Mojave Desert Blog

Legislation introduced by Congressman Howard McKeon in December and recently supported by Senator Barbara Boxer would resolve a longstanding dispute between CEMEX and the City of Santa Clarita, which opposed a 1990 contract sponsored by BLM granting CEMEX rights to extract sand and gravel from Soledad Canyon.   In order to resolve the dispute, the legislators propose selling BLM lands--already on the Bureau's "disposal list"--in the vicinity of Victorville and use the proceeds to compensate CEMEX.  The City of Victorville and San Bernardino County would have first rights to purchase the land. Although Soledad Canyon will be spared, the lands on BLM's disposal list amount to approximately 10,500 acres, with the bulk of those lands located just south and east of the Mojave Monkeyflower Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).  This general area was also targeted by the Victorville City Council for expansion of the City's boundaries (see previous post ).  Vi

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) California Desert District is soliciting nominations for five Southern Californians to serve on its District Advisory Council for the 2010-2012 three-year term, which would begin immediately upon confirmation by the Secretary of Interior. The five positions to be filled include one representative each for renewable resources, environmental protection, elected official, and two representatives for public-at-large. Anyone can nominate qualified persons in any of these categories. Nominations must be submitted by close of business Friday, April 21, 2010, to the California Desert District Manager, Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553. Each nomination must include the name of the nominee, work and home addresses and telephone numbers, a biographical sketch including the nominee’s work, applicable outside interests, and public service records. The nominee also must

Reviewing the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the proposed 1,555 acre " Hacienda at Fairview Valley " residential project (for more info, see my previous post ), a Joshua Tree survey identified at least 3,891 Joshua Trees on the proposed site .  County regulations would require the developer to attempt to avoid impacts to Joshua trees and preserve in-place to the farthest extent possible in order to achieve a “design of excellence.”  If the project progresses toward construction, the developer would have to submit a Joshua Tree plan that identifies specific trees to be transplanted or stockpiled for later transplantation or future adoption.   The survey approximated that 38% of the trees on the site would be "transferable,"  implying that the rest would likely be cut down and discarded.  You can download the full report on the website of San Bernardino County's Land Use Services Department in the list of EIRs.  Scroll down to the Hacienda project

Mr. Kevin Emmerich of Basin and Range Watch recently noted in a comment on this blog how the California Energy Commission (CEC) appears to be bending over backward to accommodate an expedited certification process.  As clarified in the comments, it appears that the energy companies (BrightSource, Solar Millennium, etc) are rushing to meet a deadline imposed in Washington mandating that projects break ground by the end of the year (2010) in order to qualify for Federal financial backing. Underscoring Mr. Emmerich's point, a transcript posted on the Ridgecrest Solar Project site from an informational hearing, a Deputy Director from the CEC commented that the compressed timeline requested by the applicant (Solar Millennium in the case of Ridgecrest) was going to pose a strain on the CEC and other agencies--such as BLM, Fish and Wildlife, etc--involved in the certification process since the site chosen by Solar Millennium in Ridgecrest raises significant questions regarding biologica

A Leopard Lizard in the Mojave Desert, watching me carefully from the shade of a Creosote shrub.  Once I got too close he/she (?) darted off and left me no chance to pursue with my camera.

Many of you have probably read that the Federal Government promised $1.4 billion in loan guarantees for BrightSource Energy's proposed solar site in the Mojave Desert's Ivanpah Valley.  Even though the California Energy Commission (CEC) has not yet made a final decision regarding whether or not to approve the solar site, the political pressure is clearly in favor of BrightSource despite the biological importance of the site (read more about the importance here ).   The CEC's "Presiding Member" is due to make a final decision regarding the Ivanpah proposal soon, which will be one of many decisions made by our elected officials or policymaking bodies over the next year that could make this a critical year for the Mojave.  In addition to Ivanpah, you can expect the CEC to also make a decision regarding the future of several more large energy sites, to include Ridgecrest , Abengoa , and Calico in the Mojave, and Blythe, Palen, Rice and Solar Two sites in the Colorad

The Apple Valley Town Council will reconsider its position on the California Desert Protection Act of 2010 (CDPA 2010) at tonight's meeting, and the Victorville City Council will consider its position on CDPA on 2 March.  As of 16 February Victorville Mayor Rudy Cabriales was not sure he had enough information to make an informed decision, and Council Member Caldwell was opposed, citing concerns that military training and mining interests would be impeded, according to minutes from the February meeting.