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  • California Desert Protection Act 2010 Press Release

    Johnson Valley in hands of the Marines - see below

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
    Monday, December 21, 2009


    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
    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

    Bill Summary

    A more detailed summary of the legislation, as well as relevant maps and a select group of images that capture the lands to be conserved are available online at: (Insert link)

    Title I: Conservation and Recreation

    This first title of the bill deals primarily with conservation and recreation purposes. The bill:


    Designates two new national monuments in the Mojave Desert:

    The Mojave Trails National Monument would protect approximately 941,000 acres of federal land, including approximately 266,000 acres of the former railroad lands along historic Route 66. The BLM would be given the authority to conserve the monument lands and also to maintain existing recreational uses, including hunting, vehicular travel on open roads and trails, camping, horseback riding and rockhounding.

    The Sand to Snow National Monument would encompass 134,000 acres of land from the desert floor in the Coachella Valley up to the top of Mount San Gorgonio, the highest peak in Southern California. The boundaries would include:
    - Two Areas of Critical Environmental Concern: Big Morongo Canyon and Whitewater Canyon
    - The BLM and U.S. Forest Service San Gorgonio Wilderness
    - The Wildlands Conservancy’s Pipe’s Canyon and Mission Creek Preserves, and;
    - Additional public and private conservation lands, including two wildlife movement corridor areas connecting the Peninsular Ranges with the Transverse Ranges.

    Adds adjacent lands to Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve. This includes:

    41,000 acres added to Death Valley National Park, including former mining areas where the claims have been retired and a narrow strip of BLM land between National Park and Defense Department boundaries that has made BLM management difficult.

    Almost 30,000 acres added to the Mojave National Preserve. This land was not included in the original Monument because of a former Viceroy gold mining operation. However, the mining operations ceased several years ago, and the reclamation process is nearly complete. Additionally, a 2007 analysis by the Interior Department recommended that this area would be suitable to add to the Preserve.

    An additional 2,900 acres added to Joshua Tree National Park in multiple small parcels of BLM land identified for disposal on its periphery.

    Protects nearly 76 miles of important four waterways as [COLOR="red"]Wild and Scenic Rivers[/COLOR].

    This includes Deep Creek and Whitewater River in and near the San Bernardino National Forest, and Amargosa River and Surprise Canyon Creek near Death Valley National Park.

    Designates five new wilderness areas.

    Designates approximately 250,000 acres of BLM wilderness areas near Fort Irwin that had previously been designated as wilderness study areas until base expansion was completed.

    Enhances recreational opportunities, while ensuring that the training needs of the military have been met.

    The bill would [COLOR="red"]designate four existing OHV areas [/COLOR]in the California desert as permanent, providing off-highway groups some certainty that these uses will be protected as much as conservation areas. [COLOR="Red"]With regard to the Johnson Valley OHV area, the Marines have agreed to consider an option for base expansion that would allow for an exclusive military use area, an exclusive OHV area, and a joint use area. [/COLOR]

    Title II: Renewable Energy Development

    This second title of the legislation improves and streamlines the process to permit large-scale wind and solar development on suitable public and private lands in the California desert.

    The bill:


    Requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to establish offices specifically focused on renewable energy development in each state with significant wind and solar resources on public land. These offices would be funded from the existing BLM permit improvement fund – a fund which is currently only available to supervise the permitting for oil and natural gas development.

    Helps cut through the backlog of pending renewable development applications with a “use it or lose it” approach to replace the BLM’s current “first come-first serve” practice. The legislation would establish strict deadlines for developers to conduct necessary biological and cultural studies, ensure connection to the grid, and develop a plan for water. This would ensure that serious development proposals are moved to the front of the line – and help put an end to unfettered speculation on desert lands.

    Expedites the application process for solar development on private lands. The legislation would establish a pilot mitigation bank program to ensure that it takes no longer to review an application to develop private lands than it does to develop public lands – without infringing upon important environmental regulations.

    Requires the BLM, the Forest Service, and the military to complete Environmental Impact Statements on their programs to develop renewable energy on the lands they oversee. Federal land managers will be required to identify renewable energy development areas where development is in the public interest through the programmatic EIS process. This will help avoid the sort of site-specific environmental conflicts that can delay projects for years. It will also result in a formal evaluation of whether public land currently managed by the military will also be considered for solar development, instead of concentrating this development only on BLM land. [COLOR="red"]There are currently approximately 3 million acres of California desert that are managed by the military, and some of this land could be developed for renewable energy consistent with the military mission. [/COLOR]
    Expedites the permitting of temporary meteorological measurement devices.

    [COLOR="red"]Authorizes grants and provides loan guarantees [/COLOR]to innovative electricity transmission technologies that will reduce the need to build massive, visually and environmentally disruptive transmission lines in the desert.

    Returns 25 percent of the revenue generated by new renewable energy projects to the state, and 25 percent to local county governments, ensuring that these entities have the resources to support permitting, public lands protection, and local conservation efforts. ###
    Last edited by bakerhab; 12-22-09, 08:42 AM.

  • #2
    SOunds and looks like big business is getting a foothold in our deserts. We have to stop this crap before it's too late. I'm starting with letters to all the entities listed.
    [CENTER][COLOR=#ff0000]Resistance Off Road
    [/COLOR]Join the Resistance...
    http://www.resistanceoffroad.us[/CENTER]

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    • #3
      http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/i...3-40ed19b44299

      Here's the pdf map of the proposed legislation.

      Notice the Holcomb Creek WSR

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by rat patrol View Post
        SOunds and looks like big business is getting a foothold in our deserts. We have to stop this crap before it's too late. I'm starting with letters to all the entities listed.

        Kurt,

        There's no way to stop this bill. Look at all the supporters and all the $$ they represent. We are just screwed. I noticed there were none of major off road groups on the list of supporters. I wonder if they were even invited to participate.

        One thing I am wondering, what happens to a creek or river once it's classified as a Wild & Secinic River. Would it mean no trails crossing it? I'm thinking of course of the Holcum Creek trail.
        SBCO Fire Dept. CERT volunteer
        MJR moderator
        MJR Adopt-a-Trail Crew member
        Jeep Patrol Leader
        Reforestation Supervisor
        Licensed Ham - n6ujm
        Eagle Scout

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        • #5
          Wild and Scenic

          Once a river gets Wild and Scenic status, we're basically done. Like the evolution of BLM lands from open to Monument to National Park to Wilderness -- just like so much of Death Valley already. It's like one of those Avatar things developing over time in a natural state of progression -- according to others.

          Let's take the river crossing idea one step farther. Say you can't cross it once it's W&S. Then it has a bunch of dead end spurs that get too close to the W&S corridor. So we have to close the spurs.

          Oh, then, you ask, what happens to the trail? Adi-flippin-ous.

          Rivers like the Tuolumne in N. CA or the Green in UT or the Yellowstone in WYO qualify for Wild and Scenic status, yea, sure. But the Armagosa? NOT.
          And some other desert rivers??? NOT.

          Del
          Del Albright, Ambassador, BlueRibbon Coalition (BRC), Trail Boss, Friends of the Rubicon (FOTR)

          Comment


          • #6
            Del nailed it with his analogy of the evolution of how lands go from open to wilderness.
            That is the way that the anti's work to close our lands.

            In this new bill, Feinstein has even gone against the energy developers. I would hope that this is her downfall as they have a lot of money to fight her.

            This state needs cheap renewable energy, and solar is a good source of it.

            If we support the development of Solar, we loose those lands to recreat on too, but it may also create some roads for us to travel on at the same time.

            Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.

            Todd
            Proud to be an American! Sharetrails/BRC President.
            Sponsors: BFG, Raceline, Advance Adapters, Currie, T&T Customs.

            Comment


            • #7
              My friend Randy Banis works very actively and effectively on Land Management issues on behalf of keeping land Open for use. I met with him a few months ago and he talked about this new bill and working with Fienstien's office. Much to my shock and amazement, his opinion was positive regarding Fienstien's position regarding "our" interests. This week I linked him to this specific discussion, and this is his response:

              Originally posted by Randy Banis
              I was fortunate to be among a handful of OHV leaders that worked with the Senator's office on this legislation, particularly on motorized access in the wilderness components and Death Valley National Park additions.

              Motorized recreation came out well in this bill. If passed, virtually all currently designated open motorized roads and trails would remain open to us. Essentially, this bill takes 1.5 million acres of prime recreation lands off the table for solar developers and preserves it for motorized recreational access. This is something we've never had before.

              The bill also includes a congressional designation for five of our largest OHV open areas. Currently, BLM open areas could be closed or converted to limited use status with a simple management decision. If passed, it would require a future act of congress to remove the OHV open designation.

              We still have some specific route issues we hope to negotiate, and there is a fuzzy 200,000 acre land "mitigation bank" in the solar section of the bill that has us concerned. I'll be happy to keep everyone posted as things develop.

              You can download PDF maps of the proposed national monuments, wilderness areas, and OHV open areas here:

              http://www.pfjv.org/monument.htm
              Off road adventure photography:

              TreadLightly Trainer
              Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
              HAM - KI6PFO

              2005 Rubicon Unlimited + trailer

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              • #8
                Yes Nathan,

                But in ths proposed legislation, most of Johnson Valley is lost to the Marines.
                SBCO Fire Dept. CERT volunteer
                MJR moderator
                MJR Adopt-a-Trail Crew member
                Jeep Patrol Leader
                Reforestation Supervisor
                Licensed Ham - n6ujm
                Eagle Scout

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Roger View Post
                  Yes Nathan,

                  But in ths proposed legislation, most of Johnson Valley is lost to the Marines.
                  No I don't think so. They only want it for a window of time, like two months of the year (or something like that). They need to be able to convoy across the desert for a period of days (for training) and they only way they can do that is to start in JV. There would be no live fire exercises, so the area would not be impacted and closed other than during their window of use.
                  Off road adventure photography:

                  TreadLightly Trainer
                  Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
                  HAM - KI6PFO

                  2005 Rubicon Unlimited + trailer

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    This is good news. Was not sure what to make of her position>
                    06 UNL RUBI 4.5 LA,KM 2-35's/ 4.88 BEADLOCKS/SKIDS/WINCH
                    07 AT CHASER TRAILER

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by nwoods View Post
                      No I don't think so. They only want it for a window of time, like two months of the year (or something like that). They need to be able to convoy across the desert for a period of days (for training) and they only way they can do that is to start in JV. There would be no live fire exercises, so the area would not be impacted and closed other than during their window of use.

                      Nathan,

                      Please study the Marines Map. Only a small portion of JV is "shared". A huge area will be permanently closed to the public.

                      Edit: I just looked at the map again. Only about the southern 1/4 of JV would be shared. Here it is: http://www.pfjv.org/alt6%20PDF.pdf
                      Last edited by Roger; 12-30-09, 11:08 PM.
                      SBCO Fire Dept. CERT volunteer
                      MJR moderator
                      MJR Adopt-a-Trail Crew member
                      Jeep Patrol Leader
                      Reforestation Supervisor
                      Licensed Ham - n6ujm
                      Eagle Scout

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Roger View Post
                        Nathan,

                        Please study the Marines Map. Only a small portion of JV is "shared". A huge area will be permanently closed to the public.

                        Edit: I just looked at the map again. Only about the southern 1/4 of JV would be shared. Here it is: http://www.pfjv.org/alt6%20PDF.pdf
                        As I see it, it doesn't leave much of J.V. at all. Hypathetically thinking, if they take it for a few months now, whats to say that in a few years they dont try to take it for 6 months. Give an inch, take a mile. Isn't that the government way?
                        Some say that if you listen to the little voices, you are open minded, if you answer them, you belong in a white padded room. I say, have a conversation!!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          no, the government way is more like, 'elect O'bama and take it all....'
                          :gun: my rifle is not illegal, it's just undocumented... :gun:

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            The Marines could close the shared area anytime they wanted, if they are planning training.

                            Anytime they have a brigade get ready to deploy to Iraq or Afganistan, they would be training in the desert.

                            The areas that will be closed to the solar will also be closed to motorized recreation, as it becomes a national monument.
                            If we were lucky and got a few routes left open, called cherry stem routes, we could consider ourselves lucky. But from what I have read, it will all be closed for the monument designation.

                            I don't trust Feinstein at all, even though she says we are being protected with some areas here. But much more is being closed off, and will make the areas more congested.

                            Todd
                            Proud to be an American! Sharetrails/BRC President.
                            Sponsors: BFG, Raceline, Advance Adapters, Currie, T&T Customs.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by nwoods View Post
                              No I don't think so. [COLOR="Red"]They only want it for a window of time, like two months of the year (or something like that).[/COLOR] They need to be able to convoy across the desert for a period of days (for training) and they only way they can do that is to start in JV. There would be no live fire exercises, so the area would not be impacted and closed other than during their window of use.
                              [COLOR="Sienna"]I work that particular exercise which needs the land expansion. We expect to train MEBs (Brigades) six months a year. Six exercises are scheduled per year, however if the need increases overseas, we can expect to train more often. Just throwing that out there.[/COLOR]
                              [COLOR="darkred"]"Death Smiles at Everyone... Marines Smile Back."
                              Adopt-a-Trail Member.[/COLOR]

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