MBCA's comment letter to the City of Twentynine Palms Planning Department about the 100-unit luxury resort project details points of conflict with the City's General Plan but also makes suggestions for change. MBCA encourages a reduction in the size of the project, and makes additional detailed points about project deficits and discrepancies on issues including "edge effects" on wildlife; the Mojave Desert Sentinel Landscape provisions; aesthetic and viewshed degradation; and light trespass.   

A housing project application was filed with San Bernardino County in late April to subdivide 4 different parcels in the Lucerne Valley area into hundreds of small parcels intended to establish thousands of housing units. The Rancho Lucerne Project was first filed and evaluated more than 30 years ago. In addition to focusing comment on the officially expired previous approvals that must be honored, MBCA's letter enumerates ten areas of concern that must be re-evaluated due to climate and development changes. Among those areas are water, wastewater, air quality, traffic on Highway 247, cultural consultation, and environmental justice.

 

As part of the Power in Nature Coalition, MBCA joined 19 other organizations to comment on California's Wildlife Conservation Board's 2025-2030 Strategic Plan. Among other recommendations were creating metrics that measure more deeply than just number of projects, taking stronger action on climate change, and more emphasis on partnerships.

California Senate Bill 607 was introduced in February and is intended to change some aspects of the California Environmental Quality Act in order to fast-track large-scale energy-related projects. MBCA’s letter to Senators McGuire and Caballero opposes the bill for its potential to permit "many harmful projects including pipelines, data centers and waste storage facilities (to) be built in communities without sufficient environmental review or public participation." (Note: the bill was “ordered to inactive file on request of Senator Wiener” on June 5.)

Morongo Basin Conservation Association has awarded college scholarships to three local graduating high school seniors. 
 
Recipients demonstrate commitments to include conservation and environmental interests in their education and career plans. Each $1,000 scholarship goes toward the student's higher education expenses in the 2025-26 academic year. 

MBCA's Conservation Scholarship is the continuation of our commitment to educate the next generation of conservation-conscious citizens. Jocelyn Gonzalez of Yucca Valley High School is the recipient, planning to study biological sciences at Cal State Fullerton.

The Women's STEAM Scholarship (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) is provided anonymously by two generations of women who held careers in STEAM fields. Molly Brown of Yucca Valley High School is this year’s recipient. The scholarship will help fund her study at University of Utah in Chemical Engineering.

Donations in memory of renowned local artist, conservationist, and longtime MBCA member Steve Rieman make it possible to offer the Steve Rieman Scholarship, intended for a student who will incorporate their conservation commitment into fields requiring environmentally-conscious creativity. The Rieman Scholarship this year goes to Meghann Arballo of Yucca Valley High School. She will study dance and psychology at San Diego State University..

MBCA's mission is to advocate and educate for a healthy desert environment which nurtures wildlands and our communities’ rural character, cultural abundance, and economic well-being. 

Our heartiest congratulations to the scholarship recipients!

On April 18, three MBCA Board members were interviewed on the Up Close Show (Episode 397), a weekly public affairs program of local radio station Z107.7 FM. Host and Hall of Fame Journalist Gary Daigneault conversed with MBCA's Vice President Stacy Doolittle, Board member Arch McCulloch, and Secretary Laraine Turk. While much of the hour-long discussion focused on details of the upcoming Desert-Wise Landscape Tour, the Board members were also asked to comment on issues including the Chuckwalla National Monument, Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan and the recent Lovemore Ranch appeal. 

After hearing three hours of public comment, the San Bernardino County Supervisors unanimously denied the appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of the Lovemore Ranch housing project. The appeal was filed by MBCA and supported by the Joshua Tree Village Neighbors group and others. Public comments were almost entirely in support of the appeal. You can view the entire hearing by clicking "video" on the April 8 line of the list of Supervisor meetings at this page; timestamps for various stages of the appeal are shown below. Read or listen to the Z107.7 radio report here.

Appeal Item #42 begins at 30:40
   32:05 – Mark Wardlaw, head of Land Use Services, responds to MBCA’s appeal specifics.
   44:40 – Begin presentation by appellant (MBCA and Joshua Tree Village Neighbors)
1:00:36 – Begin presentation by project proponent (Lovemore Ranch)
1:13:13 – Begin public comment at San Bernardino Location
1:47:11 – Begin public comment at Joshua Tree Community Center
2:27:15 – RECESS
2:43:00 – Restart public comment at Joshua Tree Community Center
3:06:00 – Final comments from project proponent (Lovemore Ranch)
3:15:09 – Final comments from appellant (MBCA and JTVN)
3:21:52 – Board Chair Dawn Rowe begins questions to Staff
3:33:50 – Chair Rowe asks County Counsel about State Housing Affordability Act
3:35:12 – Chair Rowe asks for Supervisor Questions
3:44:25 – Public Hearing is Closed and Supervisors vote to deny the appeal.