore Room, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92692

There will be a teleconference version of the SMWD Board meeting set up at Copper Mountain College (same date and time).  If you cannot join your concerned neighbors and friends and travel to Mission Viejo, please attend the teleconferenced meeting at CMC.  Being at the actual Board meeting intensifies the effect of our intentions to oppose this inappropriate project, but there is also value in an additional large turnout at the College.

A recent article in the LA Times provides a refresher on the issues of the project and the entrance of a new participant in the fight against it, Tetra Technologies, Inc.:  LA Times 

If you would like to access the full FEIR for the project, the link is in about the middle of this page on the SMWD website:Full FEIR

And here is a recent Sun Runner article from Steve Brown: Sunrunner on cadiz

Thank you.  Hope to see many of you in Orange County Wednesday!  

Meeting Monday, June 18th--Desert Renewable Energy and Wind Project Update

What:        Desert Renewable Energy and Wind Project Update
When:        Monday, June 18, 2012 – 6:30 p.m.
Where:        Yucca Valley Community Center, Yucca Room

This important meeting has been organized by the California Desert Coalition (CDC). CDC helped defeat Green Path North and continues to work toward preventing inappropriate renewable energy siting, as well as inappropriate transmission lines, in our Morongo Basin.  A multimedia presentation will provide background information on the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan and on the wind energy project planned for Black Lava Butte and Flat Top Mesa near Pioneertown by Element Power.  Community member questions will be welcomed.  Light refreshments will be available.

Date change for our May Board meeting

We are always happy to have guests at our MBCA Board meetings and hope that you will be among them.

Please be advised that THIS MONTH ONLY, OUR MEETING WILL BE CHANGED TO WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, instead of Thursday, May 10.  We meet at from 5-7 PM at the Center of Life, 7491 Barberry in Yucca Valley. Directions can be found at the MBCA website.

MBCA's 2nd Annual Desert-Wise Living Landscape Tour is Sunday April 22nd

Spend your Sunday on a self-guided tour of 20+ homes selected for their desert-wise landscape gardens. Become inspired to create your own vision of desert-wise landscape and learn how others have achieved unique sanctuaries using low water consumption with native, drought tolerant and water efficient plants. 

The gardens are located in Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, 29 Palms, Pioneertown, Landers, and Flamingo Heights. Tour hours are 9:00 – 4:00 pm. Tickets are $5 for MBCA members and $10 for the general public. (Discounted tickets are available when you combine the tour with a new MBCA membership). Visit the MBCA website to purchase your ticket on-line.

Registration will also be available at the following 2 locations on April 21:

Joshua Tree Farmers Market. Sign up at the MBCA table. 9am to 12pm

Yucca Valley Earth Day Celebration, Yucca Valley Community Center. Sign up at the MBCA table. 9am to 1pm 

After the tour, on Monday, April 23 – Sunday, April 30, you can purchase plants to fulfill your new vision and support the MBCA by heading over to the Cactus Mart in Morongo Valley. In support of the tour and as a fundraiser for MBCA, Cactus Mart will give a 10% discount for Landscape Tour participants and a 40% donation to MBCA, on plants purchased.

MBCA would like to thank AWAC, the Alliance for Water Awareness and Conservation, for their generous grant in support of the tour.

Upcoming Earth Day Events

 Founded on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day marked the birth of the modern environmental movement. Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, developed the idea in response to the destruction caused by a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California in 1969. An estimated 20 million people participated and paved the way for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That number has grown over the decades, as citizen gather around the country to celebrate the planet and share information--and solutions-- to environmental concerns.


MBCA will have displays at two local Earth Day events, also including displays and information about the Morongo Basin Dark Skies Alliance (MBDSA):

Morongo Valley Spring Festival
Saturday, March 31, 10 AM – 3 PM
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve Education Center (and also Covington Park)

Yucca Valley Conservation Fair and Earth Day Celebration
Saturday, April 21, 9 AM – 2 PM
Yucca Valley Community Center
Say Hi, and also get your Landscape Tour Tickets!

Desert-Wise Landscape Tour Sunday April 22nd

Last year’s MBCA Desert-Wise Living Landscape Tour was a great success, so the Second Annual Landscape Tour has been set for Sunday, April 22.  Spend a few hours enjoying some of the most beautiful and water-wise gardens created by your neighbors in communities across the Morongo Basin, and learn how you can do the same.  The cost is only $5 for members, $10 for others, and special deals are available, combining a tour ticket and MBCA membership.  Read more details and sign up at the MBCA website.  And while you’re there, you might want to read the clever and enthusiastic responses of last year’s post-Tour essay contest winners, also found on MBCA’s home page.

(below, Robin Kobaly's Water-wise garden)