The Coyote Hole historic petroglyph site in Joshua Tree, an area of long-time concern due to incidents of graffiti and trash dumping, is now being patrolled and conserved by the Native American Land Conservancy, with volunteer assistance. Transferred by San Bernardino County to the Conservancy for stewardship purposes in 2018, a recent grant from the Rose Foundation provides the Conservancy with funds to increase oversight of 30 acres in the wash area. This Desert Sun article describes the Conservancy's role and provides a series of photos of Coyote Hole.

In November a Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment was published by the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and other agencies, proposing actions to manage widespread raven problems in California desert military locations. In response, Ed LaRue of the Desert Tortoise Council sent a comment letter that approves of the raven abatement project so far as it’s necessary to protect desert tortoise, but also recommends a number of changes.

The San Bernardino County Light Trespass Ordinance is now official. As we noted in our December 8 news post, "Two of the primary 'wins' of the final version of the ordinance are a shielding requirement and modernization of the terminology and measurement process concerning light trespass. Decorative string lights were one of the final issues of contention, and the approved version of the ordinance will only limit the color temperature and lumen output for residential, not commercial, string lights. The Supervisors agreed to revisit the issue in the future." In the near future, MBCA plans to provide more educational content about the ordinance.

 

In a unanimous vote, the San Bernardino County Supervisors approved the Light Trespass Ordinance that has been championed by MBCA and three successive Third District Dark Sky Committees as part of a decade of citizen action. Third District Supervisor Rowe posted this press release announcing the action. Two of the primary "wins" of the final version of the ordinance are a shielding requirement and modernization of the terminology and measurement process concerning light trespass. Decorative string lights were one of the final issues of contention, and the approved version of the ordinance will only limit the color temperature and lumen output for residential, not commercial, string lights. The Supervisors agreed to revisit the issue in the future. MBCA will provide more details upon official implementation of the ordinance.

As the Brightline West High-Speed Rail Project between southern California and Las Vegas rolls toward implementation, MBCA has again joined numerous organizations to insist that the state require three wildlife crossings to protect our world-class wildlife, including mountain lions and bighorn sheep, in the fragile desert environment. The letter signed by 35 organizations is addressed to Governor Newsom with copies to California's Senators and the heads of appropriate state and federal agencies. Prior MBCA news stories on the issue were posted on September 5, 2020, and November 23, 2020, and this September 16 Los Angeles Times article focuses on the value of the wildlife crossings for bighorn sheep.

At a meeting with a Daggett Solar 66 Project representative initiated by MBCA Directors, the representative described several mitigation efforts directly related to MBCA's concerns listed in our April comment letter. As a follow-up, this November 2 letter was sent by MBCA to the Planning Commission to summarize the project's mitigation actions with reference to our original concerns and therefore our support for the Conditional Use Permit. The County Planning Commission will review the project at their  November 4, 2021 meeting.

A November 2 news story by Sammy Roth of the Los Angeles Times provides a comprehensive overview of the many issues and viewpoints swirling around California's Net Energy Metering (NEM) program. MBCA's earlier news stories of May 8 and June 4 provide our history of involvement as we have signed on to Solar Rights Alliance letters seeking both local and distributed renewable energy commitment and climate justice goals. (If you cannot access the article, here is a text-only version.)

The Aratina Solar Project is proposed for a portion of undisturbed Mojave Desert in Kern County near the town of Boron. The land is mostly undisturbed Joshua Tree woodland, and its destruction for this project has numerous serious consequences for the ecology of the area and also would remove carbon-sequestering soil. MBCA's letter outlines the consequences and asks the Kern County Board of Supervisors not to approve the project. 

San Bernardino County now provides an online Short Term Rental Map for viewing permitted short-term rentals (STRs) in unincorporated areas of the County. While permitted and well-managed STRs provide income for local residents and businesses, the effects on quality of life due to the escalating number of such properties that are unpermitted and/or not well-managed have been increasing. 

The proposed Oberon Solar Project, to be located on undisturbed BLM land near Desert Center, has drawn a great deal of concern by numerous groups in addition to MCBA. While in a Development Focus Area (DFA) proposed under California's Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, the proponents are asking for amendments that contradict the Plan’s underlying rationale. In short, as MBCA’s Pat Flanagan writes in the MBCA letter, “It is not the role of the DRECP to bend to accommodate a project proposal. It is the project proponent’s role to accommodate the DRECP.”