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Title: Obama protects (destroys) 1.8 million acres of California desert
Source:
The Desert Sun
URL Source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news ... es-california-desert/80235292/
Published: Feb 12, 2016
Author: Sammy Roth
Post Date: 2016-02-12 20:05:50 by Hondo68
Keywords: None
Views: 397
President Barack Obama designated three national monuments in California on Friday, setting aside nearly 1.8 million acres for permanent conservation and bringing to fruition Sen. Dianne Feinstein's years-long effort to protect some of the desert's most treasured landscapes and ecosystems. The Sand to Snow National Monument will stretch from the desert floor near Palm Springs to the peak of Mount San Gorgonio in the San Bernardino National Forest, comprising 154,000 acres. The Mojave Trails National Monument, which spans 1.6 million acres, will surround historic Route 66, between the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park. The Castle Mountains National Monument will fill a 21,000-acre gap in the Mojave National Preserve, protecting a rare desert grassland teeming with Joshua trees. READ MORE: The stunning peaks and gold-laden history of the Castle Mountains Obama's decision to establish the monuments, using his authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act, is sure to draw criticism from some Republican politicians, even those who supported legislative efforts to protect the lands in question. Feinstein spent six years pushing versions of the monument plan in Congress, but when her latest bill failed to get traction last year, she urged Obama to designate the monuments himself. Most of those power plants never got built, many of them bogged down by opposition from conservation groups. But the specter of the renewable energy "gold rush" still looms large over desert conservationists, many of whom worked with Feinstein on her legislation. "These national monuments will play a vital role in the long-term sustainability and health of the region, and the protection of our beautiful, diverse deserts," Theresa Pierno, president of the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement. The Mojave Trails area includes sand dunes, ancient lava flows, 550 million-year-old fossil beds and the Sleeping Beauty Valley, a remarkably intact West Mojave Desert ecosystem. The protected lands will also boast significant historical value, conservationists say. "The monument will protect irreplaceable historic resources including ancient Native American trading routes, World War II-era training camps, and the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of Route 66," the White House said. These foothills and snow-covered peaks, along with the entrance to the Mission Creek Preserve, will be included in the Sand to Snow National Monument. (Photo: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun) Feinstein's bill called for the Mojave Trails monument to cover 942,000 acres, but the White House said its version of the monument would span 1.6 million acres. It wasn't clear Thursday night what additional lands Obama decided to include in the monument. The 20,920-acre Castle Mountains monument will be small by comparison, but conservationists say it's no less important. The area fosters a diversity of plant and animal life unmatched almost anywhere else in the California desert, thanks to its high elevation and monsoonal summer rains. The area is also part of the world's largest Joshua tree forest. In some ways, it provides better habitat for Joshua trees than Joshua Tree National Park, where the namesake species is struggling to reproduce amid a changing climate. RELATED: Iconic trees dying in parts of Joshua Tree National Park Feinstein's latest bill would have created the Sand to Snow and Mojave Trails monuments, while adding the Castle Mountains to the Mojave National Preserve. A competing proposal from Rep. Paul Cook, a Yucca Valley Republican who represents the High Desert, would have handled Sand to Snow and the Castle Mountains the same way, while offering a lesser level of protection to the Mojave Trails. Under Cook's bill, 10 percent of the Mojave Trails "special management area" would have been opened to new mining. At a contentious public meeting in October, John Sobel, Cook’s chief of staff, expressed hope that his boss and Feinstein could compromise. He criticized Feinstein and conservation groups for calling on Obama to use the Antiquities Act, saying a presidential designation would create "second-rate monuments because they lack the adequate support of locals and of Congress." Sen. Dianne Feinstein relaunches a proposal for new national monuments in the desert during a speech at the Whitewater Preserve. Crystal Chatham/The Desert Sun A diverse coalition of large mining companies, off-road vehicle enthusiasts and local politicians joined conservationists in supporting Feinstein's bill, since she included provisions to protect their interests. Many of those supporters rejected the push for executive action, fearful a presidential designation would hew more closely to the desires of conservationists, perhaps banning off-roading or mining in certain areas. It was unclear Thursday night whether Obama's designations would mirror the language of Feinstein's bill. Obama has now used the Antiquities Act to create or expand 22 national monuments, including eight in California. The Mojave Trails monument is his second-largest designation, trailing only a 258-million-acre addition to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine monument. Poster Comment: Theft of public lands continues. How convenient since.... essentially the whole land reform movement, the Bundy family etc. have just been arrested by the FBI. Now the globalist swine move in for the kill. Endangered Species: rare Teleprompted Kenyan of the Desert 
Fineswine & Timothy Leary saw bed-springs on Rt66 in the 60's 
Will my next camping trip turn into a Bundy style standoff with the FBI? Stay tuned. (4 images)
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