Mojave Desert Blog

Update: I have heard that the authorization to allow Terra-Gen to kill California condors may not be under an "incidental take permit," but some other allowance under the Endangered Species Act.  Either way, the green light to kill California condors is a significant step in how we protect and recover this endangered species.  When more details are available I will write a follow-up post. In a shocking move against wildlife and wildlands, the Obama administration announced on Friday that wind energy company Terra-Gen could kill endangered California condors without penalty near Tehachapi, California, according to the Los Angeles Times .  This is yet another indication that the Obama administration's clean energy platform is motivated not by a desire to protect the environment, but instead to cater to corporations -- Washington has failed to put in place mandatory guidelines that would require companies to build wind facilities away from important bird habitat.  Many i

Some energy companies and wayward self-described "environmentalists" suggest that we must destroy desert wildlands for large solar and wind facilities in order to combat climate change.  Solar facilities on already-disturbed lands , however, prove this assertion is simply wrong.  Just this week a company began construction on a 127 megawatt solar project on fallow agricultural lands in Arizona, west of Phoenix.  The Arlington Valley Solar project will be far from its customers in San Diego, but unlike solar and wind projects being built on pristine public lands , the Arlington project will not rob us of desert habitat.  The Arlington Valley project joins a series of other large solar facilities on already-disturbed lands, including NRG's 66 MW Alpine Solar, First Solar's 290 MW Agua Caliente Solar, 8minutenergy's 266 MW Mount Signal Solar, and SunPower's 579 MW Antelope Valley Solar .  The Sierra Club lauded SunPower - which began construction on its proj

Congressperson Raul Grijalva last week introduced the Arizona Sonoran Desert Heritage Act (H.R. 1799), which would preserve nearly 950,000 acres of open space west of Phoenix.  Among the new designations, the bill would create over 680,000 acres of National Conservation Areas south and north of Interstate 10, over 290,000 acres of new wilderness, and 144,000 acres of Special Management Areas.   The protections would preserve these wildlands for future generations while also protecting habitat connectivity for species like bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and mule deer throughout this corner of the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert Heritage Act joins other legislative efforts currently languishing on Capitol Hill as Congress proves unable to make progress on a range of issues, conservation included.  Senator Feinstein is expected to reintroduce the California Desert Protection Act (CDPA) this year - the bill has enjoyed grassroots and community support since 2010, but Congress has

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the results of its April 6-7 count of the Devil's Hole pupfish population, finding 35 observable fish compared to the 63 observed last spring.  Fish and Wildlife Service found 75 fish in the fall of 2012, but noted that the fish experiences natural high and low cycles in its population from fall to spring. Still, the decline between the two spring surveys is concerning, and FWS notes that the species is in continued decline. It may look like just a puddle, but this is the very top level of water that extends down nearly 400 feet of a cavern, although the Devil's Hole pupfish are believed to only inhabit the upper 80 feet where the water temperature is about 93 degrees. We cannot afford to lose any more biodiversity, including that of the Devil's Hole pupfish.  The species has survived isolation in its current habitat for 10,000-22,000 years, enduring harsh conditions and changes.  Groundwater pumping by nearby agricultur

The American Bird Conservancy organized a petition to the new Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell asking her to protect bald and golden eagles from poorly sited wind energy projects.  At issue is the Department of Interior's consideration of issuing 30-year eagle "take" permits that would make it difficult for wildlife officials and scientists to protect these species.  If we are going to build a sustainable clean energy future, we cannot give industry a free pass to destroy what we are trying to protect. >> Click here to sign the petition. <<

California's desert landscape is a treasure.  Some people see it as a bore, or a wasteland, but what they cannot deny is that it is a wild landscape that offers a stark break from the strip malls and parking lots of Las Vegas or the Victor Valley.  It is not only accessible, but it is expansive -- at least for now. Chris Clarke at KCET wrote a great piece on one very long stretch of road that can give you the full experience of this wild place.  From Joshua Tree National Park to Death Valley National Park, you can traverse nearly 200 miles on a mostly two-lane road and experience the desert. You can start in a Joshua Tree woodland, hike up a mountain where there are juniper and pine, cross sand dunes, and then enjoy the riparian habitat of the Amargosa River at Shoshone.  You may cross some high voltage power lines, and a couple small towns (Baker, the largest, has a population of around 700), but you will mostly find solitude. Especially if you stop, get out, and walk. I thin

Desert poet, writer, activist, scholar, defender, and hiker Ruth Nolan attended a gathering of desert residents and activists celebrating the 15th anniversary of the defeat of the proposed Ward Valley nuclear waste site.  This place deep in the Mojave Desert provides a solace that is difficult to find in an age of 24/7 news coverage, tragedy and materialism.  What is easy to forget is that each of these "viewsheds" - as we call them in environmental impact statements - has a meaning and a history that is different to each individual and each generation. Ward Valley is sacred to Native American tribes, and its conversion to industrial use would have been a significant loss. A sign points the way to the 15th anniversary of the victory that saved Ward Valley from becoming a toxic waste site.  Photo by Ruth Nolan. Ruth Nolan captures the confluence of modern and ancient at Ward Valley in her poem that she wrote to commemorate the occasion of this victory: Dark Medalli

The Moapa band of Paiutes showed solidarity yesterday - along with Sierra Club President Allison Chin, and Congressman Horsford of Nevada - against the continued toxic emissions of the Reid Gardner Coal plant, situated along the Muddy River.   Reid Gardner has been hurting this community since 1965, and the Environmental Protection Agency recently disappointed us by giving the power plant a reprieve from the stricter pollution controls last year. Protesters hold up mock solar panels, with the Reid Gardner Coal plan in the background.  The Reid Gardner facility's toxic emissions not only contribute to climate change, but also directly affect the health of the Moapa community. Photo from Sierra Club. The demonstration march held on Saturday symbolically walked away from the coal plant, and ended up at the site of the future K Road Power Moapa Solar project, which will destroy over three square miles of intact desert habitat to produce roughly 350 megawatts of solar energy usi