New Desert Wise Landscaping Video Launched!
Click on the photo to enjoy MBCA's latest engaging video of a local residential landscape filled with desert native plant beauty and skillful water management.
MBCA Joins Trailer Bill Concerns
With 100 other non-profit conservation-related organizations, MBCA signed a letter to entreat Governor Newsom and 15 state legislators on the Senate and Assembly budget committees to eliminate from the budget a number of infrastructure trailer bills that should be enacted through the legislative process instead. The 8 trailer bills cited would, if enacted through the budget, eliminate public input and considered evaluation for "important and complicated policies."
MBCA Supports Water Conservation Landscaping Act
MBCA joined more than 40 local, state, and national organizations in support of California Assemblymember Laura Friedman's AB 1573, the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act, introduced on February 17 and currently referred to the Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife. Issues addressed include improvements to the existing model ordinance, and overall the bill's provisions would set "the strongest level of water conservation requirements for new or major rehabilitated non-residential landscapes." Read the letter and the bill.
A Change in Direction for Cadiz Water Project?
Speaking at an water industry event at the Salton Sea near Mecca on Monday, March 27, Scott Slater, the CEO of Cadiz, Inc, the company that wants to sell water from the Cadiz aquifer for enormous financial gain, shared that the company is considering piping water "to bring water to disadvantaged communities within our reach."
Slater also revealed efforts "to pursue a relationship with the Salton Sea Authority...and the Torres Martinez tribe, to bring water to the Salton Sea and to benefit the tribe, which would happen via an exchange." Slater also noted that the company will then "push the water north into the northern hi-desert and then into the interconnected systems of the state," via its 220-mile Northern Pipeline.
MBCA has long been concerned about the devastating effects of the proposed Cadiz Water Project. A series of our past News posts about Cadiz plus other water-related issues we have reported on, can be found by searching "water" on our website.
MBCA has long been concerned about the devastating effects of the proposed Cadiz Water Project. A series of our past News posts about Cadiz plus other water-related issues we have reported on, can be found by searching "water" on our website.
MBCA Joins Request for Extension on Amargosa Basin Water Management Hearing
MBCA is among 15 organizations requesting more time to prepare for involvement in hearings concerning water management and related biological resources in the Amargosa Basin. The Basin lies within the Mojave Desert and spreads across two states and four counties, including San Bernardino County. The group recommends that Nevada Department of Water Resources engage with stakeholders to examine potential negative impacts on groundwater for rural communities and on tourism drawn to the area by this unique ecosystem.
The Desert's Role in California's 30x30 Plan
MBCA joined with many non-profit environmental and conservation organizations in recently signing comment letters related to California's 30x30 land and water conservation plan. The California Natural Resources Agency published the Draft Pathways Report that will guide the state's implementation of California Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-82-20 calling for conservation of 30% of California’s land and water to be protected by 2030. The draft plan underestimates the value of the desert's carbon sequestration and inaccurately describes the desert's real borders. MBCA joined 22 other organizations in creating an Inland Desert Regional Comment Letter to provide guidance on desert issues. MBCA also joined 61 organizations in a statewide comment letter on the Draft Report.
Federal Action Taken Against Cadiz Water Project Pipeline
The Biden Administration has pulled approval of the pipeline which was approved by the prior administration without required review. The Cadiz water mining proposal has been fought against as detrimental to the health of the Mojave Desert by MBCA and dozens of other conservation organizations for years. Press releases by the National Parks Conservation Association and the Center for Biological Diversity explain the details, as does this Los Angeles Times story. Many prior news stories posted by MBCA about the Cadiz Water Project can be found by scrolling down our Water Issues pages.
MBCA Asks for Action on Illegal Cannabis Grows
MBCA's letter to Governor Newsom outlines the growing environmental damage and safety issues accruing from the proliferation of illegal marijuana grows in the Mojave Desert and other rural areas of the state. Our request is for the Governor to convene a special session of the legislature to upgrade the current misdemeanor status in order to address the escalating problem.
Cannabis Grows and Water Thefts
MBCA's Board of Directors has kept abreast of the ongoing and worsening situation of illegal cannabis grows in the Morongo Basin and nearby desert areas. In May, the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council (MAC), which includes two MBCA Board members, Pat Flanagan and Steve Bardwell, passed a resolution asking that more San Bernardino County resources be provided to fight the problem. In June, the Supervisors adopted a resolution urging the state to increase penalties for illegal cannabis cultivation. A July 21 article from the Desert Sun describes the increasingly dire water theft increase across the state, mostly due to illegal cannabis grows. The article includes a quotation (highlighted) from Marina West, former MBCA Board member and general manager of the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency.
New Lawsuit Filed Over Cadiz Water Project
The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management in response to an action taken in the final days of the prior administration that would ease the path for the Cadiz Water Project. A right-of-way for the water mining scheme was granted without any public review. Read the news item by local radio KCDZ 107.7 and the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity for the latest information on this decade-long battle against draining important desert water reserves.