MBCA Director Pat Flanagan is the 2017 recipient of the prestigious Minerva Hoyt Conservation Award. Background for the award and a list of previous recipients can be found on the Joshua Tree National Park Association's webpage. Many MBCA supporters recognize Pat as the author of dozens of comprehensive comment letters representing the stance of MBCA and our communities on various development and conservation issues. Her comment letters contain eloquent defenses of the need for preserving desert environments and provide in-depth research with science-based and referenced evidence. MBCA is very pleased that this recognition is being made for Pat's stellar contributions to MBCA and the entire desert community over many years.
Last December, many Morongo Basin and Mojave Desert residents were among the over 100,000 individuals across the country who commented in opposition to extreme fee increases for a number of National Parks including Joshua Tree National Park. Owing to the huge negative response, the Department of the Interior is reevaluating their plan; increased fees are still expected, but in smaller amounts. This Washington Post article provides background and details, including quotations from some impassioned commenters, and here is the local report by radio station KCDZ.
The San Gabriel Valley Water District, having been approached to be a customer of Cadiz, Inc.'s proposed water project, declined the opportunity at its Board meeting on Tuesday, March 21. MBCA has been informing our supporters for several years about the likely harm that will be done to East Mojave ecosystems should the company's plan be completed. This March 22 Desert Sun article describes the current situation and summarizes the history of the project. This LA Weekly article that we shared last fall provides a comprehensive look at the Project's history.
MBCA Director Pat Flanagan has become recognized as an authority on the issues of dust pollution and sand transport paths in the Morongo Basin and others areas of the Mojave Desert. In a followup to her recent presentation to the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council, she was the key presenter at the February meeting of the Lucerne Valley/Johnson Valley Municipal Advisory Council about the issue, as reported in an article in the Victor Valley Daily Press. Pat's PowerPoint presentation on Sand Transport Paths contains a detailed explanation of the issue and its ramifications related to renewable energy development. Additionally, there is a segment at the end of the presentation explaining why MBCA and others are requesting that the County reinstate language in the Renewable Energy Conservation Element of the General Plan regarding renewable energy developments in rural communities.
The information and links below are intended to assist you in responding to MBCA's February 14 Eblast request to contact the County Board of Supervisors about the County's Renewable Energy and Conservation Element, and about the proposed review of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan / DRECP.
