Mojave Desert Blog

Defenders of Widlife, which is an intervenor in the proposed Calico Solar project east of Barstow, requested that Calico Solar LLC conduct another review of its proposed site for special status plants this year.  Defenders of Wildlife noted that the 2007 review of biological resources did not identify any rare plants but precipitation that year was also well below normal.  Precipitation in 2008 rose to 88% of normal, and a review of the site in that year did identify special status plants.  Defenders of Widlife highlights an important and time sensitive opportunity to conduct more accurate surveys of proposed solar sites this year since the Mojave Desert received approximately 200% of its normal precipitation this year.

So I have some pictures from a past trip to the Bighorn Mountain Wilderness Area and I have been unable to identify with any certainty three birds of which I was able to snap photos.  If you have any guesses as to their identity feel free to post a comment: Unidentified bird #1 (which I think may be a rock wren)   Unidentified Bird #2 (which I think may be a loggerhead shrike, but I'm not sure):     Unidentified Bird 3 (I have no idea what this could be): I'm an avid wildlife enthusiast, but I have much to learn, so please feel free to share your insight!

The Guardian, a UK newspaper, featured a travel article highlighting the wonder of the Mojave Desert: From The Guardian A murder is about to happen. Fifteen metres away from us, beside a bullet-ridden oil can, a coyote sniffs the air. My daughters stop the Indian Runner jog they have recently developed across the acres of unfenced Mojave desert, and watch. The victim-to-be, a clueless jackrabbit, sits between us and the coyote, among a family of quail, who are scrabbling for insects under a scrubby creosote bush. "Stay still," I murmur, grappling in my pocket. I pull out my Swiss Army knife, and open it up. I know that coyotes rarely attack but best to be prepared. "That's the corkscrew bit, Mum," my seven-year-old, Ruby, says. "It's the only one I can do with my nails," I whisper. Luckily for me, the wild dog decides none of us, not even the jackrabbit, is worth bothering about and trots off towards the San Gorgonio mountains 60 miles to

According to research presented at the Desert Tortoise Symposium ,  and reviewed in local press, desert tortoise translocation may not be an effective method of preserving desert tortoise populations.  Solar energy projects proposed for vast tracts of land in the Mojave Desert would involve relocating tortoises from their burrows on proposed sites to conservation land purchased by the solar companies.  The study presented at the Desert Tortoise Symposium, however, indicates that among 158 desert tortoises relocated from Fort Irwin nearly two years ago, 44 percent died and 20 tortoises were not located.  Many of the dead tortoises were killed by coyotes.  Of course, "green energy" firms like BrightSoure Energy and Solar Millennium balk at mitigation costs imposed by the California Energy Commission (CEC) in order to off-set their impact on desert tortoise and other sensitive species.  Perhaps the CEC should take into consideration the failure rate in desert tortoise relocatio

Solar Millenium's proposed Ridgecrest Solar Project considered alternative sites near Boron and California City that may have less overall impact on the Mojave Desert's biological resources since they are closer to industrialized or built-up areas, but determined that the acreage was insufficient or that it could not amass enough acreage due to the company's own arbitrary preference in land acquisition and unspecified guidance from the California Energy Commission (CEC) guidelines.  Data submitted by Solar Millenium indicates that the company's alternative site consideration seems shallow and suggests the company is not serious about smart site location.  Sadly, for reasons previously mentioned on this blog, the CEC seems content to move forward with consideration of the company's proposed site, even though it is home to special status wildlife, instead of devoting more serious investigation to the alternative sites.  Here is the response from Solar Millenium,

Victorville Mayor Rudy Cabriales once again decided to delay Victorville City Council's consideration of supporting or opposing the California Desert Protection Act of 2010, according to the minutes from the 2 March meeting.  The Council will now consider the legislation again during its 16 March meeting.  According to the minutes, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Rothschild and Councilmember McEachron had "comments" on the legislation but the notes did not specify.  For any readers of this blog that were able to attend, feel free to share with us what comments were made by those Coucilmembers.

Kelso Dunes practically materialized out of thin air, but only because wind currents and mountain formations formed a perfect match and dumped find sand adrift in the atmosphere onto the creosote shrub land now awash in sand dunes.  If we continue to constrict the Mojave Desert with subdivisions and industrial development, these phenomenon could cease to exist.