A revised plan for the Soda Mountain Solar Project in the Mojave Desert near Zzyxx is being reviewed by the California Energy Commission. In MBCA's short comment letter (which includes links to background research and data), MBCA focuses on two critical issues. One is the question of whether additional such projects are even needed in California, as questioned in Melody Peterson's LA Times article "California has so much solar power that increasingly it goes to waste." The second major concern is the inevitable damage to desert ecosystems. If left undisturbed, this land could provide significant carbon sequestration, as described in the report The California Desert's Role in 30x30: Carbon Sequestration and Biodiversity.

With a focus on the lack of environmental review as required by the California Environmental Quality Act, the Center for Biological Diversity and local group Indian Cove Neighbors filed a lawsuit against the City of Twentynine Palms for its approval of the OfLand resort development. The lawsuit maintains that a full environmental review is required rather than the weaker Mitigated Negative Declaration that was accepted by the City Council. Read more in this press release from CBD and from the local news outlet The Desert Trumpet. 

A National Public Radio story notes the potentially negative effects of federal agency changes on California's endangered desert tortoise. The efforts of Mojave Desert Land Trust on the animal's behalf are noted, as well as research by respected desert research scientists including Cameron Barrows and Ed LaRue. Listen to or read the story here.

California began to address the observed and predicted decline of the Western Joshua tree initially through passage of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act in 2023, as an alternative to granting threatened/endangered species status. To enforce the Act, the California Fish and Game Commission was tasked to develop a Conservation Plan. After two years of administrative planning and public input, the Commission approved the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan on August 13. Public input included not only pleas for stronger conservation but also opposition to regulations perceived to be too restrictive and expensive. An overview of the issues and ongoing concerns are explored in this Los Angeles Times article, and comments about the expected effects in the Morongo Basin can found in this story at radio station Z107.7's website.

In another legal step in the ongoing battle between rooftop solar owners and utilities, the California Supreme Court ruled on August 7 that a challenge to the reduction in rooftop solar incentives determined by the California Public Utilities Commission should be revisited. Three groups (Center for Biological Diversity, The Protect Our Communities Foundation, and the Environmental Working Group) filed an appeal in January 2023 that was denied in January 2024. The Supreme Court’s decision requires the appeals court to revisit the appeal. More details and background can be found in this Los Angeles Times article.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced a revised version of the Western Joshua Tree Relocation Guidelines and Protocols. It has been developed to implement provision of the state's Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act and revised over the course of several years, with extensive and impassioned public comment at several Fish and Game Commission meetings. The Department reports that the August 2025 version of the guidelines includes these revisions:

• New determinations when relocation may be required
• Expanded minimization measures
• Addressing availability of relocation sites
• Minor clarifications and grammatical edits

 

Despite an extensive array of public comments mostly expressing concerns to the Twentynine Palms City Council about the OfLand Resort proposed for Indian Cove Area (this very large document may take a while to open) , the City Council accepted the Planning Commission's recommendation to change the zoning and approve the project with a Mitigated Negative Declaration. Local radio station Z107.7 provides a comprehensive overview of the City Council meeting, and an update on the resort developer's comments about moving forward.

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.