by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on September 25, 2023
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on September 25, 2023
A resolution to support the Regional Conservation Investment Strategy was on the September 26 agenda of the San Bernardino County Supervisors. While MBCA joined other organizations in supporting the RCIS in an August 2023 comment letter, one of the provisions in the Supervisors’ resolution negated much of the value of the plan. Comments from MBCA and the SummerTree Institute, among others, requested deletion of Provision 7, which would disastrously limit the types of vegetation to be conserved. The comments emphasized the importance of preserving the desert’s ability to sequester carbon, provide essential biodiversity, and enable the future translocation of the endangered Western Joshua trees. The resolution was approved by the Supervisors unanimously without change.
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on September 20, 2023
While the name of the company draining water from the San Bernardino Forest has changed from Nestle to BlueTriton, an order from the State Water Resources Control Board requires an end to the extraction by November 1. There have been lawsuits and public campaigns on the issue since 2015, and MBCA
reported on it in 2018. The Water Resources Board determined that the company does not have water rights on this land. Read the details in this
LA Times article.
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on September 06, 2023
At the County Land Use Services Open House held in Joshua Tree on August 30, MBCA's President Steve Bardwell talked at some length with Mark Wardlaw, new Director of the department.
MBCA sent a followup letter outlining concerns about land use issues that affect the Morongo Basin's unincorporated communities particularly. The letter includes some specific suggestions and summarizes our concerns related to water issues, Community Action Guides, climate change, Short-Term Rental ordinances, and a number of other topics.
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on September 06, 2023
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on August 30, 2023
Joining 80 other concerned non-profit organizations, MBCA signed a
letter to California's Senate Appropriations Committee members describing how the bill will: 1) allow developers to sue before environmental review; 2) reduce the incentive to complete environmental review; 3) allow developers to avoid public scrutiny; and 4) discourage legitimate environmental justice lawsuits.
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on August 30, 2023
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on August 26, 2023
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on August 25, 2023
The Associated Press produced a comprehensive
story with many photos about the unique desert native seed bank at the Mojave Desert Land Trust in Joshua Tree. There is a growing need for such extraordinary measures considering the devastation of desert lands in the two major fires in recent years in the
Mojave National Preserve, followed by flood damage this summer.
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by Laraine Turk
1515sc
on August 24, 2023
Photo credit Valeree Woodard
Nearly 100 area residents crowded both rooms of the Joshua Tree Community Center to hear a report on the County's Program 4 Housing study, initiated to answer the question, "How Are Short-Term Rentals Impacting the Housing Market?" Colin Drucker, a representative of PlaceWorks, one of the two contracted consulting firms, presented a slide show summarizing the data gathered so far. He noted that the study covers only the unincorporated areas of the mountains and “east desert” (Morongo Basin) and not the “north desert” (i.e. Lucerne Valley, Newberry Springs, etc.).
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