Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Coalition backs proposed Chuckwalla National Monument in California
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 4, 2022
Desert bighorn sheep traverse a rocky slope in Joshua Tree National Park, the southern boundary of which would touch the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument. Credit: NPS, Bill Bjornstad ([link removed])
A coalition of environmental and community groups known as the Protect California Deserts campaign is proposing a new national monument in California's Chuckwalla Valley ([link removed]) south of Joshua Tree National Park. The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument, named for the large lizard found in the desert region, would encompass nearly 700,000 acres ([link removed]) and would include land in both Riverside and Imperial counties.
The vast stretch of the Colorado Desert provides vital habitat for threatened and endangered desert wildlife ([link removed]) , including the desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, and chuckwalla, but advocates say it also offers important outdoor recreation opportunities for nearby communities in the eastern Coachella Valley and surrounding the Salton Sea. “We’re making this a people-centric campaign because oftentimes, monument or conservation campaigns focus on the importance of wildlife and birds, and as an environmentalist that is always super important for me. But as a member of this community, I understand that these local communities do not always have access to the outdoors, they're very park-deprived communities,” said
([link removed]) Frank Ruiz, director of Audubon California’s Salton Sea Program.
The proposed monument’s boundaries were specifically drawn to avoid the areas deemed suitable for renewable energy development under the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan ([link removed]) , a 22.5 million-acre plan covering seven counties that identifies specific development areas for renewable energy while also specifying areas that should be conserved for wildlife, recreation, and cultural values. “Our proposal is complementary to the solar development that we feel can and should be out there. We’re doing this because we all care about the environment, we all care about climate change, and I think those two things, solar development and protecting the desert, should work together, not be opposed to each other,” said ([link removed]) Colin
Barrows with CactusToCloud Institute, one of the organizations supporting the Chuckwalla national monument proposal.
Quick hits
** Can assisted migration save the Rio Grande's cutthroat trout?
------------------------------------------------------------
High Country News ([link removed])
** Wyoming seeks land swap with Forest Service for new Colorado River Basin dam
------------------------------------------------------------
WyoFile ([link removed])
** Coalition backs proposed Chuckwalla National Monument in California
------------------------------------------------------------
Palm Springs Desert Sun ([link removed])
** A first-ever prescribed fire training for Indigenous women
------------------------------------------------------------
High Country News ([link removed])
** Groundwater depletion is accelerating in California's Central Valley
------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
** First-of-its-kind carbon capture facility is coming to Wyoming, but apprehensions remain
------------------------------------------------------------
Wyoming Public Radio ([link removed])
** A hunger for anchovies is killing California's endangered salmon
------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
** Energy cases to watch in 2023
------------------------------------------------------------
E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” We have a full-on crisis. California’s groundwater, and groundwater across the southwestern U.S., is disappearing much faster than most people realize. The trajectory we’re on right now is one for 100% disappearance. This is the water for the future generations. And it’s disappearing.”
—Jay Famiglietti, executive director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security, Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Picture this
** @NatlParkService ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
“You saying you want a piece of me?!?”- Frank Costanza
This saguaro is ready to drop you like a bag of dirt. Be the bigger succulent and don’t engage. 🌵
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2023 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
