Gulp...another plan to suck the desert dry

So-Cal Sprawlers seek water from valley near the Amboy Craters in the Mojave Desert

the Cadiz water project is back!

Rejected in 2002 by the big water agency in So-Cal, the Metropolitan Water District, several smaller urban water sellers are now backing the project to "mine" water from a remote desert valley to provide water for 400,000 more people in the L.A.-Orange county areas.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/san-bernardino-county/san-bernardino-county-headlines-index/20111206-desert-environmental-review-on-water-storage-plan-released.ece

"An environmental report has been released for a controversial plan to pump water from ancient underground basins in the eastern Mojave Desert and store Colorado River supplies there for delivery to Riverside County and elsewhere in Southern California.
The $225 million Cadiz Valley Water Conservation, Recovery and Storage Project would involve building 44 miles of pipeline to carry water in surplus years from the Colorado River Aqueduct to the company’s property, which lies between the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park.
In dry years, water would be pumped from the aquifer underneath the 35,000 acres owned by Cadiz Inc..."

More on local hearings in January and February of 2012 are in the above article.

(click on maps to enlarge)

TO READ THE EIR:
http://www.smwd.com/operations/cadiz-project-draft-eir.html

Solar is winning out over new fossil fuel development in California, but

The Big Battle for solar power now is between using wild land in the desert, and polluted or poor quality farmland, (and we don't hear much about using big rooftops in the city)

Fresno County gets a record number of solar proposals for tainted farmland near 5 freeway

http://www.capitalpress.com/content/AP-CA-Solar-farming-110711

11/13/2011--says the California Farm Bureau attorney. "I should know what a crop is, and it doesn't fit my definition of a crop."

...In Fresno County alone, where the $5.8 billion in annual agriculture production is often the highest of any U.S. county, the stakes are high. At least 32 applications for utility-scale solar projects are on file since the first one was approved in July, and four more are planned here by Pacific Gas & Electric, which gets its approval from the state. The result would be a patchwork of solar collectors scattershot across prime farmland.

Planners say they can't recall ever having so many permit applications pending for one type of development, even in the heydays of the home building boom.

"This is unique, and it's pretty new," said Will Kettler, Fresno County's principal planner.

A bill signed in October by Gov. Jerry Brown could make marginal land far more attractive for development. The law will expedite the process by which poor soil can be developed with solar by allowing owners to more easily end their Williamson Act contracts, which grant lower tax rates in exchange for keeping the land in agriculture for 10 years.

The law should expedite development of the 30,000-acre Westlands Solar Park 60 miles southwest of Fresno, one project that has the support of the major environmental groups. All of the land is either of marginal quality or without a reliable water source, but is covered by hundreds of contracts that would have had to be undone individually...

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Sierra Club's longtime chief departs over rift over solar farms in the desert and other compromises; he supported them, members oppose them

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sierra-club-20111119,0,3734323.story

11/19/2011--...The group's support for utility-scale solar development, which threatens such species as the desert tortoise, captures the philosophical shift that occurred under Pope.

"If we don't save the planet, there won't be any tortoises left to save," Pope said...

Rejected by the courts, now...

Desert Dump next to National Park is in a Financial Hole

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20111102/BUSINESS/111020313/Developer-Eagle-Mountain-dump-files-Chapter-11-bankruptcy

11/2/2011--The developer of a contentious, 4,654-acre Eagle Mountain landfill project proposed for an area just east of the Coachella Valley and south of Joshua Tree National Park has filed for bankruptcy.

Mine Reclamation LLC officials said Monday that the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal bankruptcy court in Riverside County.

Richard Stoddard, Mine Reclamation's president, said the bankruptcy filing is necessary to “protect the company,” which has invested nearly $85 million in permitting and legal fees, but has been unsuccessful in opening the landfill.

…Had the landfill project been successful, it would have benefited retired Kaiser steel workers. They had hoped the landfill project would provide a source of funding for the full restoration of their benefits that they lost when Kaiser Steel Company closed.

Ron Bitonti, chairman of the Kaiser Voluntary Employee Benefit Association, said when the project was first introduced, his group had more than 8,000 members, and many have died.

“Now, due to the delays caused by the litigation initiated by a few environmental extremists and the delays caused by the courts, we are down to approximately 3,500 members,” Bitonti said.

----------------------------

http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20111101-desert-future-of-proposed-dumps-4654-acres-in-question.ece

Kaiser Ventures, which owns 83 percent of the struggling Mine Reclamation LLC, rejected a push by Eagle Mountain landfill foes to turn the land over to the public.

…There may be more litigation to come, he said. The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which agreed to pay $41 million for the landfill, have threatened to sue Mine Reclamation to force it to overcome all the obstacles and continue permitting the landfill at the company’s expense, Cook said. Mine Reclamation has given the county a choice of proceeding with the purchase or terminating the sale.

Solar power plans for CA Desert from the feds and L.A....

Feds Target 1.7% of the land in California for Solar Power facilities (OK, 1.7 million acres), but say much less than that will be used

From the Fed's notice:
In California,  1,766,543 acres of land would be available under the solar energy development program alternative. Four SEZs would be identified: Imperial East (5,722 acres), Iron Mountain (106,522 acres), Pisgah (23,950 acres), and Riverside East (202,896 acres).

Public Comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIS):

The Draft Solar PEIS is now available for public review, as detailed in the “Notice of Availability for the PEIS” published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2010 (http://solareis.anl.gov/documents/docs/SolarDraftPEIS_NOA.pdf). The Notice provides information on dates, times, and locations of public meetings on the PEIS, and solicits public comments. Comments can be submitted using the Public Comment Form on the Solar PEIS website (http://solareis.anl.gov/involve/comments/index.cfm).

For More Information Information about the Solar PEIS is available on the Public Information website (http://solareis.anl.gov).

-------------------------

MORE ON THIS ISSUE:

http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Chu-Announce-Next-Step-in-Nations-March-toward-Renewable-Energy-Future.cfm

This press release says "reasonably foreseeable solar energy development is anticipated on only about 214,000 acres of the suitable and appropriate BLM lands in 6 western states."

MAP OF CALIFORNIA LANDS: http://solareis.anl.gov/documents/dpeis/maps/alternatives/Solar_DPEIS_CA_Statewide.pdf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121604898.html

http://www.ca.blm.gov/tf5c
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20101217/BUSINESS/12160394/1006/news01/New%20program%20could%20fast-track%20solar%20projects
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http://www.ca.blm.gov/1f5c
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-16/u-s-selects-solar-power-zones-to-streamline-project-approval-process.html

12/16/2010--The Wilderness Society studied the 24 areas initially suggested by the BLM and this month and identified two that aren’t suitable for development, said Alex Daue, a spokesman for the society.
One is the 110,000-acre Iron Mountain zone in California, located between the Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert National Preserve.
“A couple of the zones are inappropriate for large-scale solar development,” Daue said in a telephone interview. “Iron Mountain should be taken off their map.”
The Wilderness Society plans to work with other environmental groups and the Interior Department to promote development at the solar zones it considers best suited for large-scale energy plants, Daue said. It will do so during a 90- day comment period that begins when the document is published in the federal register, he said.
“We support solar development on most of the zones and we want the BLM to ensure projects are built within those zones,” Daue said.


------------------------

Solar Project near Ridgecrest opposed by Fed's advisory committee:

http://www.ridgecrestca.com/news/x41610864/Steering-committee-opposes-solar-project
6/29/2010--Steering committee opposes solar project

Ridgecrest, Calif. —
The Bureau of Land Management Steering Committee, at its meeting Thursday, voted 12-1 to approve a letter stating its opposition to Solar Millennium's proposed solar-power-plant project. Committee Member Dave Matthews cast the dissenting vote.
…He said the committee members represent certain entities in the Indian Wells Valley. “We represent their beliefs of what they would like to see or what they wouldn't like to see.”
The committee's letter states the project would use approximately 600,000 gallons of water a day during construction, 200,000 gallons a day during operations and 191,000 gallons of propane a year.
The letter also stated a concern the project would disturb 2,000 acres of top soil known to contain spores that cause valley fever and the proximity of the disturbed soil to human population that includes children and the elderly.
…The committee's letter stated the draft EIS does not comply with CEQA and NEPA regarding full and frank discussion of alternative sites.
“Preference is to be given to land that has already had disturbance,” it said.
According to the letter, the Garlock alternative has such a disturbance and is not located nearly as close to communities and individuals as the proposed site.
“DEIS discussion of the site does not indicate it has the wildlife issues (ground squirrel, tortoise) that the RSPP has,” said the letter.
It also states the draft document does not comply with the state and national acts regarding full and frank discussion of alternative energy sources, and the southern project area sits squarely within the northern gateway to the El Paso Mountains — one of the most popular recreational destinations in the Desert District.

-------------------

Plus--L.A. Plans Solar "Ranch" in Owens Valley
FROM Eastern Sierra Land Trust-10/14/2010:

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announces plans for 3000 acre Owens Valley "Solar Ranch"

LADWP is preparing an Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Southern Owens Valley Solar Ranch, which would provide 200 megawatts of energy from photovoltaic solar panels. Two potential sites are being considered for this 3000 acre development. The northern site is located northeast of Lone Pine, east of the Owens River. The second site is just east of HWY 395 and north of Owens Lake. More info about the upcoming scoping meeting and where to send comments can be found here: Southern Owens Valley Solar Ranch.

http://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp013701.jsp

Offroad routes in Kern County Desert are closed

BLM closes two routes at Rand Mountains pending federal court ruling (BLM news release, 6/21/10)

The two routes in question are part of a legal challenge involving the BLM's West Mojave Plan, approved in 2006. The routes had been previously closed as part of an earlier Federal Court settlement. BLM
developed a new plan for the area to protect sensitive resources and still allow vehicle use under permit, but a recent new ruling of the Interior Board of Land Appeals remands the plan to the BLM, pending the outcome of a Federal lawsuit soon to be heard in San Francisco. The closure is expected to impact a significant number of off-highway vehicle recreationists.

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/june/CDD1078.html

Area near Joshua tree preserved...

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Conservation Commission to buy Big Morongo parcel

(Palm Springs Desert Sun, 7/15/09)

"Coachella Valley officials are spending $3.9 million to acquire 638 acres in Big Morongo Canyon, the largest land purchase since the desert multi-species protection act went into effect last fall ... 'This land is part of a significant wildlife corridor,' said Katie Barrows, environmental resources director for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments." The BLM is a participant in the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan.

for map:

http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/Desert-Local-News/Desert_Local_News_july_12th_09_virtual_edition_32_pages_optimize/2009071301/2.html


http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2009/press-enterprise-07-10-2009.html

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907150307

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RELATED: "Big Morongo Canyon Preserve" (BLM- California, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office)

The Preserve includes an internationally recognized desert oasis and marsh that is one of the 10 largest cottonwood and willow riparian (stream) habitats in California. It is also identified by the Audubon Society as one of the most important avian habitat areas in California.

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/bigmorongo.html


http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/bigmorongo.html

big morongo preserve history

Revised Desert Protection Act map released...

(Photo: proposed additions to the Golden Valley Wildernesss)

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Senator Feinstein Refines Plan to Protect California Desert Wilderness

http://www.calwild.org/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Monday, December 21, 2009

http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=b3a780d4-5056-8059-7606-3936a2f7945f&Region_id=&Issue_id=

Senator Feinstein Introduces Legislation to Balance Conservation, Recreation and Renewable Energy Development in the Mojave Desert
-Measure would designate new desert conservation lands; streamline and improve permitting process for large-scale wind and solar development on suitable desert lands; and enhance recreational opportunities-
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the author of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, today introduced a comprehensive bill to designate new lands in the Mojave Desert for conservation, enhance recreational opportunities, and streamline and improve the federal permitting process to advance large-scale wind and solar development on suitable lands. The carefully crafted legislation, titled the California Desert Protection Act of 2010, is the product of discussions with key stakeholders in Southern California.
The bill builds upon the legacy of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act – sponsored by Senator Feinstein – which protected more than 7 million acres of pristine desert in Southern California, and established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve.

“I strongly believe that conservation, renewable energy development and recreation can and must co-exist in the California Desert,” Senator Feinstein said. “This legislation strikes a careful balance between these sometimes competing concerns.”
“Earlier this year, I learned that Bureau of Land Management had accepted numerous applications to build vast solar and wind energy projects on former railroad lands previously owned by the Catellus Corporation that had been donated to the federal government or acquired with taxpayer funds for conservation.

I believe the development of these new cleaner energy sources is vital to addressing climate change, yet we must be careful about selecting where these facilities are located.
Approximately $45 million of private donations, including a $5 million land discount from Catellus, and $18 million in federal Land and Water Conservation funds were spent to purchase these lands, with the intent of conserving them in perpetuity.
We have an obligation to honor our commitment to conserve these lands – and I believe we can still accomplish that goal while also fulfilling California’s commitment to develop a clean energy portfolio. There are many places in the California desert where development and employment are essential and appropriate. But there are also places that future generations will thank us for setting aside.
Over the course of the past year, we have worked painstakingly to ensure that this legislation balances the needs of all stakeholders. This bill, if enacted, will have a positive and enduring impact on the landscape of the Southern California desert, and I hope it will stand as a model for how to balance renewable energy development and conservation. I would urge my colleagues in the Senate and the House to support this legislation, so that we can get it enacted as quickly as possible.”

As of today, the legislation has the support of:

The California Wilderness Coalition
The Wildlands Conservancy
The Wilderness Society
The National Parks Conservation Association
Friends of the River
Campaign for America's Wilderness
Cogentrix Energy
Edison International (parent company of Southern California Edison)
Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
Friends of the Desert Mountains
Mojave Desert Land Trust
Desert Protective Council
Amargosa Conservancy
Death Valley Conservancy
Cities of Barstow, Desert Hot Springs, Hesperia, Indio, Palm Springs, San Bernardino and Yucaipa
Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley
San Bernardino County Supervisor Neil Derry
Imperial County Supervisor Wally Leimgruber
Coachella Valley Association of Governments
SummerTree Institute
Route 66 Preservation Foundation

http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=14d49cae-7398-4d7e-8693-40ed19b44299

for the map

City Trash next to National Park is a no-no...

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CEQA HELPS PROTECT EAGLE MOUNTAIN FROM LANDFILL

11/10/2009--The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed landfill provided by Kaiser Ventures LLC insufficiently addressed the potential introduction of chemical nutrients into the ecosystem of Eagle Mountain near Joshua Tree National Park.

http://www.lacsd.org/info/waste_by_rail/default.asp

Ninth Circuit panel halts Eagle Mountain landfill Nov. 10, 2009 | Molly Peterson | KPCC

http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/11/10/landfill-swap/

A controversial land swap that would locate the world's largest landfill near Joshua Tree National Monument has again been stopped after a new appeals court ruling.

For the last 20 years, the Kaiser Corporation’s tried to develop a landfill on property at Eagle Mountain. Not just any landfill – Eagle Mountain would take in 20,000 tons of garbage a day, 6 days a week, 16 hours a day at its peak.

Kaiser sought to swap land with the federal Bureau of Land Management to amass enough property for its dumping needs. The mining company obtained permits and cleared state court challenges.

But the National Parks Conservation Association and a desert-area couple challenged the swap deal in federal court, and a judge blocked it. Now an appeals court has upheld that ruling.

Judges determined that the federal land agency focused too much on the company's goals for the land, and not enough on the public interest. The court also found fault with the agency's scrutiny of environmental effects.

Kaiser Ventures and the BLM could still appeal the decision. Conservation groups and desert dwellers call the ruling a major victory in a 20-year dispute over the fate of the Eagle Mountain project.

To see the full court ruling, visit:
http://www.npca.org/media_center/pdf/Ninth_Circuit_Opinion.pdf

For background information, visit:
http://www.npca.org/pacific/desert/threats/eaglemountaindump.pdf

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20091111/NEWS0802/911110308/-1/newsfront/Court-nixes-proposal-for-dump-near-Joshua-Tree
  
Eagle mountain dump loses suit at 9th circuit
http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_E_eagledump11.4644444.html

Desert Destruction halted...

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Fed Judge Overturns Bush's Plan for the West Mojave Desert

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2009/mojave-orv-09-29-2009.html

Bush-era Plan Authorizing Off-road Vehicles on Federal Lands in Mojave Desert Found Illegal by Court

9/29/2009--SAN FRANCISCO— Late Monday a federal judge rejected a Bureau of Land Management plan for managing millions of acres of public land in the California desert. In response to a challenge brought by a coalition of conservation groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and Desert Survivors, the court ruled that the Bush-era West Mojave Plan violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act by favoring off-road vehicle use over protection of sensitive desert resources such as endangered species and archeological sites.

“This is a huge win for the California desert,” said Lisa Belenky, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The court’s decision takes the Bureau of Land Management to task for designating thousands of miles of off-road vehicle routes while ignoring the significant damage these vehicles cause to our public lands and the wildlife that depend on these lands for their survival.”

The court rejected the Bureau’s use of a route designation “decision tree” that the agency used to designate areas for off-road vehicles – a decision tree that failed to take into account such legal requirements as the minimization of routes to limit damage to public lands and disruption of wildlife and habitats. The court found that the Bureau failed to provide adequate explanation for many of the route changes and actually added routes beyond the limit expressly set in the agency’s own planning documents.

It also found that the Bureau violated the law by failing to analyze alternatives that would reduce the number or miles of off-road vehicle routes so as to reduce impacts to resources; that the agency’s analysis of impacts of off-road vehicles on air-quality cultural resources, riparian resources, unusual plant assemblages, and sensitive species such as the Mojave fringe-toed lizard was inadequate; and that the Bureau failed to look at the impacts of cattle grazing on sensitive desert soils.

-----------------------------------
to read the judge's ruling:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/deserts/california_desert_conservation_area/pdfs/WEMO_NECO_case_order_9-28-09.pdf

"For the foregoing reasons, ...The Court GRANTS summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs on the FLPMA claims, GRANTS summary judgment on some of the NEPA claims in favor of plaintiffs, and GRANTS summary judgment on some of the NEPA claims in favor of defendants, and GRANTS summary judgment in favor of defendants on the ESA claims."

PArks Linkage Bill proposed in east Mojave desert...

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Senator Feinstein is Drafting Bill to Link Joshua Tree and East Mojave Parks

excerpted from http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_monument16.447149a.html

9/16/2009--...Earlier this year, preservationists said they sought Feinstein's support to create a 2.4 million-acre preserve to protect public land from military use and energy development. The area would be called the "Mother Road National Monument" because it would include 70 miles of historic Route 66...

One supporter said Tuesday that the senator now is working on a more modest plan than initially discussed. ..

Elden Hughes, a member of the Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee and a Joshua Tree resident, said Feinstein is crafting legislation for a smaller monument than envisioned earlier by conservationists.

He said he hopes the Schwarzenegger administration doesn't stop Feinstein's effort, because a monument designation would protect corridors for wildlife to move between Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve. Such swaths of undisturbed land will be especially important as global warming changes habitat, he said.

"Severing the desert would be a huge mistake," Hughes said. "We need the wildlife and plant corridors to remain open."

Adding lands to Joshua Tree National Park...

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News from the Mojave Desert Land Trust

Their most current e-newsletter--late August 2009:
http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=00126XNn1lqCgybx6Tv9j5uON0ZQIxxpr32Io2YE3YWouLeVZvM2i5HESUZWT_wI3aJ_P9SW0SrFLIGyEL2ia6pHIRsGUBjMDgVxaXkIZfbaSJDrAkN67sHCg%3D%3D

Their campaign to save 955 acre near Nolina Peak on the north boundary of Joshua Tree National Park: http://www.mojavedesertlandtrust.org/quailmountain.html

THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Land Saved to Date: 16,105 acres and growing

Land Currently in Escrow: $1,080,000

Number of Parcels Acquired: 298

Dollars Invested Acquiring Land: $7,343,000

----------
From the Executive Director
Nancy Karl

With the growing threats to the Mojave Desert, such as large solar and wind installations, a high-speed rail crossing the desert, an airport proposed for the Primm, NV area, large-scale development projects and climate change affects, it's a historic and critical time to pay attention to those areas that currently contain healthy (and dwindling) wildlife populations.

Your community Land Trust is paying attention to and responding to these threats through programs that acquire and conserve land, comment on Environmental Impact Reports (EIR's), steward and monitor lands we've already preserved, and restore land that has been impacted by dumping or other uses.

The Quail Mountain Project is an important and rare opportunity to purchase exquisite habitat and wildlife viewing areas in south Joshua Tree, next to our previous purchase, Nolina Peak. We have a limited period of time to complete the purchase before it goes back on the market for potential development. Have you ever seen a 30-foot waterfall in Joshua Tree? After a rain event, you'll have the opportunity, if we can save this important natural area.

Tank training expansion threatens desert turtles...

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Act Now to Save Desert Tortoises

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27758

from the Center for Biological Diversity

8/10/2009--Last year, more than 250 desert tortoises died after a disastrous attempt by the Army to relocate 600 of the imperiled tortoises to make way for a tank-warfare training area in the California desert. Now, the Army and the Bureau of Land Management are rushing forward with a plan to move over 1,100 more tortoises -- and have given the public a tiny, 15-day window of opportunity to express itself on this lethal proposal. We need your help now.

Feds Unveil Desert Solar proposal maps...

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Secretary Salazar, Senator Reid Announce 'Fast-Track' Initiatives for Solar Energy Development on Western Lands

(CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE)

excerpted from:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/june/NR_0629_2009.html

6/29/2009--LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Under initiatives announced today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), federal agencies will work with western leaders to designate tracts of U.S. public lands in the West as prime zones for utility-scale solar energy development, fund environmental studies, open new solar energy permitting offices and speed reviews of industry proposals. Link to maps of Solar Energy Study Areas. http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy/solar_energy/Solar_Energy_Study_Areas.html

“President Obama’s comprehensive energy strategy calls for rapid development of renewable energy, especially on America’s public lands,” said Secretary Salazar. “This environmentally-sensitive plan will identify appropriate Interior-managed lands that have excellent solar energy potential and limited conflicts with wildlife, other natural resources or land users. The two dozen areas we are evaluating could generate nearly 100,000 megawatts of solar electricity. With coordinated environmental studies, good land-use planning and zoning and priority processing, we can accelerate responsible solar energy production that will help build a clean-energy economy for the 21^st century.” ...

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http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_solar30.4241dd9.html

Solar Energy Zones Acres in six states proposed for fast-tracked projects: 676,048

Acres in California: 351,048

Acres in Riverside County: 202,295
Acres in San Bernardino County: 135,924
Acres in Imperial County: 12,830

Note: Acreages are approximate. Source: U.S. Department of the Interior

Desert Land Rush by energy companies...

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Too Hot and Distant for tract houses...But Seems Like Everyone wants a piece of the Mojave Desert...

excerpted from
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-solar1-2009jun01,0,6845540.story

6/1/2009--A rush to stake claims for renewable energy projects in the California desert has triggered a federal investigation and prompted calls for reforms to prevent public lands from being exposed to private profiteering and environmental degradation.

Officials said last week that the inspector general's office of the Department of the Interior was investigating Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar Inc.'s recent acquisition of Hayward, Calif.-based OptiSolar, and its unfinished renewable energy projects, for $400 million. The deal gave First Solar control of what the company described as OptiSolar's "strategic land rights" to 136,000 acres of public land in San Bernardino, Riverside and Kern counties.

Bureau of Land Management officials, however, said First Solar acquired OptiSolar's applications to develop that land.

"There is no value associated with a mere application, which could be rejected by us for a variety of reasons," said Greg Miller, renewable energy program manager for the BLM office in Moreno Valley...

...Three years ago, the bureau had six applications for solar energy projects on file. Over the last year, it has received 130 additional applications from 50 companies, covering about 600,000 acres -- much of it in one of the sunniest regions on Earth, the Mojave Desert.

Some applicants are asking for parcels as small as 250 acres. Then there is Cogentrix Solar Investments, which is seeking more than 300,000 acres...

...A coalition of a dozen environmental groups led by the Wildlands Conservancy has identified 137,000 acres of public and private agricultural and degraded desert lands -- all near existing transmission lines -- that could be used for solar energy farms.

"On these alternative lands we can unite what otherwise would be conflicting environmental interests," said David Myers, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy.

"It would be a real shame if the public policy for our new green economy was driven haphazardly by speculators," he said.

An Island in the Mojave National Preserve...

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Spotlight on the Castle Mountains Proposed Mojave National Preserve Addition

from http://calwild.org's Voices For the Desert news

http://calwild.org/explore-wild-lands/desert.html

5/2009--The Castle Mountains lie along the California-Nevada border and are surrounded on three sides by the Mojave National Preserve. These mountains, including Hart Peak at 5,543 ft., represent a critical linkage between the Paiute Mountains and the New York Mountains for plant-life, wildlife, scenic viewshed and watershed. The Castle Mountains are currently the only remaining portion of the 340-mile Lanfair Valley watershed that is not part of the Preserve. The vegetation consists of Joshua tree woodland, with higher elevations leading to Blackbrush scrub and Pinyon-Juniper forest at the highest altitudes. The area of Desert Grasslands below the Viceroy Mine was recognized as a “unique plant assemblage” in 1980 by the BLM in their California Desert Conservation Area plan. The scenic view from Hart Mountain looks out over adjacent and contiguous wilderness, including views of many of the highest peaks in the Mojave Desert. The remote nature of this site protects the ability to enjoy increasingly rare natural quiet. The Castle Mountains are critical habitat for Mojave Desert wildlife like the Desert Bighorn, Mule Deer, Bobcat, Mountain Lion, Golden Eagle, Swainson’s Hawk, Desert Tortoise, Gila Monster, Prairie Falcon, Bendire’s Thrasher, Grey Vireo, Townsend’s big-eared bat, and California leaf-nosed bat. This area is especially critical to the Desert Bighorn who utilize the area both as habitat and as a wildlife corridor between the water-poor Paiute Mountains and the wetter New York Mountains. This area is also a “living laboratory” showcasing the progression of human history in the Eastern Mojave Desert. There are significant elements of Native American, Western-American and Mining History, including an obsidian source that provided material found throughout the Mojave, the historic town of Hart, and both the Hart and Viceroy mines. The opportunity for historic preservation and interpretation are tremendous.

Solar in the City or the Desert?

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Consensus elusive on proposed desert solar projects

http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_solar12.3889b12.html

5/12/2009--Dozens of companies have submitted applications to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for solar projects on nearly 600,000 acres in the California desert. Some environmental groups worry that the developments will harm endangered wildlife and disrupt desert vistas.

... Not too fast, countered Bill Corcoran, a Los Angeles-based representative of the Sierra Club. Much of the public land under consideration for large solar plants is pristine and should be preserved for future generations, he said.

That terrain includes former railroad property in the Mojave Desert that conservationists acquired about a decade ago and donated to the federal government.

"It is important the public lands that were bought for conservation should be given that conservation protection," Corcoran said.

He added that the Sierra Club favors solar energy development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

Corcoran proposed that the federal government establish a system of tax and regulatory incentives to push much of the solar development onto abandoned farms and other disturbed acreage -- much of it near towns and cities -- that has little habitat or conservation value.

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A statement from the feds:

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Senator Feinstein Wants Energy Plans Halted on Desert Lands that were Donated for Preservation

excerpted from http://yubanet.com/california/Desert-Protection-Feinstein-Seeks-to-Preserve-Former-Catellus-Lands.php

By: Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office

(lands in red and purple are the Wildlands Conservancy donation parcels. Click on map to enlarge)

Washington, DC Mar. 18, 2009 - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the author of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, today announced her intention to introduce new legislation to establish a national monument to preserve hundreds of thousands of acres in the Mojave Desert. The former Catellus lands were previously donated to or by purchased by the Department of the Interior for conservation.

"The former Catellus lands between the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park were purchased by or donated to the federal government so they would be protected forever. I feel very strongly that the federal government must honor that commitment," Senator Feinstein said.

"That's why I am very concerned about wind and solar development proposals intended for these lands. I'm a strong supporter of renewable energy and clean technology -- but it is critical that these projects are built on suitable lands. The former Catellus lands shouldn't be eligible for development.

So, I intend to introduce new legislation to protect hundreds of thousands of acres of these former railroad lands through a national monument designation. This would provide lasting protection for these lands and prevent development, while allowing existing uses to continue. I also intend to work with local stakeholders to determine whether other local desert lands may be suitable for federal protection at this time.

These former Catellus land acquisitions were financed by $40 million in private donations from The Wildlands Conservancy, $18 million in Land and Water Conservation Fund appropriations and approximately $5 million in a price reduction from Catellus, a real estate subsidiary of the former Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroad. The private parties contributed this large sum of money in the belief that this land will be protected and conserved. Building huge solar facilities on these lands is untenable and unacceptable. Bottom line: the former Catellus lands must be protected from development."

Senator Feinstein recently expressed her concerns about development proposals intended for the former Catellus lands in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, which is available below.

Protecting the Former Catellus Lands

The national monument designation would ensure that hundreds of thousands of acres between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve are protected in perpetuity. Large-scale development would be prohibited within the monument in order to protect the biological and aesthetic integrity of the region and guarantee public access for hunting, hiking, camping and exploring scenic back roads.

The 600,000 acre Catellus agreement was one the largest nonprofit land acquisition donations to the United States in history. Most of the Catellus lands were acquired and donated to the federal government between 1999 and 2004. It included nearly 100,000 acres of land to the National Park Service, over 210,000 acres in 20 wilderness areas to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and hundreds of thousands of acres of important habitat for threatened and endangered species.

The BLM is currently reviewing 130 applications for solar and wind energy development in the California desert, covering more than 1 million acres of public land. Several of these applications are located in the eastern Mojave Desert on or near property previously owned by Catellus. The California Energy Commission has estimated that approximately 100,000 to 160,000 acres of desert lands would be needed for the state to meet its 33 percent renewable energy goal by 2020.

Senator Feinstein was the lead sponsor of the 1994 Desert Protection Act, which provided lasting federal protection for nearly 9 million acres of pristine desert land in Southern California. It established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve. It remains the largest parks and wilderness bill to impact the lower 48 states.

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Desert News: Power Lines Plan route shifted; State is Planning for Power Plants; Chevron Sells Mine; Marines Seek More Land

New Green Path North power line proposal would avoid sensitive desert areas, but threaten others

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_greenpath27.40e3075.html

2-27-2009-A new route proposed for a controversial power line would sidestep sensitive Mojave Desert land by running towers parallel to existing lines along Interstate 10 and through San Timoteo Canyon to Lytle Creek.

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we get letters:

Evan Welsh writes:
The BLM is currently processing applications for solar facilities that would cover almost almost 700,000 acres. Many of these projects fall on land protected by the Wildlands Conservancy, in conjunction with the BLM and others, as part of the Catellus land acquisition. This modern gold rush has the potential to cut the Mojave Desert in half, and have a myriad of negative ecological, social, and cultural effects that will be impossible to mitigate. I have included a link to the BLM map that shows the relative size and location of these projects.

To download a map:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/cdd/energy.Par.96009.File.dat/cdd_renewable_energy_09_05_2008.pdf

(click on map to enlarge)

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Mapping for projects, protection
1/26/2009--State officials are mapping the California desert to identify what to designate for renewable energy projects and what to protect….

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090126/NEWS07/901260308/1026

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Southern California utilities eye Inland desert as energy goldmine

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_renewables26.3d2d943.html


http://www.pe.com//imagesdaily/2009/01-26/20090126_renewables_gfx_600.jpg

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Chevron Mining agrees to sell Mountain Pass rare earth mining operations

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS190520+10-Sep-2008+PRN20080910

Sept. 10, 2008-- Chevron Mining Inc. (Chevron) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its MolyCorp-Mountain Pass rare earth mining operations to Rare Earth Acquisitions (Editor's note: they are not related to Rare Earth News.)

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Marines want to take over Amboy Road

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2009/01/26/news/local/local5.txt

1/25/2009--LAUGHLIN - The U.S. Marine Corps wants to expand its Twentynine Palms, Calif., air-ground combat training base to the east, taking over Amboy Road, which Southern California drivers use to reach the Colorado River cities…. “If the road becomes clogged with military convoys or closed during training exercises, travelers will change their driving patterns and detour past Indian casinos prior to their arrival in Laughlin,” she advised her board of directors.

More from the Center for Biological Diversity
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26416

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More Battling Over Power Lines in the Desert

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_grassroots24.3f1195f.html

12/23/2008--Block Energy's Path -- Effort high to keep power lines out of virgin desert

--See comments section at end for L.A. DWP's response

More on Green Path North
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, www.ladwp.com/ladwp/cms/ladwp007434.jsp
Imperial Irrigation District's Green Path site, http://www.greenpath.us/
California Desert Coalition, http://www.cadesertco.org/
Alliance for Responsible Energy Policy, http://www.stopgreenpath.com/
Coachella Valley Coalition, http://www.coachellavalleycoalition.com/

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Feds Complete 8881 Acre Purchase to Finish 20,000 Acre Coachella Valley Preserve

For Release: September 25, 2008
Contact: David Briery (951) 697-5220; e-mail dbriery@ca.blm.gov
CA-CDD-08-69

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2008/september/CDDNews0869_Coachella_land_acquisition.html

BLM Completes Land Acquisition To Protect Ecosystem

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently completed the last of a series of land acquisitions in the Palm Springs area designed to protect the sand dunes ecosystem critical to the survival of the threatened Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard and other native species, the BLM's California Desert District announced today. BLM Desert District Manager Steve Borchard said the purchased land, on the southwest side of Joshua Tree National Park adjacent to the existing Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard Preserve, had previously been proposed for a large residential and commercial development. "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," he explained. "With those funds, and the efforts of a strong partnership of other government and private partners, a long-term conservation vision for the Coachella Valley has finally become a reality." The purchased land is important for maintaining the vitality of a system of wind-blown sand dunes -- the only habitat for fringe-toed lizards. The acquisitions also provide an important linkage for bobcat, kit fox, and desert bighorn sheep to move between the national park and the Coachella Valley Preserve. Borchard explained that the BLM purchase was just part of a total acquisition of 8,881 acres (about 14 square miles) near Palm Springs, Calif., that was 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," says Borchard, "that BLM was able to purchase the final 621 acres for the Coachella Valley Preserve at a considerable discount." The acquisition came in response to a proposal in 2001 to build 12 golf courses, three hotels, two country clubs, a university, numerous retail shops and restaurants, as well as 7,000 homes, on a portion of the land. BLM Wildlife Biologist Larry LaPre points out that the development would have interrupted the essential flow of sand for the dune system that serves as the habitat for the fringe-toed lizard. "The acquired property," LaPre explained, "contains the Little San Bernardino Mountains fluvial sand transport system. The transport system begins high in the nearby mountains where flash floods break down boulders into rocks. Continuing downstream, flash floods break rocks into pebbles, and finally pebbles into sand -- all within just a few miles. "This area," continued LaPre, "is core habitat for a number of species, including the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, the Palm Springs pocket mouse, the Coachella Valley milkvetch, the Coachella Valley giant sand-treader cricket, and the Coachella Valley round-tailed ground squirrel. In addition to the disruption of the sand transport system, fertilizers from golf courses and urban runoff would have entered the preserve, resulting in a fertile environment for weeds, sand dunes that no longer shifted with the wind, and loss of habitat for dune-dependent species." Within a year of the 2001 announcement of the plans for the large residential and commercial development, The Nature Conservancy and Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy began negotiations to purchase the property, according to Bill Havert, executive director of Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy. "By May of 2003," Havert says, "the developer agreed to a $26 million purchase price for land valued at $40 million. The developer would make up the loss through tax deductions. Then came the challenge of finding the money. The Mountains Conservancy took the lead and rounded up $23 million in funds from local ($4 million), state ($16.5 million), and non-profit ($2.5 million) sources. That left a $3 million shortfall jeopardizing this critical acquisition. "The Conservancy approached BLM, which said it would do whatever it took to work with the rest of the partners to make it happen, but they didn't have immediate funds available. On the strength of BLM's commitment, however, the Friends of the Desert Mountains, a local non-profit organization, borrowed the remaining $3 million needed from the city of Palm Desert to allow the land to be purchased, with the knowledge that BLM would buy that land from the Friends so it could repay the loan." According to Borchard, BLM was able to use funds available through both the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to complete the purchases and fulfill its commitments. "This addition to the Coachella Valley Preserve" says Borchard, "is great news for preserving the last five percent of what was originally 100 square miles of wind-blown sand dunes. The acquisition has many heroes – and will remain a superb example of what partnerships can accomplish." Borchard also noted that the allocation of FLTFA funds to complete these acquisitions was supported by the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service. "Together, we've made a big step in preserving an ecosystem." The Coachella Valley Preserve is jointly managed by the BLM, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, California State Parks, and the Center for Natural Lands Management. The Coachella Valley Preserve Visitor Center, 29200 Thousand Palms Canyon Road, Thousand Palms, Calif., is open year-round except for July and August.

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http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/joshuatree/html/coachella.htm

The Coachella Valley Preserve is located on the trace of the San Andreas Fault between the towns of Palm Springs and Indio, California. The main groves of the preserve are called the Thousand Palms Oasis. A visitor center is located in the Paul Wilhelm Grove along Thousand Palms Canyon Road. Springs rising along the Mission Canyon Fault and Banning Fault (parallel strands of the San Andreas Fault System). The springs are host to Desert Fan Palms (Washingtonia filifera). The preserve began with the purchase of 1,920 acres of the proposed site by the California Nature Conservancy. It was expanded by the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and is now owned by the Nature Conservancy. The preserve now encompasses 17,000 acres, protecting three separate desert dune fields and six palm forests (over 1,500 palms). It is part of a 20,000 acres dedicated to protect the habitat of the Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard and other species. The preserve covers a large portion of the Indio Hills in the valley west of Joshua Tree National Park.