The newsletter of the Desert Protective Council

Spring-Summer 2011 Number 211

Letter From The President

by Nick Ervin

Conservation Corner
by Terry Weiner

nyone who knows me well is keenly aware that I am an avid collector of antiquarian books. After my family and the desert, collecting is my main passion and focus in life. Although I have several specialty interests in the collecting area, unsurprisingly non-fiction literature about the Great American Desert is a major interest of mine; this includes the natural and human history of the desert lands of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. What follows is one desert lovers partial list of important works about our beloved desert: 1) The Wonders of the Colorado Desert by George Wharton James (2 vols., 1906). A timeless classic in the desert genre about early southern California desert history and lore, with charming illustrations by artist and fellow traveler Carl Eytel. James was a well-known author in his day, his work included a major work on the Grand Canyon as well, but he has been largely forgotten today. This work is a giant of desert non-fiction. 2) California Desert Trails by J. Smeaton Chase (1919). Deeply personal stories of desert travel by another well-known author of the era. Chase has much to tell us about the early Palm Springs region, as well as Borrego Springs, with crude black-andwhite photos to show his travels. I am lucky enough to have a signed copy. 3) Campfires on Desert and Lava by William T. Hornaday (1908). The author chronicles an historic trip of exploration to the Pinacate lava fields in northern Sonora, Mexico with scientist Daniel T. MacDougal and explorer Godfrey Sykes, both of whom figured prominently in the establishment of the famous Carnegie Desert Laboratory in Tucson. This work is illustrated not only by the usual faded black-and-white photos of the era, but also by several examples of hand painted photographic glass negative prints which give the impression of paintings. The only other English language book really addressing the remote desert regions of Mexico at this early date is Lumholtzs New Trails in Mexico. 4) The Desert by John Van Dyke (1901). More famous as an art historian, this author paints lyrical word pictures of the marvels of the desert landscape of southern California. A controversial work. What Van Dyke often lacks in factual accuracy he makes up for with gorgeous prose. 5) Death Valley in 49 by William T. Manly (1894). The acknowledged first-rate classic of all the many books pertaining to Death Valley, it recounts the horrendous tales of suffering and deprivation experienced by Gold Rush passersby balanced by superb history writing. 6) Illustrated Sketches of Death Valley by John R. Spears (1892). The second best book ever written about Death ValleyPanamint Valley and environs.
continued on page 2

appy summer, dear DPC members and friends. June brings the completion of another school year in Imperial Valley. On May 31, our Salton Basin Living Laboratory (SBLL) teachers wrapped up their third successful year of workshops and implementation of the program and field trips in their classrooms. Teacher feedback has been instrumental in helping us mesh the curriculum more closely with the standards-based science curriculum for fourth, fifth and sixth grades and the needs of the students at each level. The SBLL field trips are an integral part of introducing our students to the desert world of their own Imperial Valley back yard. In 2010-11, we continued the fifth grade field trips to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the paleontological laboratory at the Stout Research Center. We worked with the Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program to add field trips for the fourth- and sixth-grade classes to either the Sonny Bono Wildlife Refuge at the Salton Sea or to the New River Wetlands. In deciding to employ field naturalist/writer/educator Pat Flanagan to create a science-based curriculum specifically about the natural, geological and human history of Imperial Valley for the Valleys elementary school students, the DPC assumed a challenge that had never been tackled before. Place-based science education is rare in this country. We had no models to guide us. It has been a thrilling
continued on page 2

P.O. Box 3635, San Diego, CA 92163-1635 (619) 342-5524 http://www.protectdeserts.org

Letter from the President from page 1

7) Denizens of the Desert by Edmund C. Jaeger (1922). The first of many admired works regarding desert lifeforms by a cofounder of DPC. I am lucky once again to have a signed copy of this early Jaeger effort. He followed with more than a few highly regarded books on both the California desert and the desert lands of the entire Southwest. 8) The Desert Year by Joseph Wood Krutch (1951). One of several evocative works on desert wildlife mixed with deeply personal reflections on the meaning of it all by a latecomer to the desert of Arizona. 9) On Desert Trails, Today and Yesterday by Randall Henderson (1961). Aside from his fame as the prolific editor and publisher of legendary Desert Magazine, Mr. Henderson was another primary co-founder of DPC in 1954. 10) Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey (1968). First and foremost among the non-fiction works by Cactus Ed himself, the original environmental provocateur and spiritual inspiration behind the Earth First

movement. His almost cult-like following began with this true tale of life as a solitary ranger in late 1950s Arches National Park in Utah. Alternately angry and pleading, this book kicked off much of the desert conservation movement of today. I own a copy of every book ever penned by Abbey, including his multiple novels. Desert Solitaire literally changed my life.

these works can be easily obtained. The best of desert bibliographies are all by E. I. Edwards. Of his several compilations, the most comprehensive is The Enduring Desert. All of his reference books were printed in limited editions and are fairly scarce and expensive now, but copies can often be found in libraries throughout the Southwest. I own them all, and it cost me a

It is stern, harsh, and at first repellent. But what tongue shall tell the majesty of it, the eternal strength of it, the poetry of its widespread chaos, the sublimity of its lonely desolation! And who shall paint the splendor of its light; and from the rising up of the sun to the going down of the moon over the iron mountains, the glory of its wondrous coloring? John C. Van Dyke

Any short list must necessarily omit many worthy other candidates; I have left off, for example, more technical classic desert works by authors like Shreve and Wiggins, plus the plethora of governmentsponsored expedition reports in the Southwest during the mid-nineteenth century. Except for #1 above, relatively inexpensive reprints or used copies of all

pretty penny. We can share our literary critiques of the American desert non-fiction genre next time we encounter each other around that next bend in an unnamed desert canyon somewhere. Happy reading! Nick Ervin, President

Conservation Corner from page 1

learning experience for all involved, but there is much more work involved if we are to perpetuate and expand this important program. We have involved several schools in three Imperial Valley School Districts. There are hundreds of schools in Imperial Valley. In order to continue developing and expanding the Salton Basin Living Laboratory Program, the DPC will need your help. We need your financial support and your ideas about funding sources and donors who embrace the importance of connecting students (and their parents) with the unique habitat in which they live. Through the teachers charting of testing results, we are beginning to collect data on students comprehension of our cur-

riculum content. Five of our teachers have agreed to work this summer with El Centro School District Science Specialist Richard Sanchez, our curriculum creator Pat Flanagan, and teacher-trainer Judy Ramirez to develop additional assessments, which will help us track student comprehension and retention of details of our materials and what they learn on the field trip. As part of the record of our progress in establishing our SBLL program in Imperial Valley, I want to share a letter from one of our fifth grade teachers. She included this letter in her Teacher Evaluation packet. Please support us in keeping this program going and have a fine, safe summer. Keep in touch. Terry Weiner can be reached at (619) 3425524

The Desert Protective Council is grateful to the JiJi Foundation for its generous grant in support of curriculum development for our Salton Basin Living Laboratory project.

Dear Desert Protective Council: My school has been blessed to have been sponsored now for three years by your organization. You may be small, yet youve had a great impact upon 105 students whove passed through my doors during the last three years. It would be impossible to list all of the benefits of your sponsorship, but I will attempt to list a few. The SBLL curriculum, developed by Pat Flanagan, is amazing. I introduced the program way back in early September as I felt very comfortable with it having been involved for over three years now. The students were encouraged by the hands-on activities as well as the amazing and colorful paleolandscapes. The curriculum is well thought out and sequenced properly. The large ECOMAP is a great asset as well. Both Judy Ramirez and Terry Weiner are great resources too! At the beginning of the program, as seen with the pre-assessment, many children had little understanding of ancient life in our own backyard. They were a little bit

El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council

Solar Updates
Ivanpah Valley Advocates for the desert tortoise were stunned in June to read that despite a US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) finding that hundreds of tortoises would likely be injured or killed in the construction of the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station, that agency would not block further construction of the project. Construction on the second and third phases of the nearly 4,000-acre project was halted in mid-spring when contractors reported they had found more tortoises than were allowed in FWSs original Biological Opinion (BiOp) for the project. The report spurred a BLM closure of construction and a reconsultation with Fish and Wildlife. Opponents of the project, which is being carved into some of the best desert tortoise habitat in the northern Mojave Desert, had hoped that a revised BiOp would force a drastic reduction of the projects footprint, perhaps halting it altogether. The original BiOp had been based on tortoise surveys performed during a dry year, and the undercount likely resulted from juvenile tortoises remaining in their burrows for some months to wait out the summer.

Most observers expected the revised BiOp to project far more tortoises than the 40 or so in the original. In the words of the FWSs revised BiOp, released early in June; We anticipate that construction of the ISEGS project site is likely to take, in the form of mortality or injury, between 405 and 1136 desert tortoises due to direct effects of construction or due to loss of 3,444 acres of habitat. We anticipate that the vast majority of these will be individuals of smaller size or desert tortoise eggs that are difficult to detect during clearance surveys and construction monitoring; therefore, we are unlikely to find carcasses of these individuals.We anticipate that few, if any, of the animals injured, killed, or harmed would be larger than 160 millimeters. 160 millimeters is about six inches. Desert tortoises generally do not reach reproductive maturity until they are longer than about seven inches. Despite Fish and Wildlifes best guess that perhaps more than a thousand young tortoises would be injured or die as a result of solar developer BrightSources activities in the Ivanpah Valley, the FWS concluded in the revised BiOp that the loss of those tortoises would not jeopardize the contin-

ued survival of the species. In response, the BLM lifted its stop-work order on the project in June. At this point it would seem the last opportunity opponents of Ivanpah SEGS have to prevail is the suit filed in Federal court by the Western Watersheds Project. WWP holds that the Department of the Interiors fast-track approval of the Ivanpah Solar project resulted in a deficient environmental review process, with insufficient attention paid to mitigation of destruction of tortoise habitat, among other matters. Two additional large solar projects are on the drawing board in the Ivanpah Valley; one in California adjacent to the Ivanpah SEGS and the other in Nevada, on an alluvial fan near the Lucy Gray Mountains. Both sites are considered to hold excellent potential tortoise habitat. Blythe On June 17 Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, California Governor Jerry Brown and other dignitaries presided at the groundbreaking of the 1,000-megawatt-rated Blythe Solar Power Plant west of Blythe, California. The 7,000-acre parabolic trough concentratcontinued on page 4

frustrated not knowing how to answer the questions, but I assured them it was not for a grade, and that at the end of our study, they would be given yet one more opportunity to answer these same questions, so they calmed down a bit. As you can see in the attached District Assessment results, my students scored quite well on the fourth grade Life Science portion (food chains and webs), as well as the fourth grade Earth Science portion (landforms), and finally, the fifth grade Earth Science portion (weather and water cycle). Both of the fifth grade teachers have high hopes for our students yet once more on the State test given in early May. Last year, we had the honor of having the highest fifth grade science scores on the CST for the entire Imperial Valley. Much of the credit we owe to this wonderful program. This year, before we went to AnzaBorrego State Park, we met with Park Interpreter Ranger LuAnn Thompson via
continued on page 6 Students taking part in a Salton Basin Living Laboratory field trip examine a life-size sculpture of a prehistoric desert denizen.

http://www.protectdeserts.org

Solar Updates from page 3

ing solar plant, being developed by the German firm Solar Millennium through its US venture Solar Trust, is expected to be the worlds largest when it is completed. Desert and Native American activists from the group La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle rallied outside the groundbreaking. They claim construction already in progress before the official groundbreaking endangers several large Native American geoglyphs. The alleged destruction of two large glyphs sparked protests on June 3, both at the site and in front of Solar Millenniums Oakland headquarters. According to Desert Survivors spokesperson Bob Ellis, We support La Cuna de Aztlan in their efforts to defend the Kokopilli intaglio and the many others on or near the project site. We favor investment and jobs for solar development in the urban areas where both the energy and the work is needed. Photovoltaics in the city are much more economical than remote, extra-expensive, obsolete, solar thermal mega-projects. CC Imperial County On June 7, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved the 200-megawatt Imperial Solar Energy Center South on Western Imperial County land designated as prime farmland of statewide importance. In approving this 947-acre solar

project, the Board stated that the 30-40 year duration of the project would have only a temporary impact on agricultural resources. The professed economic benefits to the Imperial County economy would only amount to $30-80,000 annually, and only four long-term jobs may be created. SDGE has a Power Purchase Agreement for the project, which will connect to Imperial Valley Substation and the Sunrise Powerlink in the Yuha Desert Area of Critical Environmental Concern and the Flat-

Chuckwalla Valley The public lands protection group Western Lands Project has filed a formal protest of a BLM amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan that would designate an area in eastern Riverside County as suitable for large-scale solar energy development. The amendment would pave the way for the proposed 550-megawatt solar photovoltaic Desert Sunlight Solar Farm on more than 4,000 acres in the Chuckwalla Valley.

Photovoltaics in the city are much more economical than remote, extra-expensive, obsolete, solar thermal mega-projects. Bob Ellis, Desert Survivors
Tailed Horned Lizard Management Area. The Board of Supervisors seemed to be bragging about all the projects in the works, including the massive 15,000 acre Ocotillo Wind Project on the southern border of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The Board is willing to approve these projects despite the utter lack of real benefits to locals and despite irreparable damage to beautiful western Imperial County desert and to important farmland. Donna Tisdale WLP maintains the BLM failed to consider several important issues that clearly demonstrate industrial solar is inappropriate for the Chuckwalla Valley. The EIS misrepresented the impacts a solar project would have on wildlife, including desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, and burro deer. The analysis almost certainly underestimated the number of tortoises on the project site. The EIS was issued before either an inventory of cultural resources or consultations with tribes were completed. The Chuckwalla Valley was used by several tribes during prehistoric times and the EIS acknowledges that sacred sites, traditional cultural properties, and traditional use areas could all be found within the projects footprint. These important sites would be lost forever once the project is developed. The proximity of Joshua Tree National Park is yet another reason the Chuckwalla Valley is unsuitable for industrial solar. The Park lies less than two miles west of the proposed project area, and 4,000 acres of photovoltaic panels would severely compromise wilderness and scenic views in the park. The National Park Service voiced this concern and others in its comment letter on the proposal, but Interior Secretary Salazars zeal for Big Solar probably nullifies any impact their concerns might have on the decision. Janine Blaeloch

Chemehuevi elder Philip Smith at the Blythe construction site. Smith says his people have traditional use rights here, which have been ignored by agencies. Basin and Range Watch photo.

El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council

New Suburb Planned For Open Desert

he Travertine Point new town, on the northwest shore of the Salton Sea astride the Riverside-Imperial county line, would occupy about 4,900 acres of mostly agricultural land on and near the Torres-Martinez Cahuilla reservation. Adjacent to the east edge of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the development would eventually house more than 37,000 residents. The development would include mixed will come from the Coachella branch of the residential and commercial space; a resort All-American Canal, which shunts Coloraarea with a hotel, spa, conference facilities do River water to the valley. The developers and potential casino; open-space cortout the fact that water use per household ridors along current agricultural waste is expected to be about half the average drains; and a marina that will be built, for Riverside County admirable, but it according to the developers, [assuming] does mean less runoff into the Sea, making the successful restoration of the Salton Sea restoration marginally less likely. as presently proposed by the Salton Sea Many Imperial Valley farmers are Authority. projected to retire their lands in comIronically, developing Travertine Point as ing decades, selling their water rights to a new city will make restoring the Salton Sea urban users. With less ag runoff the Sea even more unlikely. The Sea is replenished by will dwindle, leaving exposed saline soil runoff from Imperial Valley farms. Irrigation behind. The resulting wind-driven dust, a water for those farms is at its limit. known carcinogen, will degrade air quality Travertine Point would consume 8,400 even further in the already polluted Salton acre-feet of water each year, 5,000 of which Basin, which will likely dampen public

enthusiasm for buying homes along what was a seashore. Every new development in the Valley brings with it edge-effect degradation of the surrounding land. Travertine Point abuts Anza-Borrego and the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument. The likely impacts to wildlife have prompted environmental groups and State Parks to draft letters of opposition to the project. Cultural resources in the area, such as rock art and other evidence of prior land use, have already been vandalized or otherwise damaged due to increased public access. Given the vacancy rate in existing towns in the Salton Basin its hard to imagine any benefit Travertine Point might provide that wouldnt be better addressed by infill development within Coachellas and Imperials existing cities.

The Return of Cadiz

he Santa Margarita Water District, which provides water services to Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and adjacent areas, is proposing to import up to 50,000 acrefeet of water into Coastal Southern California each year from the Cadiz Valley. The district plans to release a draft Environmental Impact Review for public comment in late July. Santa Margaritas partners in the venture are Cadiz Inc, which owns about 34,000 acres in the Cadiz and Fenner valleys in San Bernardino County, and four other Southern California water companies: Three Valleys Municipal Water District, Golden State Water Company, Jurupa Community Services District and Suburban Water Systems. Cadizs land lies atop a large aquifer the company claims holds up to 34 million acre-feet of water, most of it laid down during the Ice Age. In the projects first stage Cadiz would build 44 miles of pipeline from its property along a railroad right of way to the Colorado River Aqueduct west of the town of Rice. From there the water would head to the Greater Los Angeles area. The second stage of the project will involve building a second pipeline to pump surplus Colorado River water to the Cadiz Valley, where it would be emptied into recharge basins and allowed to percolate into the aquifer. Cadiz states that this phase could provide evaporation-proofed storage of up to a million acre-feet of water. This project is a near-copy of one pushed a decade ago by Cadiz in tandem with the Metropolitan Water District. Environmentalists shredded that old proposal. Hydrologists countered Cadizs claims about the amount of water the aquifer could spare each year, with some saying Cadiz had inflated the sustainable yield by a factor of 15. Drawing down the aquifer would degrade habitat in a number of surrounding protected areas including the aquifers headwaters in the Mojave National Preserve, with significant impacts to bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and animals dependent on the areas small springs. The older version of the project would have run its pipeline to the aqueduct directly through the relatively pristine Iron Mountains.

Water pollution was also a concern. Not only would saltier water from the Colorado permanently alter the valleys groundwater quality, but the aquifer was found to contain significant amounts of hexavalent Chromium, the same toxic chemical responsible for the public health issues in Hinckley that launched Erin Brockovichs rise to prominence. Cadizs controversial founder Keith Brackpool has long been cozy with California politicos ranging from Gray Davis and Schwarzenegger to Antonio Villaraigosa, a close friend of Brackpools. Nonetheless, MWD backed out on the deal in 2002, perhaps due to that years being the driest year on record for the Colorado River. Why invest millions in a partnership to store surplus water if there is no surplus? Aside from the alignment of the conveyance pipeline, the only real difference between the old plan and Cadiz 2.0 would seem to be the claim that any water pumped from the aquifer would have been lost to surface evaporation. This, along with Cadizs other environmental claims, will likely be scrutinized closely once the draft EIR is available this summer.

http://www.protectdeserts.org

Help Manage Your Public Lands

The BLM California Desert District and its Advisory Council

by Terry Weiner

ntil the 1970s, cohesive management of public lands did not exist. Our federal lands and their resources were being badly degraded by many poorly regulated activities. The Federal Lands Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) created the BLMs California Desert District to protect the natural, historic, recreational, cultural and economic riches of the diverse and scenic California desert. Designated as the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) by Congress, the California Desert District is responsible for protecting and preserving nearly 11 million of its 25 million acres. In order to hear public input on how field tour of BLM lands in the area, which public lands should be managed, the BLM is open to the public. You will visit fascinatestablished public advisory councils. The ing areas you might not otherwise have Desert Districts Advisory Council has 15 thought to explore. On Saturday, managers members appointed by the Department of five Desert District field offices report of Interior. These members serve threeon issues in their parts of the desert. The year terms, and are supposed to represent Advisory Council reports on issues they are a variety of interests in the desert such as exploring and make recommendations to non-renewable and renewable resources, the Desert District Manager and her staff. non-motorized and motorized recreation, Although the Desert Advisory Council local government, wildlife interests and the does not make policy, it influences the public at large. Desert District Managers approach to The Desert Advisory Council (DAC) implementation of policies. Most impormeets quarterly in various areas of the Cali- tantly, for those of us who cherish our fornia desert. The meetings are two-day public lands, these quarterly meetings offer Friday-Saturday events. The first day is a a significant opportunity to have our input

heard by all of the land managers, the DAC and the public present. In recent decades, the composition of the DAC has been heavily skewed toward representing exploitative uses of the desert. Hikers, backpackers, desert ecologists and the general public have been in the minority on the Council. Members of the general public are sorely missing at these quarterly DAC meetings, giving the BLM the impression that the only people who are interested in the desert are the off-road vehicle community, the film industry, miners and energy developers. We can change that by nominating ourselves or candidates who are knowledgeable, interested, and are willing to devote time to learning about the policies and issues which are critical to the future of our desert and by showing up at the meetings! The California District has a web site at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd.html with a link to the DAC, meeting agendas, minutes and meeting transcripts. Check the DAC upcoming meeting schedule and consider spending a day or two learning what is going on in your desert and contributing your input on what the desert means to you.

Salton Basin Living Laboratory from page 3

videoconferencing in our classroom. Ive included several students notes from that session. She is a very engaging presenter and to the childrens surprise, spent most of the day with us at the Paleo Lab and Nature Center! What luck! Every year the parents that accompany us on the field trip have nothing but great comments about how smart and prepared their students are as we look out the windows and see what William Blake did not see, and as they listen to their reports, and as we visit the Paleo Lab and Nature Center. The vocabulary that the students use is way above that of a normal fifth grader. The volunteers in the Lab this year were very prepared and great at answering any and all questions that the students had. The Visitors Center was open and we participated in the Scavenger Hunt prepared by Pat Flanagan. Then, we had lunch under the shady area of the Center. Finally, we toured the Nature Center and

In the Paleo Lab.

drew pictures of strange and fascinating desert plants. I believe that we teachers look forward to this trip every year as much as the students do. So, as you can see, this curriculum and trip is the pinnacle of a fifth graders science education and experience. I hope that you will be able to continue the funding yet

one more year. My school year would not be the same without it! Sincerely, Susan E. Milln 5th GATE teacher, Sunflower Elementary El Centro Elementary School District

El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council

In Memoriam
Fred Cagle We at the DPC were greatly saddened by the unexpected passing of our longtime friend and colleague, and former member of our board of directors, Dr. Fred Cagle. There were very few people as committed to the environmental and public well-being of the Salton Basin as Fred. In addition to being a desert lover and activist, Fred was a committed public health worker with time spent promoting both environmental and occupational health. In addition to his service to the DPC, Fred was also a life member of the Sierra Club, a member of the Governors Advisory Committee for the Salton Sea, and a driving force behind the establishment of the innovative Environmental Justice website of the Imperial Visions Action Network. His knowledge of the Valleys human and non-human ecologies was a treasure. We and the Imperial Valley and its people have lost a champion and true friend. Desert Protective Council http://protectdeserts.org @protectdeserts on Twitter on Facebook at http://facebook.org/ DesertProtectiveCouncil Nick Ervin, President Geoffrey Smith, Vice President/ Secretary Larry Klaasen, Treasurer Terry Weiner, Imperial Projects & Conservation Coordinator (619) 342-5524 Chris Clarke, Communications Consultant (213) 254-5382

DPC T-shirts Now Available

With the DPC logo on the front, and Laura Cunninghams fine Save the Imperial Valley graphic shown here on the reverse side.

$10.00
Email terryweiner@sbcglobal.net or call (619) 342-5524 to order. Available in sizes small, medium and large.

Proceeds benefit the Desert Protective Councils work to protect the deserts.

Desert Protective Council New and Renewal Membership Form

Enclosed is my remittance of $_______ New Membership Gift Membership Renewal

Name_________________________________________ Address_______________________________________ City, State, Zip________________________________ Phone_________________________________________ Email_________________________________________ Please make checks payable to: DPC Mail to P.O. Box 3635, San Diego, CA 92163-1635 Dues and all donations are tax-deductible. MEMBERSHIP LEVELS (please check) Life Sustaining Membership Regular Membership Joint Membership Senior/Student/Retired Additional Gift of $_________ $300.00 one time $50.00 annually $25.00 annually $35.00 annually $15.00 annually

For donations of $100.00 or more, we will send you a copy of California Desert Miracle by Frank Wheat or Tortoises Through the Lens (Lamfrom and Knighten, eds). Help us save paper! If you would like to receive our newsletter electronically, rather than in the mail, please send an e-mail message stating subscribe electronically to: terryweiner@ sbcglobal.net.

http://www.protectdeserts.org

El Paisano #211 Spring-Summer 2011

Inside:

Desert Books,

Desert Protective Council

Since 1954 protectdeserts.org

Salton Basin Living Laboratory Update 3 5 Solar Updates Travertine Point Development, Cadiz Water Storage Project 6 BLM Desert Advisory Council

P.O. Box 3635 San Diego, CA 92163-1635

The Marble Mountains near Cadiz Valley. A project to mine water from the Cadiz aquifer may affect springs in this and other desert mountain ranges. See story on page 5. Chris Clarke photo

The newsletter of the Desert Protective Council