Connecting the Desert Mountains: Hazards for Bighorn Sheep Pg 10 Through the Desert Southwest

News of the desert from Sierra Club California & Nevada Desert Committee MARCH 2020 DESERT REPORT

BY PATRICK DONNELLY IN THE MILITARY CROSSHAIRS Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge

NATIVE AMERICAN NATIONS, Nevadans, and public lands lovers across the country are in opposition to the proposed land seizure by the U.S. Air Force of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. With newly introduced legislation pending, it appears the multi-year campaign to save the Desert Refuge is headed for a showdown. But what will the maps look like when the dust settles? Desert National Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge in the Lower 48, preserving some of the most pristine habitat in the Mojave Desert. At 1.6 million acres, it is a vast protected area encompassing various landscapes and provides a critical haven for the desert bighorn sheep and the Mojave desert tortoise. It was protected by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1934 and as such has been entirely free of human disturbance for almost a century. It is one of the most remarkable and wild landscapes in the desert Southwest. An Air Force proposal threatens to shut out the public and harm this The Desert Valley sand dunes are a favorite destination for a wild gem. The Air Force already has second- adventure in the heart of the Desert Refuge. Photo by Patrick Donnelly PAGE 8 BY LEN WARREN VANISHING WETLANDS And a die-off of Screwbean Mesquite

I FIRST NOTICED THE DECLINE OF screwbean mesquite in the wetlands of Shoshone, California, where my home and my heart is. Here I’ve mapped songbird territories, searched for and monitored nests, and studied nesting success of songbirds since 2009. Now, a decade later, thousands of Shoshone screwbeans are dead. Shoshone Wetlands, is not a typical wetland, as are those where I grew up in Maine. There I watched birds at places like Scarborough Marsh, a 3,200-acre tidal slough filled with iridescent Glossy Ibis, as well as thousands of ducks, geese, herons, and egrets. Maine’s 5 million acres of wetlands are a mix of ponds, bogs, wooded swamps, freshwa- ter meadows, tidal flats, and salt marsh- Screwbean Mesquite (Prosopis pubescens) Range Map. Map by USGS es. In Maine, wetlands cover almost 25% of the state. Wetlands are rare in the desert. Shoshone, California, next to Death Valley has a mesquite bosque of several IN THIS ISSUE hundred acres, dominated by honey and screwbean mesquite nurtured by the Amargosa River and the Shoshone In The Military Crosshairs: Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge Pg 1 Spring. Desert birds like Phainopepla, Vanishing Wetlands and a Die-Off of Screwbean Mesquite Pg 2 Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, and Crissal Thrasher breed here along with Going Beyond Rooftop Solar Pg 3 the Federally Endangered Least Bell’s An Interview With Death Valley NP Superintendent Mike Reynolds Pg 4 Vireo. This is also critical habitat for hundreds of species of birds and other Conflicts Of Interest: Industrial Solar vs. Basic Biology Pg 6 wildlife that breed, winter, or migrate Connecting the Desert Mountains: Hazards for Bighorn Sheep Pg 10 through the Desert Southwest. Bosques like this are disappearing under pres- The West Shores Restoration Project at Desert Shores Pg 12 sure of development. The timing of Not To Be Forgotten: Civilian Conservation Corps In Death Valley NP Pg 16 songbird migration through the desert Outings Pg 20 coincides with the blossoming of bright yellow plume-like honey and screwbean Desert Updates Pg 22 mesquite flowers. (McGrath and Van PAGE 14

2 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 BY DAVE ROSENFELD GOING BEYOND ROOFTOP SOLAR Battery storage will be the next critical step

the equivalent energy to four nuclear power plants, all produced locally on existing rooftops rather than new developments in environmentally sensitive areas. It’s a story about reducing the burden on our strained electrical grid. In 2018 alone, the state canceled or scaled back $2.6 billion worth of transmission projects thanks to rooftop solar and energy efficiency. It’s a story about ensuring that the economic benefits of clean energy go directly to the people. The question now is: what’s next? How do we build on this amazing milestone? California has ambitious environ- Typical solar installation. Photo by Grid Alternatives Org mental goals. Meeting them will be a big challenge. By 2045, California plans to get 100% of its electricity from clean energy. 2019: THE YEAR OF ONE MILLION than Berkeley, and most installations Meeting this goal will require Cali- SOLAR ROOFTOPS are now occurring in neighborhoods at fornia to replace all of its existing fossil Since late last year, over 1 million or below California’s median household fuel power plants with clean energy. At California households, schools, and busi- income. the same time, we must bring even more nesses are using the awesome energy This trend makes sense because clean power online to account for the of the sun to provide their electrical solar helps consumers get out from surge in electricity demand as Califor- energy. This milestone fulfills the Million under crushingly high electricity prices nians switch to fully electrified buildings Solar Roofs Initiative (SB-1), launched in and gain more control over their house- and cars. 2006 by Gov. Schwarzenegger and the hold budgets. For the small but rapidly Generating enough clean energy to legislature, which put in place a well-de- growing number of Californians who power millions of new electric cars and signed, ten-year program that helped the have a solar-powered batteries, solar is water heaters is a huge undertaking, market price of solar to drop and gave also helping keep their power on during and it will require the state to quadruple Californians the certainty they needed to power outages. the amount of renewable energy it cur- confidently choose solar. By choosing to use solar energy at rently produces, from about 40 gigwatts These one million solar rooftops are home or at work, California’s solar users (GW) to at least 200 GW. spread throughout the Golden State, pro- are also telling a bigger story, one that Achieving this goal will require viding Californians in nearly every com- benefits every single Californian. getting all forms of clean energy online munity and walk of life with clean, local It’s a story about the public using their in as many places as possible. But while power. Today, Bakersfield is home to rooftops to protect Mother Earth; the large-scale solar, wind, and geother- more solar installations per household one million solar rooftops have made PAGE 18

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 3 BY BIRGITTA JANSEN AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE REYNOLDS On challenges for Death Valley National Park

MOST PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVER MET Mike explained, “After I graduated I Mike Reynolds in person, know that went to work as an Industrial Engineer his favorite activity in Death Valley is for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. hiking. Anyone who has ever gone out Within a few years I realized that I hiking with Mike has come to realize wasn’t as passionate about building that his tall and loosely structured body engines as I was about national parks. I lopes along at speeds rarely matched spent a lot of time thinking about parks. by others. Terrain so rugged that many In 1994, I resigned from the Ford Motor decline to even try only present a Company and enrolled in an M.S. pro- challenge to Mike and is tackled with gram majoring in Outdoor Recreation at enthusiasm and delight. Needless to say, Arizona Sate University.” Mike is a superintendent who knows his The summer of 1995 found Mike park well. in Big Bend NP again. This time he Mike Reynolds, Superintendent Growing up in a small communi- was hired as a seasonal park ranger. “I Death Valley National Park ty near Louisville, Kentucky, he came worked the Persimmon Gap entrance Photo by Kurt Moses NPS to love camping and hiking as a Boy station as well as each of the four visitor Scout. He summed it up with, “I’ve been centers, did roving patrols and hikes. involved with outdoor activities for most I got to talk with visitors from all over took him, once again, to Yellowstone of my life.” But even though he loved the Texas, the U.S., and from around the where he was hired on as Chief of Kentucky forests and mountains, when world. It was a dream come true and Technology Services and tasked with he was introduced to south-western still the most amazing summer of my supervising 25 employees. landscapes he was hooked. career. Just the realization that I could Four and a half years later, in Janu- During his senior year in high actually have a job talking about some ary 2009, Mike and Sarah embarked on school, his family undertook a trip to of the awesome places I love and getting a most memorable venture when Mike Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand visitors excited about these landscapes.” became the superintendent at the Na- Canyon. He fell in love with the wide Mike continued as a seasonal for one tional Park of American Samoa. Ameri- open spaces. Yellowstone National Park year at Big Bend until hired as an IT can Samoa consists of seven islands, and (NP) had a special meaning for him and Telecommunications specialist, first 13% of that is National Park. because his father worked there for two at Big Bend and later at Great Smoky This park is unique in many ways, summers (1958 and 1959), cleaning fish Mountains NP. He loved the 900 miles one of them being that the park land is at Fishing Bridge. Not surprising that of trails and commented that “I really not owned by the United States Gov- when Mike was looking for a summer got into hiking. It was so cool. And it ernment but leased from ten different job while attending Indiana University, was great to work in a park in the back- villages. Some of these villages are he found a job working in Yellowstone yard of where I grew up.” But he missed progressive, and some maintained their for a concessionaire. In the summer the desert. traditions and subsistence life styles. following, he traveled to Big Bend NP to In the summer of 2000, Mike started Since, like everywhere else, the popu- work as a waiter. But it didn’t take long work in Death Valley NP in IT and Tele- lation of each community is growing, for Mike to start considering alternatives communications. He remained in Death it was a challenging task to explain to such as a career with the park service. Valley until 2004, and during that time villagers during lengthy Sunday village However after university – where he he also met his partner Sarah Bone, an council meetings, why they could not studied Math and Physics - his life took Interpretive Park Ranger at Manzanar over-fish the coral reefs surrounding a detour. National Historic Site. His next NPS job the island, or dump their garbage in the

4 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 ocean. In other villages, Mike was called that Mike is facing. But the problems do not stop at on to explain why villagers could not cut Mike went on to mention a few pavement. Mike continued, “When the down the rain forest for much needed of the priority issues that the park is campgrounds are full and people are wood and expansion of agricultural dealing with such as the marijuana pushed out, they explore other options. land. Mike learned to balance a great grow-sites, the steadily growing invasive Camping is now permitted one mile variety of interests and needs within the burro population, and illegal off-road away from the main roads. The closest context of a very different culture. drivers. But the most serious of the to Furnace Creek is Echo Canyon. After Life changed dramatically on current challenges is the significant that one mile, there are now thirty-six September 29, 2009. Mike described increase in park visitation since, as Mike informal campsites within a one and a what happened in the early morning pointed out, “The increased visitation half mile distance. How do we teach peo- of that fateful day: “An 8.4 magnitude impacts all aspects of park functioning.” ple about dispersed camping? All of this earthquake hit the archipelago followed He commented that as compared to means that our policies are pushed. It is eighteen minutes later by a tsunami, when he first worked in Death Valley, “It currently not specified how far people which hit the island and wiped out ev- is a different park now. The visitation need to be camped apart or away from erything in its path, including all of the has more than doubled. Especially for a dirt road. All these things are related park service buildings and equipment. It the past six years the trend has been to increased visitation. It is a constant wiped out every single thing. During the a steady increase. We’re now up to 1.7 thought process.” first few weeks after the tsunami, park million visitors annually. This increase Mike pointed out that compared staff worked out of a car until we got an in visitation changed everything.” As to other national parks, “Death Valley apartment nearby where we could set Mike continued speaking, tension was is unique. In other parks they have up temporary park headquarters. After now audible in his voice. “A few days the possibility of containing the influx a few months we were able to move into ago I was at Badwater. The parking lot of people but we have over seventy some empty space in a car dealership was full and there were more than sev- possible entrances. People come in from where we remained for two years while enty-five vehicles parked along the sides everywhere. We have a state highway dealing with the recovery.” of the road. As visitors park in different running through the park which means Mike being Mike – always consid- places, they also walk in different places. we cannot have entrance stations on it, ering the positive side of situations, We now see many use-trails forming collect fees in ticket booths and pro- commented that this crisis also present- as a consequence of that.” The soils at vide information to visitors. There is ed a great opportunity. He explained, Badwater, especially around the springs, just no easy way to educate visitors. If “The park headquarters and other are fragile. But visitors are unaware this trend continues, visitation could facilities had been in need of repairs of the damage the accumulation of double to 3.5 million. Even areas in the and rehabilitation, but when we needed many footsteps create and the resulting backcountry are now stressed beyond to rebuild after the tsunami we had a destruction of the ecosystem, which may their capacity such as the Racetrack, great opportunity to update all of it. We or may not heal. Saline Valley, and Titus Canyon. All these were able to reinvent better park service A related issue is that, “The traffic areas are now seeing more visitors. We facilities, and because of the disaster, has increased tremendously. We’ve need to get ahead of that. So what do the funding became available to do so. had two serious head-on collisions just you do? Expand parking lots? Increase It took two years to get everything built in these past three weeks. There was fees? Fortunately there are lessons to be and up and running.” Then Mike could one fatality in one crash. Six people learned from other parks such as Zion, give his attention again to the protection were seriously injured in the other. The Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Acadia of coral reefs and rain forests, and better trailheads are also overrun. The visitor NP. They have also experienced major ways of dealing with trash. In 2012, Mike center is impossibly busy. There are long surges in visitation and have explored accepted the superintendent’s position line-ups – people waiting to pay their many options for managing this. We back on the mainland in Lava Beds and fees and get park information.” PAGE 15 Tulelake National Monuments in north- ern California, where they remained for the next three years. In May 2015, Mike and Sarah made the move to Death Valley National Park, which turned out to be just in time for another natural disaster: the Grapevine Canyon flash flood on October 18, 2015. Mike was one person who understood what this event meant. He already knew that dealing with the crisis is relatively easy compared to the long-term recovery. Death Valley is currently still con- tinuing to deal with the sequellae from that event. But there have been other South Entrance on highway190. Photo by Craig Deutsche serious challenges impacting the park

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 5 BY PAT FLANAGAN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Industrial solar vs. basic biology

IF IT SURVIVES A CURRENT CIVIL County unincorporated communities of It all depends on who you are Suit and is allowed to proceed, a pro- Daggett and Newberry Springs. It would asking. The Project combines 50 par- posed utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) Dag- utilize existing electrical transmission cels which are a mixture of active and gett Solar Power Facility (Project), cover- infrastructure adjacent to the existing retired agricultural fields (1,726 acres), ing 5.5 square mile of private land in the Coolwater Generating Station to deliver creosote bush scrub, Larrea tridentata Mojave River Valley, will produce 650 renewable energy to the electric grid. (635 acres), saltbush scrub, Atriplex megawatts (MW) of power and include Carbon offset! Storage! Climate Change! polycarpa, (437 acres), and developed/ additional battery storage capacity. Sounds good. What’s the problem? Why disturbed/ruderal habitats (389 acres. The Project bridges the San Bernardino the Civil suit? The EIR reports there are no vegetation communities considered high priority by the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.1 CDFW is behind the curve on this one. If you locate the Project on Google Earth (GE) you will see many clonal rings within the project’s footprint and also in the transmission corridor. Using the GE ruler on individual clones, I found many with diameters up to and over 10 feet, putting their ages in the hundreds to thousands of years. Creo- sote clones 10 feet in diameter and more fall under the County Development Code 88.01.060 which covers Desert Native Plant Protection. Project comments I made before the Planning Commission addressed the absence of consideration of these creosote clones in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). The Commissioners approved the DEIR and the Project without change. An Ap- peal2 was filed by the Newberry Springs Community Service District (NS CSD) challenging the Commission’s decision. Please read the Appeal on the NS CSD website to learn what else is off with this Project. Before the Supervisors met to consider the Appeal and the Planning Commission’s approval of the Project, Daggett Solar and Sand Transport Area (Green circles are agricultural fields). the Final EIR (FEIR) was updated to Photo by Brian Hammer, Professor Victor Valley College include both the presence of 70 clonal rings on approximately 400 acres along

6 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 with the requirement to get a removal permit before construction. The permit satisfies the county policy to provide for the conservation and wise use of desert resources. The Supervisors denied the Appeal and approved the FEIR allowing the Project to proceed. The next and only re- course was for the NS CSD to file a Civil suit3 in the State Superior Court against the County, the Supervisors, and the Land Use Services Department. Please read the Civil suit on the NS CSD website to learn what else is off with this Project. Creosote clones. Image by Google Earth A removal permit is no way to treat this working ecosystem. The creosote and saltbush scrub communities support Vasek of the University of California, are either mixed eolian-alluvial origin an intricate underground system of my- Riverside is the discoverer of the cloning or are fine-grained alluvial deposits, corrhizae that both captures and stores phenomena. His study area was Johnson and thus are susceptible to eolian carbon.4 The process of carbon capture Valley. In his original publication in 1980 dust and sand transport, especially (photosynthesis) will end with the clear- he hypothesized that very old clones after disturbance. In addition, in this ing, grubbing, scarifying, recompact- would be found “only on stable surfaces low-slope category, 89% of the area is ing, and limited grading.5 The carbon of long duration.” But in recent years, susceptible to flooding” stored in underground caliche, some in the same location, work by Dr. Joe The favored slope category for large thousands of years old, will be released McAuliffe and a multidisciplinary team footprint solar development is less than once the desert surface is opened up have determined the opposite to be 1% and much of it is privately owned. by the installation of a tracking system the case. These privately owned lands were for 12 feet high solar panels mounted “Instead, clones are most common settled beginning in the late 1800s by in rows separated by 10-20 feet on over in places where fluvial and eolian ranchers and farmers. The four ranchers 5.5 square miles. The County has not deposition has repeatedly occurred who own the majority of the fifty private required a realistic evaluation of con- throughout the Holocene. Clones in such parcels within the Project have been struction disturbance nor investigated locations are derived from plants that at it long enough that the prophecy of the true ecological and natural services originally established on surfaces of old- water running out has come true. Water cost of this system if this location should er, now buried deposits. The unweath- is very scarce in the Mojave River Valley it be destroyed. But they should – CEQA ered sandy alluvium of young surface and not always used wisely. Sand and requires an accounting of greenhouse deposits readily absorbs precipitation; dust storms are a hazard and source gas emissions. plant function is enhanced in these set- locations include active turned agricul- If you think this underground world tings. Repeated alluvial deposition also tural land, abandoned agricultural land, is too esoteric for the planners and deci- provides fine sand that is locally redis- dirt roads, and cleared fields like the sion makers to understand, reconsider. tributed by the wind to form sub-canopy 22-acre Soitec Solar facility on Moun- In February 2019 Robin Kobaly publicly coppice dunes. Moisture absorbed by tain View Road in Newberry Springs. presented a pre-publication copy of the and retained in coppice dunes further In other words, the coppice dunes that illustrated Groundbreaking Discoveries enhances plant performance and pros- support the native vegetation with a Under Our Feet: How Desert Under- pects for long-term survival.”7 hidden carbon sequestering world un- ground Systems Affect Our Land-Use De- It is appropriate here to note a re- der our feet are in competition with PV cisions and Drive Lasting Consequences6 port given by David R. Bedford and Da- panels and battery storage. The Mojave to all Supervisors, Commissioners, and vid M. Miller of the USGS at a Workshop Desert Air Quality Management District to the Planning Department. This book on Natural Resource Needs: Assessing (MDAQMD) does not require project de- synthesizes twenty-nine scientific peer the geology and geography of large-foot- velopers to have baseline measurements reviewed papers covering years of re- print energy installations in the Mojave for fine particulate matter PM10 and search into the carbon sequestering and Desert, CA and NV. PM2.5 – eolian dust and sand – to guide storage capabilities of desert flora. She • About 48% of the entire area is dust analysis and mitigation plans. The wrote it to be understandable, impactful, less than 5% slope, and 8.3% is less MDAQMD evaluates air quality at the air and not burdensome. It is only forty-six than 1% slope, the favored slope basin level.8 pages, half of which are illustrations. category for large footprint energy The Mojave Air Basin is 20,000 The artful illustrations speak 1000s of installations. square miles with the most eastern words. So, no excuses Decision Makers. • Of the favored 0-1% slope 34% is BLM point at Blythe near the Colorado River. Creosote is the commonest plant in land and 42% is privately owned. The nearest monitoring station to the the Southwestern Deserts but creosote • For this lowest-slope category, depos- proposed Daggett Project is 12 miles clones are not so common. Dr. Frank its underlying about 98% of the area PAGE 15

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 7 IN THE MILITARY CROSSHAIRS PAGE 1

Black line shows the present and proposed boundary of the National Test and Training Range. The purple line shows the boundary of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (with the proposed NTTR occupying the western half). The green crosshatching shows the proposed Wilderness Areas. Map from Cortez Masto’s draft bill.

ary jurisdiction over about half of the ular combat exercises,” and make other attended legislative meetings to testify Desert Refuge, much of it as overflight substantial alterations to the pristine against the expansion. Last fall a dele- zones and missile launch buffers. This refuge. gation of eleven Nevadans traveled to secondary jurisdiction means that the Led by groups like Friends of Neva- Washington, D.C., to lobby members of area is closed to the public and used for da Wilderness, the Sierra Club, Defend- Congress on the issue. military operations, although US Fish ers of Wildlife, and the Center for Biolog- Nevada’s Native American nations and Wildlife Service retains primary ical Diversity, a coalition has worked also have been actively opposed to this jurisdiction, meaning the land’s primary under the banner of #DontBombTheBig- expansion. The Desert Refuge includes purpose is the conservation of wildlife. horn to oppose the proposed bombing vital cultural sites such as petroglyphs, However, the Air Force does already range expansion. agave roasting pits, pictograph caves, drop bombs on roughly 100,000 acres of In early 2018, 32,000 comments and habitation sites. The refuge harbors that shared management area. from around the country were sub- a large population of desert bighorn Now, the Air Force wants to take mitted in opposition to the expansion, sheep, which the local Paiute tribes over approximately 1.1 million acres of responding to the Air Force’s Environ- regard as part of their family. At one the Desert Refuge, banning the public mental Impact Statement. In 2019, the time, the area was a part of the Moapa and mostly shutting out wildlife man- Nevada Legislature passed a resolution Paiute reservation before it was drasti- agement agencies. They would build opposing the expansion, with a 58-3 cally reduced in size. Local indigenous new roads and runways, conduct “irreg- vote. More than a hundred people communities feel a close connection to

8 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 this landscape. In 2018 the Moapa Band because of the looming deadline of the icant acreage to Nevada’s wilderness of Paiute Indians passed a tribal resolu- National Defense Authorization Act. This preservation system. tion opposing the expansion, and the Las annual, must-pass military spending bill The senator’s bill is not the end of Vegas Band of Paiute Indians passed a is likely to be the vehicle for the Desert the discussion. The military is circu- similar resolution in 2019. Refuge legislation. The military’s with- lating their draft legislation, and it’s The integrity of our National Wild- drawal on the bombing range must be unclear what a showdown in Congress life Refuge System is at risk. Whether it’s renewed every 20 years and is set to ex- might look like. Given the compressed giving our refuges away to oil compa- pire in 2021, so whether or not they get legislative schedule of an election year, nies to drill in essential caribou habitat their expansion, there will be legislation there could be significant developments in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, addressing the bombing range in some on this issue by the time Desert Report allowing a roads to be bulldozed across capacity in the next year. readers see this article. Public lands pristine wilderness in Izembek National Sen. Cortez Masto’s legislation has lovers would be wise to ensure that their Wildlife Refuge, constructing a border drawn mixed reviews from activists. federal elected representatives know wall through San Bernardino National From the Center for Biological Diversi- that they support protection of the Des- Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, or pushing ty’s perspective, while we are glad that ert Refuge. This is a national issue. All of through new regulations expanding the senator does not propose giving the our wildlife refuges are at stake. trapping and barbaric hunting practices Air Force all that they’ve asked for, we on refuges, the result is the same. are opposed to transferring National Patrick Donnelly is Nevada state director To cede such a large swath of refuge Wildlife Refuge lands to the military with the Center for Biological Diversity. land to the military means that our wild- under any circumstances. Therefore, He advocates for Nevada’s biodiversity, life refuges are not protected at all ― we do not support the legislation. If the waters, and public lands from the edge they are simply an interim designation military gets 50,000 acres of wildlife ref- of the desert in the greater Death Valley until someone comes up with a better uge every 20 years, eventually we won’t region. He enjoys long desert drives, hot use for them. This coalition is fighting have a wildlife refuge. However, for springs, rugged mountains, and deep cannot just to protect the bighorn sheep other conservation groups that prioritize yons. He’s visited Desert National Wildlife and Nevada’s public lands, but to take a wilderness designation, the legislation is Refuge dozens of times. stand for refuges across the country. seen as a boon because it adds signif- Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Mas- to’s new bill, S.3145, is a mixed bag. The draft legislation, introduced just before Christmas, would expand the bombing range by approximately 100,000 acres. That includes roughly 50,000 acres of refuge land and 50,000 acres of Bu- reau of Land Management land. This is dramatically less than what the military requested. It would also allow the military to build signal threat emitters — essentially mobile radio towers — in the shared management area. However, it retains primary jurisdiction over the shared management area for Fish and Wildlife Service. Cortez Masto’s bill would designate 1.3 million acres of the Desert Refuge as federally protected Wilderness. While the area is already de facto wilderness and is managed as such, this would formalize such management. And while little would change on the ground as a result of this designation, it would present a significant obstacle to the military should they decide to again try to take over part of the wildlife refuge in the future. Examining a cultural site sacred to the Moapa and Las Vegas Bands of There is some urgency to get a Paiute Indians. Photo by Patrick Donnelly final piece of legislation hammered out

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 9 BY CLINTON W. EPPS CONNECTING THE DESERT MOUNTAINS Hazards for bighorn sheep

FOR MANY PEOPLE, THE INTERSTATE evade them by climbing steep slopes and or bolster small populations. highway system offers a way to see rocks. Most probably spend their lives Isolation can also lead to another the Mojave Desert. The big four-lane in the mountain range in which they problem: inbreeding or loss of genetic highways connect coastal cities with the were born, relying on a few natural or diversity. Genetic diversity in small hubs of Las Vegas, Phoenix, and other human-made water sources and waiting populations declines rapidly, through places across the United States. One can for the unpredictable desert rains to a random process called genetic drift. gaze at the wide expanses dotted with spark the growth of better forage need- By chance, in any given generation, one creosote bushes, stare at craggy peaks ed to raise their lambs. genetic variant may become more com- only occasionally marked by cell phone Most mountain ranges in the Mo- mon, regardless of whether it improves or transmission line towers, and wonder jave hold relatively small populations survival or success at reproducing. In what it was like to experience this of desert bighorn sheep, perhaps a few very small populations, such chance landscape from a Model T or on the back dozen individuals to a few hundred. This events can lead to the complete loss of of a horse. Few people may realize that can be a problem: if totally isolated, each certain genetic variants. While some other species may stare back from that population may be too small to persist. variants have no effect on the animal’s landscape, contemplating the apparently Indeed, during the 20th century, many ability to survive, genetic diversity ceaseless flow of traffic, the roar of the local extinctions occurred. Disruption is thought to be key to resist disease big semis, and the chain of headlights of water sources by miners, poaching, or adapt to climate change or other from dusk to dawn. In some cases, drought, and probably disease played stressors. In large populations, genetic those species may attempt journeys of a role. But, encouraged by expanded drift has little impact, but in very small their own. To them, the big interstates access to surface water through hu- populations, genetic drift reduces genet- may represent a minor inconvenience, man-made water sources for wildlife, ic diversity noticeably over even a few a challenging obstacle, or a terrifying periods of better rainfall, and habitat generations. barrier. protection, recolonizations have also Thus, for bighorn sheep or any Desert bighorn sheep exemplify a occurred. Bighorn sheep of both sexes other species that lives in small, local- species for which movement is critical occasionally make the hazardous jour- ized populations, a key requirement for to persistence in those stark Mojave ney between mountain ranges, moving maintaining genetic diversity is con- landscapes. Desert bighorn can thrive in rapidly across desert flats. Perhaps they nectivity – the ability to move between places too arid to support deer or most seek better forage, safer places to rear a populations. The natural inclination other large mammals. Their preferred lamb, or new mating opportunities. Pre- for some individual bighorn, male and habitats are the steep, rocky moun- sumably, bighorn sheep that find their female, to move temporarily or perma- tain ranges scattered across the desert way back into an empty mountain range nently to different areas provides gene like islands. These ranges have cooler have their choice of resources. This abil- flow – animals that persist, and mate, temperatures and trap more rainfall ity for species to recolonize after a local bring their genetic variants along to than the desert floor, supporting an extinction is a key feature of “metapop- their new home. If frequent enough, this abundance of plant life including many ulations,” or systems of interconnected can offset the loss of diversity to genetic species on which desert bighorn feed. populations of organisms living in dis- drift even for very small populations. In some ranges, springs bring water to tinct habitat patches. Metapopulations Perhaps more important is that these the surface that is used by bighorn and can be much more resilient than any new individuals help prevent local many other species, and mountains pro- individual population, as long as extinc- extinction or recolonize empty habitat. vide some security from predators such tions do not occur simultaneously across Both processes require that bighorn as mountain lions, coyotes, or bobcats. many patches, and as long as individuals sheep be able to move freely between Bighorn detect predators visually, and can move among patches to recolonize “desert islands.”

10 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 For many decades, people have respiratory disease, but it can result Bighorn sheep live on public, mili- known of bighorn sheep moving be- in death of adults or ongoing loss of tary, and private lands. Thus, managing tween mountain ranges in the Mo- most lambs as they are born without bighorn sheep metapopulations, un- jave. Miners and railroad hands have immunity. derstanding movement, gene flow, and occasionally reported seeing bighorn or Such an outbreak of respiratory disease, or even restoring connectivity their tracks in low-lying areas far from disease in Mojave National Preserve in requires cooperation across borders, any usual habitat. Reportedly, when the 2013 precipitated a new round of in- agencies, and organizations. Manage- interstate highways were constructed in tensive research. When the same strain ment and study of desert bighorn sheep the 1960s, concern was expressed that of a key pathogen known as Mycoplas- in California has benefited greatly from they could disrupt bighorn movements. ma ovipneumoniae appeared on both efforts by and support from many sourc- In the late 20th century, biologists for sides of Interstate 40, it was clear that es, including the California Department California Department of Fish and Game bighorn sheep had crossed the interstate of Fish and Wildlife, National Park Ser- (as the Department of Fish and Wildlife in at least one location. Indeed, both vice, Department of Defense, California was named at the time) realized that subsequent genetic work and inten- Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, bighorn sheep should be managed as sive tracking of movement using new US Geological Survey, Bureau of Land metapopulations—systems of intercon- satellite location collars demonstrated Management, Society for the Conserva- nected populations rather than a series that sometime between 2002 and 2013, tion of Desert Bighorn Sheep, California of individual populations—and con- at least a few bighorn sheep learned Department of Transportation, US Fish cluded that the interstates were likely to to use a particular wash bridged by and Wildlife Service, National Park function as barriers. Interstate 40 as a movement corridor, Foundation, researchers from universi- After about the year 2000, re- resulting in gene flow, but also appar- ties, and volunteers. searchers gained new analytical tools ently carrying disease. The origins of The highways will only get bus- to examine bighorn habitat connectiv- this particular outbreak are unknown, ier. New roads, high-speed railways, ity. These approaches highlighted the and the transmission across the inter- and other development projects in the problems posed by fenced interstates, state may have played only a minor role, desert are proposed. Unless existing canals, and other barriers. One such tool but this discovery points to a central and or new barriers are modified to allow was non-invasive population genetics. challenging question: is it better to pre- movements, bighorn sheep and other By collecting fecal pellets from bighorn serve and restore connectivity, or retain species will continue to be stopped by sheep at waterholes across the Mojave, some barriers to limit spread of exotic these barriers, and will continue to stare extracting DNA from those pellets, and diseases? across to the mountains just beyond the comparing genetic variants across the As we continue to study and debate asphalt ribbon. Connectivity for wildlife landscape, researchers found striking this question, it is important to note that matters—and can be restored—if the evidence that populations separated even minimal contact among bighorn will to do so exists. by barriers such as interstates were can transmit disease—and almost no diverging genetically, and that isolated barrier can prevent all contact. But, Clint Epps is an associate professor in the populations had lower genetic diversity. population and metapopulation health Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at This allowed the identification of areas relies on strong connectivity. The satel- Oregon State University. He has studied where movement between populations lite location collars have demonstrated desert bighorn sheep in the Mojave should be protected—for instance, by that most bighorn sheep do not cross Desert of California since 1999. avoiding construction of new potential interstate highways even when coming barriers such as renewable energy in close contact with them. Therefore, developments in critical locations—or it is likely that protecting and restoring perhaps one day restored. Indeed, wild- connectivity should remain a core goal, life overpasses for bighorn that restored with exceptions considered connectivity have been constructed in on a case-by-case basis. Arizona during highway expansions. Balanced against the need to preserve and restore connectivity, however, is the risk of disease. The same movements between mountain ranges that can restore populations or provide gene flow can also result in the movement of harmful bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Bighorn sheep are highly susceptible to respiratory disease from contact with domestic sheep or goats. Once contact occurs, bighorn sheep can spread it quickly to other bighorn. Outcomes vary due to the

many factors influencing Photo by Clinton Epps BY KERRY MORRISON THE WEST SHORES RESTORATION PROJECT AT DESERT SHORES A community driven project

WE HAVE COME TO INVITE YOU TO JOIN us, to just add water to our communities at the Salton Sea. Instead of death in dry browns and reds, life in wet blues and greens. These truths exist at every scale. Since our founding of The Eco- Media Compass and Save Our Sea! Campaign at the Salton Sea in 2011, we have witnessed big plans come and go. Looking back through the decades, the public has seen the Californian government fabricate whatever explanations they could after spending hundreds of millions of tax dollars on only studies and legal fees. To the eyes of a withering human or bird on the shore, it’s gotten far worse with nothing to show. One of Salton Sea on the left, canals on the right. Photo by Eric Hanscom the few resilient wetlands at the Salton Sea, though, is located in the south end of the Sea between Red Hill Marina and the mud pots. It was reportedly created and hyper saline, hosting only bacterial by duck hunters armed with cement and invertebrate life. Docks are bent and chunks, carpet rolls, shovels, and beer broken, and stinging, stinky, salty dust This project can be replicated over a few hot weeks after they realized sweeps up from the channels. Home- to other locations, and it their abundant hunting grounds would owners now rejoice when occasional can be an example of what quickly dry up without physical inter- birds mistake their yards for inviting. vention. It’s birdy, beautiful, and one As former Mayor of the West Shores long term restoration can of the few places on 100 miles of shore- (Salton City, Vista del Mar, Salton Sea mean. If we ensure a line you can still simply use a trailered Beach, and Desert Shores), I’ve seen sustainable water supply for boat launch. many businesses and dreams shuttered. Respiratory and other unseen None of the state-sponsored projects in future generations, there are illnesses are on the steep upturn, while planning or litigation had been designed countless options for sell-ability and financing options are where any people actually live, and we restoration and revitalization, becoming ever more challenging for have seen major degradation in quality locals who bought into their piece of the of life for so many residents and busi- habitat, and homes. American Dream. We’ve seen the water nesses after the 2003-2021 QSA water in the silted residential canals of Desert transfers that continue to grow annually. community beautification projects, and Shores, Salton Sea Beach, and Salton Since 2011, we’ve operated resto- trips to Sacramento and Mexico. As the City turn from blue to green, to brown, ration center offices in the West Shores, promised governmental efforts at res- to yellow to brown again and bright hosted, sponsored, and organized toration have built very little of signifi- red. The formerly swimmable backyard countless public educational events, cance, we decided to organize a physical habitat is now just a few inches deep awareness actions, media publications, restoration effort ourselves, come hell or

12 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 high water. body of the Salton Sea, and pro- Cucapa Tribe, and local ranchers, as well Shoreline residents, The EcoMedia viding for conveyance, sufficient as many political leaders and agency Compass, and Agess Inc., have spent outflow, and aeration. heads have expressed that they are quite over three years as volunteers organiz- 3. Install a reusable (GeoTube-style willing to work with the US and Califor- ing the West Shores Restoration Project fillable bladder) berm – which could nia governments if we can get organized at Desert Shores. It is our goal to refill operate restoring our communi- and beyond untested political assump- the canals along our shoreline that have ty as-is, or someday be turned or tions. Environmental concerns should become useless eyesores. We even built moved to connect to the main body be more persuasive than invisible polit- a monster-pump-boat named Poseidon, of the Sea again to open up the navi- ical lines. There are already about fifty but a more permanent option was need- gable waterway. power and water crossings between the ed to bring water back into the drying It has taken many regular commu- two countries, and it has become clear canals. Our area on the Northwest Shore nity-organizing and political meetings to to me that there would be great benefits of Salton Sea bordering Torres-Mar- keep this in the spotlight, but it is start- for both nations. There are lucrative tines tribal land has also been called: ing to really move. Other groups and markets for salt, and renewably-pow- The Keys, The Fingers, or The Harbor agencies are getting involved too. This is ered desalination on whatever scale can Project. a project that sits as “the lowest hanging provide solutions to our waining water We have acquired the land and per- fruit” with some of the sweetest immedi- supplies. Fresh water then becomes a missions needed to build a berm at 3713 ate benefits to the region. It can also act renewable resource in the Southwest. Capri Road at Desert Shores. The berm as a template for other drying shorelines Other projects that have been gain- will serve to hold water in the canals at the Salton Sea. ing ground in recent years are the State’s rather than letting it drain back into the Imperial County has drafted a 10-Year Plan, the North Lake, and the receding Salton Sea. Memorandum of Understanding for the Perimeter Lake plan. All of these have Imperial Irrigation District certainly build-financing protocol, and it’s now the ability to flourish and compliment took their time, but did something quite back to CNRA’s new staff members for each other if there is enough water. amicable by the donation of 1/2 an acre legal deliberations. With any reasonable We continue to bring many local to our 501c3 non-profit for the location effort by the State, Phase 1 of the project residents and volunteers out to see the of the berm. We agreed to never sell it to refill the canals at Desert Shores with ground zero and help in planning for for a profit, but instead build a project seawater will be completed this year. community restoration initiatives, as and a space that will benefit the commu- The actual construction should take less well as host annual Earth Day, community and wildlife. With the water level than a week once they set a tractor on nity arts, and science events in the area. of the main body of Salton Sea dropping the beach. This year we are planning for noon on so quickly, it no longer makes sense This leads our groups to Phase 2, Saturday, April 25th at the 3713 Capri to simply dredge out harbors or canal which includes organizing and design- Lane site in Desert Shore. . . You’re invit- communities. To physically heal and ing the systems that will improve water ed. Bring shovels. revive these communities, water must quality and lower the salinity level for There is no one-piece answer to all be pumped in, held, and recirculated. the entire Salton Sea. In a landscape of the challenges in the Imperial Valley The California Natural Resources so impacted by massive, controversial and Salton Sea region, but we believe Agency (CNRA) has been the State’s main infrastructure decisions and changing that a sustainable water supply gives us organizational involvement over the last climate, the need for this will likely the best tools for economic and environ- few years. It has agreed to fund, build, continue to grow with each passing year. mental stability for generations to come. and complete Phase 1 of the West Shores We envision much more than one canal We need to plan far, far ahead of the Restoration Project at Desert Shores in community refilled. This project can be terms of our next political leaders. We collaboration with other agencies. Our replicated to other existing locations, need to build what will outlive us, and volunteer team has been told by the and it can be an example of what long Desert Shores is a great way to start. By State and Imperial County to halt our en- term restoration can mean. If we ensure planning for longevity, and driving with gineering and permitting efforts as more a sustainable water supply for future camaraderie and action, together we can funded and organized governmental generations, there are countless options definitely still Save Our Sea! agencies take over. We are quite excited, for restoration and revitalization, habi- but know that watchdogs, organizers, tat, and homes. Restoration, sustainabil- Kerry F. Morrison, Executive Director, and cheerleaders are still much-needed. ity, and renewable energy production The EcoMedia Compass; West Shores Phase 1 of West Shores restoration brings long-term jobs, businesses, tour- Chamber of Commerce Board; Former at Desert Shores includes 3 main points: ism and economic vitality. I still believe Mayor, West Shores Salton Sea 1. Determine how the 28 acres of exist- this place holds every reason to become ing, residential land and home-lined California’s Green New Deal. canals will be maintained with a Seawater import flowing downhill Want to learn more about the project, sustainable fill of water at the proj- 230 feet from the ocean could do this on support or get involved? ect site for at least thirty years. a much larger scale. The Coyote Canal Learn more at: 2. Create a floating or fixed pumping in Mexico already exists for close to half www.ecomediacompass.org system, utilizing renewable power, the distance required from the ocean. to bring water in from the main Mexico’s relevant landowners, the

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 13 VANISHING WETLANDS AND A DIE-OFF OF SCREWBEAN MESQUITE PAGE 2

Riper, USGS, April 2005). Shoshone’s Blue Trail, I was excited to When screwbean mesquite began to hear the problem being discussed from die-off, many suspected that herbicides so many different viewpoints. Could the used in salt-cedar/tamarisk removal culprit be a fungus? Maybe Bark Bee- may have played a part. As I began to tles? Or are these just symptoms of over- complain to anyone who would listen to all tree weakness caused by lowering me, I learned that Shoshone’s screwbean water tables, increased temperatures, or die-off wasn’t unique. Many areas in the drought conditions? Could the problem Southwest were losing their screwbeans. be in the soils? Are there any experts on Die-off is occurring in areas that were screwbean mesquite? Are screwbean at never treated with herbicide. Die-off is higher altitude doing better than lower Screwbean seed pod occurring in areas that are well hydrat- altitudes? How are the screwbean in Photo by Len Warren ed. In Shoshone, healthy adult honey Mexico doing? Might planting projects mesquite grow beside and intertwined using multiple seed sources to plant in with completely dead screwbean. Both University wrote “Screwbean Mesquite multiple locations reveal a genetic seed may have roots in the same water. At (Prosopis pubescens) Die-off: Popula- source answer? Would high tech drone nearby Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, tion Status at Restored and Un-restored photography and satellite imaging be much of its 23,000 acres are dominated Sites in the Lower Colorado River useful to survey and asses tree health? by adult screwbean trees. Here also Watershed.” On day two of the workshop, we dis- these trees are beginning to experience None of these papers drew conclu- cussed these questions and many more. rapid die-off in areas with shallow water sions about why screwbean is dying off. A range wide survey has been proposed. tables and alongside apparently healthy In November 2019, through my current Small scale planting projects are in the honey mesquite. job with The Nature Conservancy, we works. A data and information sharing There have been three papers hosted the first screwbean mesquite site is being created. Citizen science sur- published on screwbean decline. Bert workshop, at Clark County Wetlands vey protocols are being designed. Our Anderson, a restoration specialist well Park in Las Vegas. The two-day work- group will meet again next year. If you known for his work on the Lower Col- shop was sponsored by First Solar. are concerned about screwbean mes- orado, first wrote about his concern in Contributing participants included quite and would like to participate in 2007. His paper is titled, “The Mysterious ecologists, entomologists, soil scientists, sample collecting, surveys or solutions, Decline of Screwbean Mesquite Along ornithologists, and data analysts, as well please contact me: the Lower Colorado River.” I went to as Wildlife Refuge managers, restoration visit Bert at his home in Blythe, CA. He project managers, public land managers, Len Warren was generous with his time and took and private land owners. Amargosa River Project Manager me to several of his habitat restoration On the first day of the workshop, The Nature Conservancy sites where screwbean planting proj- the newly formed working group took PO BX 102 ects had failed. Bert has recommended a field trip to Shoshone Wetlands to Shoshone, CA 92384 that screwbean should not be used in see the die-off first hand. As we walked restoration projects. He states, “Planting screwbean mesquite should be avoided for mitigation projects in the foreseeable future, and it is ill-advised to plant them for any revegetation project.” Ander- son also speculated that the decline in screwbean will have major negative impact on birds. Steven Foldi of University of Arizo- na Tucson published “Disappearance of a Dominant Bosque Species: Screw- bean Mesquite (Prosopis pubescens)” in The Southwestern Naturalist (2014). He researched and surveyed many known screwbean locations and concluded that screwbean mesquite has disappeared from 53% of the localities in which it Forest Service employees studying dead Screwbean in Shoshone was found a century ago. Photo by Len Warren Robert Madera, Arizona State

14 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE REYNOLDS CONFLICTS OF INTEREST PAGE 5 PAGE 7

don’t know yet what we are going to do where Scotty’s Castle is located, and see farther west in downtown Barstow as because we are overwhelmed dealing what the flood did. Climate change here indicated in the map. With prevailing with the day-to-day.” is visible.” winds from the west and southwest, Then Mike brings up another side to One obvious challenge is the we are asked to accept that this station the issue. “Without a doubt, the increase current political instability. What im- will adequately reflect air quality at the in visitation is a challenge and a top mediately came to Mike’s mind when proposed project site. priority for the park since there are neg- considering the impact of this on the Here is another way to look at the ative impacts. But at the same time it is a park were the government shut-downs. desert’s natural and sustainable abilities. blessing. As more people who know the “We were on the brink of a shut down Over a ten-year timeframe, researchers park and care about it, they will support in 2017. Then we had the 2018/2019 thir- at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, it and advocate for it.” ty-seven day shutdown. It was horrific. exposed study plots to elevated carbon When asked about the impact of We had many staff not working and dioxide levels similar to those expected climate change on the park, Mike agreed other staff working without pay. After in 2050.9 R.D. Evans, the project lead, that it is undeniably a major concern. the shut-down was over, we had to re- stated in an interview in the Washington He exclaimed, “Climate change is eating move half a ton of human feces from the State University News Post10 that “over- our lunch.” For example, in 2015 the park’s most frequented areas. I hope this all, rising CO2 levels may increase the park experienced a storm system that never happens again. Then we were on uptake by arid lands enough to account exhibited unusual features. Mike contin- the brink of a shut-down again this past for 4 to 8 percent of current emissions”. ued, “The flash flood seriously impacted December. The budget was signed just This research provided data the Scotty’s Castle, an important and much three hours before the deadline.” Clearly United States Geological Survey (USGS) loved cultural resource. There have also these are times that keep all park staff used in preparing Terrestrial Carbon been a number of microbursts. One in on edge as preparations for a shut-down Sequestration in National Parks.11 This 2017 tore the roof off seven buildings in have to be made until there is a signa- report gives the metric tons of carbon Cow Creek and damaged a number of ture approving the next budget. per hectare being sequestered as well vehicles. There was another microburst Not only does Mike seem to thrive as the value of ecosystem services in recently that hit Badwater and blew out on challenges, but then there’s also the millions of dollars. This dollar amount windshields in twenty visitor vehicles.” hiking. Mike has already hiked over considers the land area covered and Another microburst in 2017 hit two 5,500 miles in Death Valley NP – approx- reveals that the lead National Park (NP) locations in Racetrack Valley where sev- imately 4,000 of those since he became for ecosystem service value is Great eral park volunteers, out on a job, were Death Valley’s Superintendent. His fa- Smoky Mountains NP. However, within camped. They lost hundreds of dollars in vorite season in the park is the summer the top fifteen parks are the four desert camping equipment carried off by wind. time, when he journeys to the spectacu- parks (Death Valley NP, Mojave Preserve, And those events are just the ones we lar high Panamint, Grapevine, and Cot- Joshua Tree NP, and Lake Mead NRA). know about. tonwood Mountain ranges. In the dead The desert environments have relatively Then there is the heat. In 2017 and of winter he loves the opportunities for low sequestration capacity per hectare, 2018, all-time world heat records were lower elevation hiking on or near the but there are a great many undisturbed set. For twenty-one days in July 2017, valley floor when the vistas of snow cov- hectares sequestering CO2. The conclu- temperatures reached 120 degrees F ered mountains are amazing. Then in sion is obvious. Lead agencies for or higher. For twenty-nine days in July the spring there are the wild flowers. He energy projects need to give more 2018, temperatures once again reached added one more thing: “Hiking in Death attention to the relevant scientific data 120 degrees F or higher. The average Valley is my favorite activity on earth!!!” when determining the actual value of temperature for the month of July 2018 Meanwhile Mike Reynolds boldly energy projects. was 108.1 degrees F. What is most sig- faces the challenges of being the super- nificant here is that this measurement intendent of the largest National Park in Pat Flanagan has been resident in the includes night time temperatures. the contiguous U.S., and intends to con- Mojave Desert since 2002. She represents Mike concluded that “Unpredictable tinue doing so for a long time to come. her Desert Heights community on the Mo- weather patterns are increasing in rongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council, volatility and frequency. More weath- Birgitta Jansen has volunteered in Death is a board member of the Morongo Basin er events have an associated cost, and Valley National Park since 2008. Among Conservation Association, is on the Tech- more resources have to be directed other activities, she has coordinated a nical Advisory Committee for the Mojave towards keeping the park running.” But number of service projects conducted by Desert Resource Conservation District. once again, another side to this can be outside groups, and she has monitored found. Mike pointed out that “Death a large number of old cabins in the References for this article can be found in Valley is actually a good venue to talk backcountry. Birgitta is currently com- the Notes section of desertreport.org. about climate change. People can take pleting a book about the flash flood of the flood tours in Grapevine Canyon, October 2015.

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 15 BY LINDA GREENE SMITH AND JUDY PALMER NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN

The legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Death Valley National Park

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO care, and long-term job skills, but also early to reveille, stood through roll Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, established the structural foundations call, did calisthenics, made their bunks, facing the longest lasting economic of many of our early local, state, and and then were assigned tasks. These downturn in American history— the federal parks and monuments. were boys from all parts of the country, Great Depression of 1929-39. Immedi- The typical CCC enrollee was male, in their late teens and early 20s, who ately proposing an Emergency Con- age eighteen to twenty-five, unem- had been hungry and homeless for a servation Work (ECW) Act, Roosevelt ployed, unmarried, and a US citizen. He while and were desperately eager for a focused on two personal priorities— was required to pass a physical exam better life. During the nine years of CCC saving America’s misused and depleted and serve a minimum of six months in operation, 3 million boys served, gaining agricultural and natural resources and the corps. Work schedules comprised renewed hope for their future as they rescuing its young men who were roving 40-hour weeks; pay was $30 a month, proved their ability to do productive the streets looking for jobs that did of which $25 had to be sent home. CCC work. The unofficial CCC slogan was “We not exist. Popularly referred to as the camps were established in all the states. can take it!” Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Although these were not officially mili- Herbert Hoover established Death ECW was formally renamed that in 1937. tary camps, reserve army officers were Valley National Monument by Presiden- This far-reaching program ultimately in charge of them. No military training tial proclamation on February 11, 1933, not only provided millions of desperate took place, but the facilities were run as one of his final legislative actions. young men with shelter, food, medical much like a boot camp. The boys rose The CCC enrollees who were sent to this remote desert area found a national monument set in a totally alien environment with no infrastructure. The few roads into the monument were rough and dangerous; no campgrounds, picnic areas, or other visitor facilities existed; well and spring development was totally inadequate; no water distribution or communication systems were in place; and no residences, offices, warehouses, or maintenance facilities for National Park Service (NPS) operations and ad- ministration had been built. By providing public accommodations and decent access roads, the NPS and CCC made Death Valley a popular winter tourist destination, with visitors also contributing to the economic development of neighboring communities such as Sho- shone, CA. Due to the summer heat, the initial CCC camps in Death Valley—Cow Creek and Funeral Range—were not estab- CCC Road Crew. Photo by Death Valley archives lished until October 1933. A member

16 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 of one of the first companies to arrive, lage. At Texas Springs they constructed and his staff demonstrated almost from New York, stated that they took a campground with rustic stone comfort paternal feelings toward the CCC boys showers constantly during the three stations and picnic tables; at Emigrant, a and became good friends and mentors. days they were given to acclimate until beautiful stone ranger station was built. Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch provided finally showers during the day were The Army, overseeing and supplying the their swimming pool, golf course, and forbidden because they were draining CCC enrollees from March Field in Cal- tennis courts, as well as rental horses, the water reservoir! After fire destroyed ifornia, worked with NPS officials who for the use of enrollees. CCC chaplains most of the Cow Creek Camp in 1936, it directed the projects, often hiring local conducted Easter Sunrise services in was consolidated with Camp Funeral skilled construction workers to train the the sand dunes for several years, and Range in the present Cow Creek admin- enrollees. One such person was Charles the Cow Creek chaplain officiated at the istrative and maintenance area. Tempo- “Dobie” Nells, a Shoshone resident who funeral services for longtime prospector rary spike camps were established near was very skilled at making adobe bricks. Shorty Harris, which was attended by special project areas, such as in Warm Enrollees completed an impressive trail 150 enrollees. Spring Canyon where enrollees were to the top of Telescope Peak in slightly Recreation was an important part of improving roads into the Grantham Talc more than three months. the CCC program, including excursions Mine. (Louise Grantham was a Sho- An educational adviser was ul- to local landmarks such as Rhyolite, shone-based owner-operator of one of timately assigned to each CCC camp. Dante’s View, Scotty’s Castle, Badwater, California’s largest talc mines.) Death Valley held its classes in tents and Butte Valley, and Ubehebe Crater, often Again because of the heat, CCC offered fifty-six courses, including jour- accompanied by the monument natu- crews were not sent to Death Valley nalism, US history, photography, auto ralist. Enrollees toured movie studios in during the following summers, and proj- and truck mechanics, and dramatics. Hollywood, visited the newly built Boul- ect work lagged. As a result, a summer Enrollees also gained practical hands- der Dam near Las Vegas, and dropped camp for both the CCC and NPS was es- on experience using NPS equipment in at a chemical factory in Trona. They tablished in Wildrose Canyon in 1935 to in grading roads, plumbing, installing also attended special events such as allow work to continue year-round. The water and sewer systems, fashioning the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Sports site of that camp is now the Wildrose adobe bricks for buildings and his- were popular − a memorable Golden Campground. torical restoration work, constructing Gloves tournament was held in 1935 After road building and providing houses, landscaping, surveying, and in the valley, and Jim Jefferies, retired access to scenic attractions, the next pri- building and operating radios. The CCC former undefeated heavyweight world ority was constructing buildings for NPS boys adjusted quickly to the desert and champion (1899-1905), served as referee. operations, including ranger/checking carried on an extensive social life with Baseball was especially popular, and the stations and a headquarters office (cur- valley residents and people in nearby Shoshone Indians often played against a rent Resources Management office at communities. The NPS showed a strong Death Valley CCC team. Cow Creek). They also constructed nine desire to develop not only the park, but During the CCC’s years in Death adobe residences, a trading post, and a also the enrollees. The monument’s first Valley, many tasks were accomplished, laundry in the Timbisha Shoshone Vil- superintendent, Theodore R. Goodwin, including the grading of 500 miles of roads and the erection of directional and place name signs; construction of an airplane landing field; installation of water and telephone lines; development of water sources; erection of seventy-six buildings including NPS housing and maintenance facilities; and construction of scenic trails and campgrounds, comfort stations, and picnic areas. Enrollees also vastly improved approaches to the monument by oiling roads, making them much safer and less daunting to drivers, and providing ranger/entrance stations. They also opened and improved roads into Death Valley’s more inaccessible canyons to promote the opening of new mines and the reworking of old ones. They aided in wildfire control and in search and rescue operations in the valley and surrounding areas and, through their explorations and experiences, added to the geographical, geological, botanical, and historical knowledge of Summer Camp at Wildrose. Photo by Death Valley archives PAGE 19

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 17 GOING BEYOND ROOFTOP SOLAR PAGE 3

mal facilities will have a role to play, this approach has its limits. In our new The technology and consumer climate reality, generating clean energy demand is ready to go. on rooftops and in communities can Demand for solar continues to help protect our precious open spaces expand at a steady pace, with over from development and lower the risk of 100,000 new solar installations each power outages and wildfires. We have year. Meanwhile, the price of solar-pow- already seen the risks of relying solely ered batteries is dropping steadily, and on electricity that must be transported a greater percentage of consumers are over long-distance power lines. pairing their solar systems with battery Fortunately, millions of rooftops storage. already exist that are perfectly suited to harness the power of the sun. Impor- Getting to 1 million solar batteries: tantly, rooftop solar allows everyday stop utilities and local governments people to be part of the climate solution. from suppressing rooftop solar. At the same time, these families can Unfortunately nearly all of the lower their energy bills and with so- state’s utilities, and some local gov- lar-powered batteries families can keep ernments, continue to erect barriers the lights on when the grid goes out. that discourage people from choosing solar and storage. Given the urgency 2020: The Year of A Million Solar of climate change, now is the time for Powered Batteries? state policymakers to reduce the remain- California should continue to ing barriers that currently discourage encourage rooftop solar with a special Conventional meter, the solar people from adopting rooftop solar and focus on getting a million solar powered meter, and the battery battery storage, so that millions more batteries installed within the decade. Photo by SePac Energy Systems people become a part of the climate Doing this will accelerate all the benefits solution. the state is already receiving from the We are pushing lawmakers and growth of rooftop solar. current jet-fuel powered turbines with state officials to do the following: Today’s solar batteries are almost a massive battery that charges during 1) Prohibit utilities from charging identical to the ones in electric vehicles, low-demand hours. penalty fees that discriminate against except they are mounted in a garage Then, to ensure that this rising elec- solar users. These fees would wipe out rather than in the car. When solar tricity use doesn’t require new peaker people’s solar savings and force them panels are paired with a battery, the plants, East Bay Community Energy has to remain dependent on the utility. extra energy made during the day can also partnered with the solar installer 2) Require cities to streamline and stan- be stored, allowing them to tap into Sunrun to put solar and batteries in dardize their solar permitting. Many clean solar power long after the sun low-income apartment buildings in reputable solar installers simply won’t goes down. Oakland. The energy from the solar do installations in cities like Pasadena This added flexibility allows solar panels will first meet the energy needs and San Jose because their permitting users to be more independent and of the building residents, and then flow processes are so onerous. increases the benefits of clean energy into the batteries. Excess energy in those 3) Require utilities to connect people’s for all. With solar-powered batteries, batteries will go into the general grid, solar within two weeks of installation. families can use clean energy to power helping to meet the area’s energy needs Many consumers wait months or up their homes during a blackout or they during peak electricity use. to a year or more for their utility to can send power back to the utility grid The benefits to Oakland from this ar- switch on their system. when their community needs it. rangement are clear: 4) Protect “net metering” from attack. ● A fossil fuel power plant gets closed This is the credit solar users receive More solar + batteries in Oakland is down. for the extra energy they give back to helping to close a jet fuel power plant ● The plant stays closed even as electric- the grid. It’s a big reason why people - and keep it closed forever. ity use increases. choose solar and why utilities are Oakland’s local electricity provid- ● Local residents, many of whom are trying to kill it. er, East Bay Community Energy, plans low-income, cut their energy bills and 5) Help drive down the cost of battery to close a local power plant that runs keep the power on during an outage storage. California policymakers when electricity demand spikes, called ● Local clean energy means one less recently earmarked nearly $700 a “peaker plant.” They are doing that in solar or wind farm spoiling our open million to help low-income residents two steps. First, they are replacing the spaces. and those in fire-prone areas buy

18 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN DEATH VALLEY PAGE 17

solar-powered batteries. That’s a good first step. To get one million solar powered batteries installed, state leaders should supercharge the battery market with a tax credit available to all state residents for the next seven years. 6) Protect the state’s Solar Homes Man- date. Starting this year all newly constructed low-rise homes must come with solar. It’s a great idea, and is already under attack by utilities. We’ll be making sure state energy officials don’t cave to utility lobbying. 7) Make it easy for communities to build “Virtual Solar Power Plants” like that Texas Springs Campground Comfort Station. Photo by Judy Palmer in Oakland. State officials should set a goal to empower hundreds of Virtual Solar Power Plants across Califor- Death Valley. until 1956, at which time the monument nia that let homes, apartments and As the 1930s came to an end, the headquarters building at Cow Creek was businesses work together to supply war in Europe began to impact the CCC, turned into a year-round facility. Today, power to themselves and the larger with rationing and shortages severely almost ninety years later, the NPS and community. curtailing work programs. Many CCC the general public still utilize many of enrollees had already joined the armed the roads, buildings, trails, and other Interested in helping supercharge forces by the time the United States improvements completed by the CCC. local clean energy in California? declared war in 1941. The army hauled Today, many decades later, we are The Solar Rights Alliance is a state- away thirty-three truckloads of metal still reaping the benefits of Franklin wide nonprofit association of solar users scrap from the camps, and most of the Roosevelt’s foresight and the work of the and supporters. We believe everyone CCC buildings were disassembled and CCC enrollees. has the right to make energy from the removed for military use. The remain- sun without unreasonable interference der were later used by the NPS or sold Judy Palmer is an avid Death Valley hiker by the utility or government. We keep to private contractors. Louise Grantham and camper. She is also a volunteer for track of what the politicians, utilities, acquired one or two of these dormitory the Shoshone Museum and the Southern and regulators are up to and alert you buildings, which she used until 1952 Inyo Fire Protection District. She has be- when there is a threat or opportunity to house her talc miners in Warm longed to the Sierra Club since the 1950s for solar. Our network of 10,000 Cali- Spring Canyon. and is a Life Member. fornians around the state is growing, The last CCC unit left Death Valley and people are speaking out and taking on May 15, 1942, severely affecting Linda Green served as Cultural Resourc- action locally and statewide. progress in the monument, which had es Specialist and then Chief, Division of been solely dependent on CCC labor for Resources Management, at Death Valley Dave Rosenfeld is the Executive Director construction, maintenance, and some NP. She has written several histories on of the Solar Rights Alliance. He has been administrative duties for the entire nine Western national park units and co-au- a grassroots organizer for over thirty years of its existence. The NPS continued thored a mining history of Death Valley. years, helping to bring people of all kinds to use its winter quarters at Wildrose together to win numerous state-level and national people-powered campaigns for social causes and to protect the environment. Looking to get involved with Desert Report? We are looking for a volunteer to help post articles and information to our website. Sign up for Solar Rights Alliance No design or development experience necessary – just a working knowledge of alerts at www.solarrights.org. If you Wordpress and an ability to resize photographs in a photo manipulation program have any questions or comments such as Photoshop. You’ll be helping spread the word about important desert about this article, contact Executive conservation issues by posting articles to www.desertreport.org about once a Director Dave Rosenfeld at quarter. Please contact Craig Deutsche ([email protected]) or Jason [email protected]. Hashmi ([email protected]) if interested.

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 19 OUTINGS California Regional Conservation Committee Desert Committee

MT. JEFFERSON,TOQUIMA RANGE, CENTRAL NEVADA BACKPACK Unless otherwise noted, Sierra Club outings are open to non-members. July 9-13 (Thursday – Monday) Participants are required to sign a standard liability waiver at the beginning This backpack begins from a campground of each trip. To read the Liability Waiver before you choose to participate, on Pine Creek in the scenic and remote go to http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms/, or call 415-977- Toquima Range of Central Nevada, about a 5528 to request a printed version. 5 hour drive north of Las Vegas. As we hike For any questions concerning an outing, contact the leader. For ques- up Pine Creek, expect to have wet feet. tions about Desert Committee outings in general, or to receive the outings Widespread aspen forests cover much of list by e-mail, please contact Kate Allen at [email protected] or 661- the area we are exploring. Total hiking with 944-4056. For the most current listing, visit the Desert Report website at packs will range from 15 to 20 miles round www.desertreport.org and click on outings. trip, first day hike in about 3 miles. There The Sierra Club California Seller of Travel number is CST 2087766-40. will be additional hiking with day packs as (Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State we cover the 3 peaks of Mt. Jefferson. Fol- of California.) lowing that, we return the same way. Up to 2500’ elevation gain and 15-20 miles with backpacks, moderate backpack on trails. SIERRA CLUB LEADERS Leader – David Hardy hardyhikers@em- barqmail.com If you have an outing in the desert, whether a day hike, a multi-day service trip or backpack planned for this fall; get your outings chair’s permission to send The following activities are not spon- a write up to: Kate Allen, [email protected] by May 15 and it will run in the sored nor administered by the Sierra June issue. Club. The Sierra Club has no information about the planning of these activities and makes no representations or war- ranties about the quality, safety, super- JOSHUA TREE BACKPACK (S) and an adventurous attitude! Carry up to 6 vision or management of such activities. Joshua Tree National Park, CA liters of water per day. Limit 15; Contact: They are published only as a reader March 20-22, 2020 (Friday-Sunday) Paul Harris [email protected] service because they may be of interest Test your endurance with this 3-day, 510-926-2600 OR Carol Clark gogetoutan- to the readers of this publication 34-mile backpack through some of the [email protected] 415-205-0150 park’s most memorable scenery - includ- The following activities are sponsored by ing Wonderland of Rocks, Johnny Lang MT. IRISH AND WHITE RIVER NARROWS Desert Survivors. From their web site: Des- Canyon, Smith Water Canyon, and Quail ROCK ART CAR CAMP (M) ert Survivors is an affiliation of desert lovers Mountain Peak, presenting a variety of Lincoln County, NV committed to experiencing, sharing and terrain, elevation, plant communities, April 9-12, 2020 (Thusday-Sunday) protecting desert wilderness wherever we geology, geography, and wildlife including Explore the Mt. Irish Archeological District, find it. We recognize the places we love to the occasional desert tortoise. We’ll gather home to the distinctive and enigmatic Pah- explore will not remain wild unless we give Friday morning at the campground, then ranagat style petroglyphs unique to Lincoln others the opportunity to experience them drive to the trailhead for an early start. County NV. The 640 acre District sites are as we do and unless we remain vigilant and Please be prepared for the challenge: pace accessible by high clearance vehicles or active in our efforts to monitor and preserve will be fast, we’ll cover up to 12 miles per cross country hiking to some sites. We’ll them. You must be a member to sign up for day with a total elevation gain of 5,800’over also explore the canyons of the winding their trips. Join at: www.desert-survivors. 3 days, expect rough, off-trail conditions, White River Narrows Archeological District org. Survivors rates their trips as Easy (E), dry falls, and scrambling. This is a (partly) to the north, home to a large collection moderate (M) or strenuous(S) exploratory trip so bring appropriate gear of both Basin and Range and Fremont

20 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 style petroglyphs. Primitive dry camping Hidden Forest Trail to a historic cabin. The Next Desert in the District or near the Narrows. Limit next day we will attempt a cross-country, Committee Meetings 7 vehicles; carpooling encouraged due to class-2 summit of 9912’ Hanford Peak, limited parking access Contact Leader: if snow levels allow. We may also hike Barbara Bane [email protected]/ additional canyons on the western side of SPRING MEETING 928-607-6316. the refuge. Limit 8. High clearance vehicles May 16-17, 2020 with good tires and full-size spares only. Black Mountain Group Camp VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK Car pooling encouraged. Carry water. Mojave National Preserve CAR CAMP (M) Co-leader Neal Cassidy. Contact Lead- Chair: Craig Deutsche Overton, NV er: Barb Bane [email protected] / April 13-16, 2020 (Monday-Thursday) 928-607-6316 SUMMER MEETING Valley of Fire State Park, located one hour August 8-9, 2020 north of Las Vegas near Lake Mead, is TRAVELING THE HISTORIC famous for its scenic landscapes of bright MOJAVE ROAD (M) Nelson Group Camp red Aztec sandstone outcrops. We will hike Mojave National Preserve, CA In the White Mountains to unusual color-streaked rock formations April 20-24, 2020 (Monday-Friday) Chair: Terry Frewin and look for petroglyphs revealing the rich The Mojave Road has been used for hun- history of the first Native Puebloans in the dreds of years by the Native Americans, the Mojave Desert. In between hikes we’ll tour military, the Spanish missionaries, ranch- the Lost City Museum, a housing of Native ers, miners, and just about anyone coming American artifacts recovered from the to California. It’s now a recreational road Join Us On The on-site excavation pit before the imple- that we use for pure enjoyment. Travel the Desert Forum mentation of Lake Mead. We’ll also explore Mojave Road, starting near the Avi Resort what was once a thriving Mormon town and Casino in NV, and ending in Afton Can- If you find Desert Report interesting, that was sacrificed for Hoover Dam which yon, approximately 122 miles later. We will sign up for the Desert Committee’s recently became visible due to the level of make many stops along the way to explore e-mail Listserv, Desert Forum. Here Lake Mead dropping so low. The trip will and hike around the natural, historical, and you’ll find open discussions of end with a tour on Thursday at the National sometimes funky sites. This is a very rough, items interesting to desert lovers. Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas. rocky, sandy 4WD road. Limit: 6 high-clear- Many articles in this issue of Desert Campsite and entrance fees apply. Limit ance 4WD vehicles (no AWD). Drivers must Report were developed through 15. Contact Trip Leader Marisa Seaman know how to drive their vehicle in 4WD and Forum discussions. Electronic [email protected] / 510-872-5341 be able to carry at least one passenger. subscribers will continue to receive No sign-ups before Feb 1. Contact: Stacy current news on these issues — NATIONAL ATOMIC TESTING Goss [email protected] plus the opportunity to join in the MUSEUM TOUR (E) Las Vegas, NV The following outing is sponsored by the discussions and contribute their April 16, 2020 (Thursday) Friends of the Inyo. Friends of the Inyo own insights. Desert Forum runs on We will learn about the Nevada Test Site, work to ensure the public lands of the a Sierra Club Listserv system. established in 1951 at the end of WWII to Eastern Sierra exist in an intact, healthy test atomic bombs in “a convenient place” natural state for people and wildlife through SIGNING UP IS EASY in the Mojave Desert over the span of four preservation, stewardship, exploration, and Just send this e-mail: decades. A docent will offer us additional education. To: [email protected] accounts behind the disturbing displays From: Your real e-mail address presenting the history of the development BODIE HILLS WINTER OUTING [very important!] and testing of nuclear bombs. Entrance March 14, 2020 (Saturday) Subject: [this line is ignored and fee: $22/ $18 seniors. No limit. Contact Trip from 9am to 3pm may be left blank] Leader Marisa Seaman seaman.marisa@ Join us for a fun outing as we explore the Message: SUBSCRIBE gmail.com / 510-872-5341 Bodie Hills. Bring your skis or snowshoes CONS-CNRCC-DESERT-FORUM (or borrow ours) for a fun day of trekking. YOURFIRSTNAME SHEEP RANGE BACKPACK (S) All ages and skill levels are welcome. We YOURLASTNAME Desert National Wildlife Refuge, NV will decide as a group how far to go and [this must fit on one line.] April 17-19, 2020 (Friday-Sunday) we may split up depending on how far The Desert National Wildlife Refuge, you want to go. When: Saturday March northwest of Las Vegas, is a study area for 14, 2019 from 9am-3pm Where: Meet at By return e-mail, you will get a desert bighorn sheep. This remote refuge, the High Sierra Bakery in Bridgeport at welcome message and some tips straddling both sides of the Sheep Range, 9am What to Bring: Water, lunch, snacks, on using the system. Questions? is likely to be cut in half in 2021 with its camera, and skis or snowshoes. RSVP to Contact Cal French, cal.french@ western portion withdrawn by the Air Force [email protected] with the num- gmail.com (805) 239-7338 as an extension of the Nevada Test and ber in your party and any questions Training Range. We will backpack into the western side of the Sheep Range via the

DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 21 DESERT UPDATES

Air Tour Management Plan of the natural environment through partial use of IID canal for National Parks water and consideration of the human (social and economic) environment.” There continues a twenty year stall, indeed protracted “balk,” The ROD differs from the permit previously granted by Im- in producing final, certified Air Tour Management Plans for na- perial County in 2008 because it incorporates material from the tional parks as directed by the Y2000 National Parks Overflights Sierra Club v. County of Imperial Settlement Agreement of 2018. Management Act (NPATMA). The law’s 20th anniversary is April The settlement was the result of a suit filed in January 1999. In 5th. The law covers all national parks with air tours, including an appendix of the ROD added a variety of mitigation measures large desert parks such as Death Valley NP and Lake Mead NRA. relating to both water quality and to wildlife. (Grand Canyon National Park is exempted, being subject to still uncompleted requirements of a 1987 law. Alaskan national parks are also exempted.) Irregularities Called Out Oral Arguments based on the NPATMA were heard on Dec. in the Nevada BLM 9th in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in the case of “In re Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Ha- BLM Environmental Protection Specialist Dan Patterson recent- waii Island Coalition Malama Pono.” These were based on PEER’s ly filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special petition for an extraordinary Writ of Mandamus to force timely Counsel and Department of Interior Office of Inspector General action and completion of plans by the FAA and NPS. The Court’s alleging “illegalities and wrongdoing” by managers at the BLM’s decision as to several of these Park plans is presumed fairly Nevada state office and Battle Mountain district. The allega- imminent (even by time of publication of this Desert Report). tions include fast-tracking mining, oil and gas drilling projects, The agencies still intend to restart their long-suspended, and playing politics with enforcement, in violation of laws and Death Valley National Park air tour management planning regulations meant to protect public lands. Details have been process on March 1st, beginning with preliminary agency and reported in the Feb 9 issue of Politico Magazine and the Nevada operator communication involving those few tour companies Independent. Assisting BLM Whistleblower Patterson are Public still holding (very limited) Interim Operating Authority (IOA) Employees for Environmental Responsibility, American Federa- there. The Death Valley plan is seen as obvious, “low hanging tion of Government Employees, Center for Biological Diversity, fruit,” given no reported tours there in the required annual re- Basin and Range Watch and others. Follow @DanPattersonUSA ports of recent years from operators with IOA. It is conceivable the Death Valley Plan could develop a ban on air tours, as the Background: Preferred Alternative. Nevada Independent: https://tinyurl.com/r9mvk7q Politico: https://tinyurl.com/wrll95r Ground Water, Industry, and Residents in Imperial County The Gemini Solar Final Environmental Impact Statement This January, 2020, the Bureau Land Management (BLM) issued a Record of Decision (ROD) resolving the use of water by U.S. Comments from the Desert Forum Listserve Gypsum at its Plaster City plant in Imperial County. The result “Additional measures have been added to the Final RMPA/ is that U.S. Gypsum (USG) has received a Right of Way to build EIS, including two mitigation measures in addition to those a 5.5 mile water pipeline from IID’s Westside Main Canal and already required in the Draft RMPA/EIS: 1) capture on-site im- use up to 1000 acre/feet/year of water from the Colorado River. agery prior to project implementation to facilitate the creation At the Plaster City facility, this water would be blended with a of an interpretive “virtual” tour of the California Crossing High specified and limited quantity of potable groundwater from an Potential (HP) Segment (e.g., Google Earth Street View or similar aquifer farther to the west at Ocotillo. This decision protects the perspective imagery coupled with additional interpretive digital water source upon which residents of Ocotillo are dependent. media content development or potentially even virtual reality).” In its ROD, BLM stated that: “The use of the sole source “This could obviously solve future conflicts with old growth aquifer underly the community of Ocotillo for industrial forests, Native American sites, endangered species and just purposes is counter to its designation. This is a high-severity about anything you can think of. Why have the real thing when impact. Thus, the decision is a compromise between protection virtual reality can equal or improve the experience?”

22 DESERT REPORT MARCH 2020 DESERT REPORT IS PUBLISHED BY SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA/NEVADA DESERT COMMITTEE

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OUR MISSION The Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee works for the protection and conservation of the deserts of California, Nevada, and other areas in the Southwest; monitors and works with public, private, and non-profit agencies to promote preservation of our arid lands; sponsors education and service trips; encourages and supports others to work for similar objectives; and maintains, shares, and publishes information about the desert.

EDITORIAL STAFF OFFICERS COORDINATORS (continued)

MANAGING EDITOR CHAIR DESERT WILDERNESS Craig Deutsche Terry Frewin DESIGNATION AND [email protected] [email protected] PROTECTION 310-477-6670 805-966-3754 Terry Frewin [email protected] CIRCULATION VICE CHAIR 805-966-3754 Kate Allen Joan Taylor [email protected] 760-778-1101 CARRIZO NATIONAL 661-944-4056 MONUMENT OUTINGS CHAIR Craig Deutsche OUTINGS EDITOR Kate Allen [email protected] Kate Allen [email protected] 310-477-6670 [email protected] 661-944-405 661-944-4056 PANAMINT/INYO MOUNTAINS GRAPHIC DESIGN Tom Budlong Jason Hashmi COORDINATORS [email protected] [email protected] 310-963-1731 626-487-3791 CALIFORNIA WILDERNESS Laura Cunningham (Nevada) DESIGNATION AND [email protected] PROTECTION 775-513-1280 INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORS Vicky Hoover [email protected] NEVADA MILITARY ISSUES 415-928-1038 Wynne Benti Sheep Meadow Foundation [email protected] Argonaut Charitable Foundation CALIFORNIA 760-920-6616 San Gorgonio Chapter ENERGY ISSUES – Mojave Group Joan Taylor NEVADA WATER ISSUES San Diego Chapter 760-778-1101 John Hiatt [email protected] NEVADA 702-361-1171 ENERGY ISSUES Laura Cunningham [email protected] 775-513-1280 DESERT REPORT Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PUBLISHED BY California/Nevada Desert Committee of the Sierra Club PAID 3250 Wilshire Blvd #1106 Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, CA 90010 Permit No. 36438 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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