MBCA is among 15 organizations requesting more time to prepare for involvement in hearings concerning water management and related biological resources in the Amargosa Basin. The Basin lies within the Mojave Desert and spreads across two states and four counties, including San Bernardino County. The group recommends that Nevada Department of Water Resources engage with stakeholders to examine potential negative impacts on groundwater for rural communities and on tourism drawn to the area by this unique ecosystem.

MBCA's letter to Governor Newsom outlines the growing environmental damage and safety issues accruing from the proliferation of illegal marijuana grows in the Mojave Desert and other rural areas of the state. Our request is for the Governor to convene a special session of the legislature to upgrade the current misdemeanor status in order to address the escalating problem.

MBCA's Board of Directors has kept abreast of the ongoing and worsening situation of illegal cannabis grows in the Morongo Basin and nearby desert areas. In May, the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council (MAC), which includes two MBCA Board members, Pat Flanagan and Steve Bardwell, passed a resolution asking that more San Bernardino County resources be provided to fight the problem. In June, the Supervisors adopted a resolution urging the state to increase penalties for illegal cannabis cultivation. A July 21 article from the Desert Sun describes the increasingly dire water theft increase across the state, mostly due to illegal cannabis grows. The article includes a quotation (highlighted) from Marina West, former MBCA Board member and general manager of the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency.

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management in response to an action taken in the final days of the prior administration that would ease the path for the Cadiz Water Project. A right-of-way for the water mining scheme was granted without any public review. Read the news item by local radio KCDZ 107.7 and the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity for the latest information on this decade-long battle against draining important desert water reserves.  

Marina West, Manager of the Bighorn Desert View Water Agency and recently a Board member and Treasurer for MBCA, presented an illustrated virtual lecture on the "History of Water in the Morongo Basin: A Perspective on an Undervalued Resource" as a program for the Desert Institute, the educational arm of the Joshua Tree National Park Association. In this one-hour YouTube recording, Marina provides the Basin's water history in both geological and historical timeframes, with many anecdotes about the pioneers of harvesting water through the development wells in the Morongo Basin.

MBCA is one of 27 diverse non-profit groups opposing any further consideration of the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project in this June 23rd letter to Governor Newsom and the co-chairs of the recently created Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. 

 

In January 2020, MBCA sent a letter opposing state legislative action that would have enhanced the prospects for the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project on the border of Joshua Tree National Park. Chief among our concerns is the inevitable overdraft of underground aquifers in the area and for the Park, with dire consequences for the flora and fauna.