MBCA, as part of a coalition of 7 other organizations and scientists, has sent a detailed Environmental Assessment Comment Letter to the BLM State Director Jerome Perez opposing the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage project and requesting a full Environmental Impact Study (EIS) instead of the planned and less comprehensive Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Transmission Line. It provides a thorough and detailed record of all the stages of insufficient analysis that have been completed for this project.  

Morongo Basin Conservation Priorities Map and Report 

Between 2008 and 2010, the Morongo Basin Open Space Group convened dozens of Morongo Basin residents in multiple workshops and discussion groups concerning long-term conservation and development planning in the Basin.  Its printed product was the Morongo Basin Conservation Priorities Report which represents the collected perceptions of the Open Space Group participants plus a lot of related scientific data.

Clicking on the map below will connect you with an interactive map developed from the report that portrays the Morongo Basin's conservation values parcel by parcel.

 

There was a wide mix of community residents involved from all areas of the Basin, as well as representatives from local governments, from community, business, and conservation organizations, from the Mojave Desert Land Trust, and from Joshua Tree National Park and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.

Support for this project was provided by the Sonoran Institute. Both public input and conservation science were used to develop this information-rich document. The report provides a comprehensive picture of which areas of the Morongo Basin are considered by its residents to be particularly worth conserving, and which areas may be more suited to development, and why.