December 2013
News of the desert from Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee
BY ILEENE ANDERSON
IT’S BACK TO COURT ONCE AGAIN TO PROTECT
THE MAJESTIC ALGODONES DUNES
BLM Reopens Parts Of Dunes That
Had Been Closed For 10 Years
T
ILEENE ANDERSON
The Algodones Dunes, also known as the Imperial Sand Dunes, is North America’s largest active sand dune formation, covering about 200,000 acres in the southeastern corner
of Imperial County and barely dipping into Mexico. It provides unique habitat for many
imperiled species including the Peirson’s milk vetch (federally threatened), desert tortoise (federally and state threatened), Algodones Dunes sunflower (State endangered),
flat-tailed horned lizard (imperiled), several dozen invertebrates that live nowhere else
on earth, and the Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard, which was petitioned for protection
Algodones Dunes sunflower
under the Endangered Species Act in July
2012. The east side of the Algodones Dunes
intercepts the sparse rainfall runoff coming from the Chocolate Mountains to the
east, resulting in rich pockets of desert
woodland oases that are refugia for numerous migrating birds, burrow deer, and
other desert animals.
A relict of the ancient Lake Cahuilla,
which dried up after the Pleistocene, is the
sand source for the modern day Algodones Dunes. The Salton Sea now covers this
former sand source, so little “new” sand is
being added. Yet the wind still blows, and
effectively it is moving the dunes to the
southeast at about a meter per year. Most
of the Dunes are public lands managed by
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The Algodones Dunes are a National Natural Landmark and is also considered an
Outstanding Natural Area by the BLM.
As much as the Algodones Dunes are
an endemic plant and animal hotspot,
they are also a mecca for off-road vehicles. During the prime reproductive and
growing seasons of the late fall, winter
and early spring, up to 200,000 people in
off-road vehicles descend upon the Algodones Dunes, most of which are ‘open’
to ORVs. Only 16% of the area is federally
designated as wilderness – a designation
that does not allow for any motorized
Continued on page 12
BY SETH SHTEIR
APPRECIATING THE SUBTLETIES OF JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
A Profile Of Superintendent
Mark Butler
2
IN THIS ISSUE
11 BLM Reopens Dunes That Had Been Closed For Years
12 Profile Of Joshua Tree Superintendent Mark Butler
13 Proposal of New City on Joshua Tree’s Border
14 Wilderness: Our Shared Heritage And Legacy
16 Architecture And Nature
18 Geothermal Development In Northern Nevada
10 Public Resources At Risk From Bechtel
14 Current Issues
1 6 The Colorado: A River Under Stress
18 Phainopepla: The Bird In The Shiny Black Robe
20 Outings
beauty of the desert,” says Butler.
Superintendent Butler thinks that one of the most important
resources of Joshua Tree National Park is the ecological diversity
of the transition zone between the Colorado and Mojave Desert
portions of the park. The park’s vast Joshua Tree forests are also
iconic and unique.
Continued on page 15
STACY GOSS; ABOVE: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
M
Mark Butler patrolled the winding mountain trails of Yosemite
National Park’s backcountry as a National Park Service Wilderness
Ranger fresh out of high school. It was a life changing experience
for Butler, who was captivated by the beauty of Yosemite, the challenge of the work, and the satisfaction he gained from helping
people explore remote wilderness. For 33 years after that summer
job, Mark went on to serve the National Park Service in an incredibly diverse array of jobs ranging from maintenance worker, carpenter and utility system operator. He also worked as a physical
scientist, environmental compliance manager, and Chief of the
Division of Project Management at Yosemite National Park, before
finally moving to his current position as Superintendent of Joshua
Tree National Park.
“The different positions I’ve held have given me the ability to
understand a wide variety of interests and concerns that come
from park partners, visitors and staff,” reflected Butler. “Because
of this broad perspective, I can work to promote partnerships, reconcile differences between park divisions, and provide balanced
leadership.” Joshua Tree National Park has benefited from Butler’s
exemplary leadership since he was appointed Superintendent in
February 2011.
Superintendent Butler enjoys Joshua Tree National Park’s historic and cultural sites like the Key’s Desert Queen Ranch and the
Wall Street Mill. He also finds the ecology of the Mojave/Sonoran
Desert transition zone fascinating and is amazed by the diversity
and beauty of the park’s oases. He is also impressed by Joshua
Tree’s outstanding recreational opportunities and its reputation as
a world-class climbing destination.
“As a rock climber, I have really enjoyed the rock formations
in the Wonderland of Rocks,” says Butler. “But what’s really incredible about Joshua Tree National Park is that because it has such
an open landscape hikers can explore almost anywhere, providing
that they are well prepared and respectful of the desert ecology.”
One highlight during Superintendent Butler’s tenure at Joshua Tree National Park was a tour he gave to then Secretary of the
Interior, Ken Salazar, to Cap Rock and Hidden Valley. There the
Secretary developed a connection with Joshua Tree National Park’s
fragile and intense desert landscape. Following this tour, Butler
arranged for the Secretary to hear from Basin residents, and local
families of active duty Marines, about the importance of the park.
“Hearing Basin residents and families express their appreciation
for the park was very inspirational,” recalls Butler. Another memorable occasion was an evening hike to White Tank with his wife,
Cathy. “There was a full moon rising and we were in awe of the
Joshua Tree National Park
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
BY JEFF MORGAN
WILL PARADISE VALLEY BECOME PARADISE LOST?
Proposed Development of a New
City on Park’s Southern Border
JEFF MORGAN
S
Shavers Valley is a mostly undeveloped
desert bajada that sits between the southern boundary of Joshua Tree National
Park and the northern boundaries of the
Mecca Hills and Orocopia Wilderness areas. Located 15 miles east of Coachella, it is
traversed by the I-10 Freeway at the north
and Box Canyon Road at the south. Other
than a set of large power lines and a natural gas pumping station, it is undeveloped.
In the late 1990s, Glorious Land Company started buying vacant lands under
various names. By 2000 it had acquired
around 6,000 acres of contiguous lands in
the heart of the valley and several thousand more in the surrounding area. Glorious Land Company is headed by architect
Eddie Wang, who has declared a desire
to build a self-sustaining new city from
the ground up. The original development
plans included a land exchange with the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for additional contiguous land, but the exchange
was denied by BLM.
The company then renamed Shavers
Valley as “Paradise Valley” and began the
planning process. It soon became clear
that they were serious about the project.
Plans emerged for a 2,300 acre residential community with 12,000 houses, an
800 acre golf resort, a 4-mile long business center along I-10, shopping centers,
hotels, and timeshares. Other massive
infrastructure improvements include a
new freeway interchange, flood control
channels, and sewage treatment plants.
Some of this development would abut the
southern boundary of the Park. This new
city would have a potential population of
30,000 – 40,000 residents.
One of the main features of Shavers
Valley is Pinkham Canyon, which starts
about 10 miles inside the Park. As it flows
Shavers Valley from the east
south, it gets broader and becomes a braided wash that passes beneath I-10 via several
large undercrossings. These are heavily used by a wide variety of wildlife (including bighorn sheep) as they migrate back and forth between the Park and the Mecca Hills and Orocopia Wilderness areas. In fact, the whole site is a well-documented connectivity pathway
that is considered vital to maintaining diversity among various species. It should also be
noted that this wash is subject to periodic severe flooding, which is augmented by other
drainage from the east. As it drains to the south, it enters Box Canyon Road, which is frequently impassable, even after a minor rain event.
The proposed development is inconsistent with the Coachella Valley Multiple Species
Habitat Plan, developed by the County of Riverside and cities of the Coachella Valley to provide comprehensive compliance with federal and state endangered species laws. It would
destroy most dry wash woodland in the wash (six times the amount of allowable disturbance), and there is insufficient replacement habitat anywhere in the Plan area that could
be used for mitigation. The proposed development is located in a Desert Tortoise and Linkage Conservation Area, and would disturb double the amount of tortoise habitat allowed.
Four times the allowed habitat area for the Le Conte’s thrasher would also be disturbed.
Recently the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released a draft report on the importance of maintaining linkages for bighorn sheep. The report states that “The long term
Continued on page 15
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
3
BY STACY GOSS
THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WILDERNESS ACT
Wilderness:
Our Shared Heritage
And Legacy
“Let’s try to be done with a wilderness preservation program made up of a sequence
of overlapping emergencies, threats and
defense campaigns! Let’s make a concerted effort for a positive program that will
establish an enduring system of areas
where we can be at peace and not forever
feel that the wilderness is a battleground.”
- Howard Zahniser, 1964
4
STACY GOSS
F
For most people involved in desert issues
today, the Wilderness Act has always
been a part of the landscape. But what is
it and why was it needed? 2014 will mark
the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness
Act (the Act), and with many events being
planned next year throughout the country
to celebrate this legislation, a look back is
in order. Over the years, Desert Report has
had dozens of articles related to specific
Wilderness areas, but how and why did
the first wilderness areas come about?
For years I went out exploring in
Wilderness Areas and never paid any
attention to the different land designations I was visiting. The various lines that
defined borders meant nothing to me.
With wilderness, I did not differentiate
between capital “W” and lower-case “w”.
I was getting outside; that was all that
mattered.
But there are significant differences
in how public land is designated. Not
all lands that are wild are designated as
wilderness. Wilderness lands that are
protected under the Act are federal lands
that have been designated as part of the
National Wilderness Preservation System
(NWPS) by Congress and are managed by
the Bureau of Land Management, Fish
Granite Mountains Wilderness
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
and Wildlife Service, Forest Service and National Park Service under the Wilderness Act of 1964, and subsequent wilderness laws.
National parks, state parks, and a lot of other land managed by
federal land agencies are not wilderness according to the Act.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
In the early 20th century, efforts were successful at the local level in creating administratively designated protection for
several wilderness areas across the country. In 1924, the Gila Wilderness on the Gila National Forest was the first nationally designated wilderness. Because these areas were administratively
designated, the next head of an agency could just as easily “undesignate” any of the areas. In the 1930s Bob Marshall, the wilderness
activist, stated, “Areas...should be set aside by an act of Congress.
This would give them as close an approximation to permanence
as could be realized in a world of shifting desires.” Heading into
the 1950s and 1960s, concern for clean air and water quality began
to grow, as did the number of people willing to get involved. In
1955, Sierra Club Executive Director David Brower led the successful opposition to development of Echo Park Dam at Dinosaur National Monument. In 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring.
The movement was growing.
During this same time, Howard Zahniser was the executive
director of The Wilderness Society. He had worked for many years
at the US Bureau of Biological Survey (what would later become
the US Fish and Wildlife Service) and had strong ideas about ecosystems and wilderness. He became the primary leader in the
movement to have Congress, rather than federal agencies, designate wilderness areas. Zahniser wrote the first draft of the Act
in 1956 and worked tirelessly for more than nine years, seeing
65 rewrites by Congress, before a comprehensive wilderness bill
passed. And while he was ultimately successful and his efforts
would earn him the title “Father of the Wilderness Act,” he did not
live to see his work signed into law. He died of heart failure on
May 5, 1964, just months before President Lyndon Johnson signed
the bill into law on September 3, 1964. The United States was the
first country in the world to define and designate wilderness areas through law.
WHAT WERE THE OUTCOMES OF THE LEGISLATION?
The Act mandated that the National Park Service, U.S. Forest
Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review all federal lands
under their jurisdiction for wilderness areas to include in the National Wilderness Preservation System, and an initial 9.1 million
acres of Forest Service wildlands were set aside. In 1976, with the
passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA),
Congress made the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the fourth
agency with wilderness management authority under the Wilderness Act. Over the past 50 years, Congress has added nearly 100
million acres of lands managed by the four federal land agencies.
The Act provides criteria for lands being considered for wilderness designation. Though there are some exceptions, the following conditions must be present for an area to be included in
the NWPS: (1) the land is under federal ownership and management, (2) the area consists of at least five thousand acres of land,
(3) human influence is “substantially unnoticeable,” (4) there are
opportunities for solitude and recreation, and (5) the area possesses “ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.”
Howard Zahniser was a well-read activist and crafted much
of the language in the Act. One of the more unusual words he used
was “untrammeled.” The Act states that wilderness is “an area
where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by
man.” A “trammel” is literally a net, snare, hobble, or other device
that impedes the free movement of an animal. Search Wikipedia
for “untrammeled” and you will be redirected to “Fishing Net”. The
Act uses it metaphorically to refer to wilderness as essentially unhindered and free from modern human control or manipulation.
EVENTS PLANNED FOR 2014
The 50th anniversary presents a rare opportunity to get the
public’s attention on to wilderness. It will be a time to come together to celebrate the Act, to look back on where we’ve been, and
to bring awareness to those unfamiliar with the benefits that
wilderness provides. Hundreds of events throughout the United
States are in the planning stages, with every state having at least
one representative on the national organizing committee. Sponsors for this celebration include 5 federal agencies (BLM, Forest
Service, USGS, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service) as well as over 16 organizations and companies. The celebration will culminate with the National Wilderness Conference
on October 15-19, 2014 in Albuquerque, NM. To promote your local
event and to keep up to date on what is happening in your area,
check out www.wilderness50th.org. Also look for future articles in
Desert Report on the Wilderness Act throughout the coming year.
The desert landscape of California and Nevada have benefited
greatly from this legislation.
It’s been an amazing 50 years for Wilderness. Howard Zahniser would be proud of what has been accomplished since his
dream became a reality.
Stacy Goss is editor of Desert Report.
Some Wilderness Stats
Last year, Congress did not pass a single wilderness bill.
●
2.73% of the contiguous United States – an area about the
size of South Dakota – is protected as wilderness.
●
Only six states have no federal wilderness: Connecticut,
Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Rhode Island.
While the Forest Service manages the largest number of
wilderness areas, the National Park Service manages the
most wilderness acreage.
When the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, 54 areas
(9.1 million acres) in 13 states were designated as wilderness. Since 1964, the NWPS has grown almost every
year and now includes 757 areas (109,511,966 acres) in 44
states and Puerto Rico.
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
5
BY BERENIKA BOBERSKA
WILDERNESS AND THE FUNCTIONS OF ECCENTRICITY
Architecture And Nature
“Luminous, fossilized network of an inhuman intelligence, of a radical indifference, the indifference not merely of the sky, but of the
geological undulations, where the metaphysical passions of space
and time alone crystallize. Here the terms of desire are turned upside down each day, and night annihilates them. But wait for the
dawn to rise, with the awakening of the fossil sounds, the animal
silence.” (AMERICA – Jean Baudrillard)
T
The desert has always been a fascination to architects. The extreme beauty of this extreme environment - the vastness of space,
the rarified air and sharp light, colors, the mineral drama of fossilized time, the silence. The desert in these descriptions is always
about space and time – at its most luminous and pure. “Extraordinary Luminescence” is how Rayner Banham describes the quality
of light refracted by the salt flats in Scenes in America Deserta.
There is a curious mismatch between this way of thinking
about the desert as concept and how we actually design structures
to occupy its concrete navigable space. These idealized descriptions of timeless landscapes can render the desert untouchable,
not in real terms but as a territory for cultural production, for the
making of playful and searching architecture. Perhaps this is why
a lot of the structures in the wilderness tend to resort to status
quo, instead of actually engaging the strangeness of this extreme
environment and producing new forms of architecture.
Nature is resilient when untouched, yet fragile when touched.
But we cannot always think about the wilderness as a place which
would ideally be left alone - true Wilderness is no longer there, we
are surrounded by National Parks. A cultivated wilderness perhaps.
And, just like the native cultures expressed more eloquently, there
is an inherent human necessity and desire to inhabit these territories, physically and culturally, to make a mark.
We tend to make a lot of assumptions about how to occupy
the desert landscapes surrounding Los Angeles. The architectural
forms seem to fall back on certain known tactics when faced with
Sketch and inspiration images for Bird Tower Structures of Owens Lake. Research project by Berenika Boberska
6
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
Conceptual project inspired by the Side-blotched lizard’s adaptation to the desert
environment. The scales are interconnected in a continuous surface, varying in
number, size, shape and thickness according to their function and position on the
body. Translating these physiological characteristics, the building is covered with
special photovoltaic panels that can alter their orientation and dimensions thanks
to a flexible membrane and tracking system. Project led by Ilaria Mazzoleni
GOOGLE EARTH
extreme environments. Some structures,
like the suburban tract houses, respond
by total resistance and denial of their surroundings. The most astonishing example
of this can be found in California City in the
Mojave Desert.
This ex-burb of Los Angeles is the third
largest city in California - but by area only.
It is as extreme as Detroit, in its strangeness and eerie beauty. A spectacular failure
manifested by the pattern of empty cul-desac streets etched in the desert. Although
some of it is occupied with perfectly maintained suburban subdivisions, most of the
city exists largely in the imagination. The
lots are owned, the water and electricity
are in place, yet there are no houses. But
most astonishing are the surreal fragments
of the city, the outposts of sprawl, like the
single suburban house with a manicured
lawn. The house stands alone at the end
of its own empty cul-de-sac in the Mojave
Desert, complete with a white picket fence
- a conventional device placed there to perhaps separate it from its fictitious neighbor,
or the wilderness.
It is a surreal and almost defiant image, how this air-conditioned container
resists any relationship with the extraordinary wilderness around it. The assumption is that it recreates the form of what is
considered “normal” and familiar to us, the
suburban home, yet there is nothing normal or conventional about it being there.
Quite the opposite. The house has become
defiant and eccentric.
On the opposite end of the spectrum,
but also revealing our inability to respond
to the wilderness, is the Tactic of Disappearance. It seems to be the prevalent “environmental” attitude in architecture. A
high-tech camouflage of buildings, a removal of all expressiveness of spaces in favor of making the form blend with its surroundings, often through a formulaic use
of green-roofs and subdued language.
Perhaps it is a misunderstanding of
biomimesis (“mimesis” means “copy”):
these buildings simply mimic the surrounding nature through form but not in
how they interact with the environment.
If we really look for inspiration to nature,
without an anthropocentric judgment
about which forms are “green” or “sustainable” we might find surprising solutions.
As architects, we would need to collaborate with scientists and experts to see
California City. 20th century fossil of a city, a giant geoglyph in the desert
what is really at play in nature, beyond its appearances. One such interdisciplinary design studio, led by Ilaria Mazzoleni, explores how processes and functions of nature can
inspire innovation in architecture. Her biomimicry research at the Southern Institute
of Architecture focuses on applying properties of animal skins to develop building envelopes and systems.
“Skin is a complex organ that performs a multitude of functions; namely, it serves as
a link between the body and the environment. Similarly, building envelopes act as interfaces between their inhabitants and external elements.” I. Mazzoleni
The biomimetic aspect would not be in the animal’s appearance, its “scalyness” or
“furriness” (although that would be fascinating in a building!) but in the various performative aspects of the skin and the animals behavior - as adaptations to the environment.
Continued on page 22
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
7
DAVID VON SEGGERN
MANY PROS, FEW CONS
Geothermal Development
In Northern Nevada
N
Nevada is the bulls-eye of geothermal resources in the United
States1, as shown by Figure 1. The region of high geothermal potential is home to a multitude of hot springs and other thermal
features, and these are just the surface manifestations of an
abundant geothermal resource that can be tapped at relatively
shallow depths in the crust. Scientifically supportable estimates
indicate that this resource could, in principle, provide baseload
power of 100’s of gigawatts. This would exceed the current combined needs of the western states, but for several reasons it may
never be fully tapped.
Nevada is second in the nation in geothermal electricity generation capacity (to California) and is first in per capita capacity.
The installed capacity for geothermal power generation in Nevada
is 512 MW (megawatts) in 2013. With the current total Nevada power demand at roughly 7,400 MW, geothermal power has captured
a significant part of the electricity demand. Some plants in northern Nevada are already exporting geothermal power to California
and other states.
The graph of the installed capacity of Nevada plants producing geothermal power for the Nevada market2 is shown in Figure
2. The initial stage of development began in the mid-1980’s, with
a short spurt through 1992. There was a hiatus from then until
renewed development in the mid-2000s, with a considerable in-
crease compared to the first stage. This second stage has abated in
2013, with no new geothermal plants delivering power to the Nevada grid this year; however, the Wild Rose plant is set to deliver
power to the California market in late 2013. The reasons for this
abatement will be discussed below.
The physical conditions in Nevada for geothermal development are extremely encouraging, especially when matched to new
technology. The earlier plants took advantage of relatively hot geothermal resources above about 180°C, a temperature that allows
the hot water to flash to steam in order to turn power generating
turbines. But a newer design, called a binary plant, is able to use
hot water at significantly lower temperatures. The heat from the
water in these plants is transferred to another fluid via a heat exchanger, and the second fluid’s properties allow it to become gaseous at lower temperatures but still provide the needed drive for
the turbines. This binary design is now the preferred plant design
to take advantage of lower temperature resources. The binary design carries additional benefits. Because the hot water resource is
in a closed loop, no emissions take place and the water is returned
to the underground reservoir in a continuous cycle. Underground
water will naturally contain some pollutants, arguably in small
quantities; keeping these from entering the atmosphere is desirable. Furthermore, the additional machinery needed to run the
Figure 1
Figure 2
8
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
plant, for instance the cooling fans, are run by the plant’s own
power. This means that no external power, that may be generated
by fossil fuels, is used. With these advances, the modern binary
plant’s CO2 emissions during operation are nearly zero.
One of the concerns for renewable energy is the land area required. Utility-size solar farms have notoriously large footprints
for their generating capacity. What about geothermal generation?
Taking a typical new binary plant operated by ENEL, Inc. near Fallon, Nevada, let us compare its footprint to the Copper Mountain
Solar 1 plant in southern Nevada operated by Sempra Generation.
The rated peak capacity for the ENEL plant is 24 MW, and using
the scale shown in Figure 3 it is possible to calculate an output
of roughly 1.6 MW per acre occupied. The Sempra plant shown in
Figure 4 has a rated capacity of 58 MW, and a similar calculation
yields an output of roughly 0.091 MW per acre occupied. Thus the
geothermal plant is 16/0.091 = 18 times more efficient in land use.
If one takes into account the fact that the solar plant reaches peak
capacity only a few hours of the day and that cloud cover and lower sun angles of winter further erode the generation capacity, the
space advantage of geothermal would significantly increase. This
advantage is maintained only if the geothermal plant performs
near its peak capacity 24/7, 365 days per year. Actually it cannot
because the high cooling requirements needed for efficient operation are poorly met during the hottest part of the day. This extra
strain for cooling draws heavily on the plant’s own generation and
may cut the effective plant capacity appreciably. Within a wide
range of performance though, the geothermal footprint advantage
still appears to be on the order of 10 or more relative to that of solar
plants. This is important when we are concerned about displacing wildlife, compromising scenic views, and making single use
areas of our public lands. This particular example is backed by
other analysis3.
Let us return to the fact that geothermal development has
declined suddenly in Nevada. In 2007, the Nevada BLM state office began competitive geothermal lease sales. Following a feeding
frenzy at the BLM geothermal lease sale in 2008, the lease sales
have plummeted recently, as shown in Figure 5. What happened?
Several factors have come into play. First, many of the desirable
parcels have been leased. Second, many geothermal players were
not positioned to stay in the quest for a long period due to shrinking financial markets. Third, because the power must be tied into
existing lines, the cost of transmission from the geothermal plant
to where a link can be made may be prohibitive for some areas.
Fourth, the Nevada market for new energy sources has shrunk.
NVEnergy has overbuilt natural gas power plants; demand for
electrical power is flat; and the current renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of NVEnergy (25% for the year 2025) does not provide
sufficient incentives for aggressive renewable energy growth.
Fifth, there is limited federal and virtually no state investment
in geothermal development. Recent EPA decisions to require a reduction in CO2 pollution and decreasing costs for solar, wind, and
geothermal installations may make renewable energy even more
attractive and may increase the state legislature’s willingness to
enhance the RPS goals.
Geothermal installations in Nevada should have a bright future in spite of the current lull. On top of political and legislative
Figure 3. The new binary plant operated by ENEL, Inc. near
Fallon, Nevada
Figure 4. Copper Mountain Solar 1 plant in southern Nevada
operated by Sempra Generation.
changes, we can expect that advanced seismic methods, some
of which are already used in the oil & gas industry, will lessen
the economic risk of geothermal exploration and enhance the extraction of the geothermal resource. Seismic imaging techniques
promise to clearly identify the location of favorable fluid conduits.
If successful, this new technology could greatly assist in spurring
renewed growth in the geothermal industry.
Have we mentioned fracking? Yes, a type of fracking is coming to geothermal development. The geothermal industry prefers to call this “hydraulic stimulation,” and it is important to
understand that this is different from that used in the oil & gas
industry4. In the geothermal industry this currently involves the
use of water only. The objective in geothermal development is to
increase the flow of the heat-bearing water through the hot rock
to enhance the energy production, and this can be done typically
Continued on page 13
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
9
BY G. SIDNEY SILLIMAN
SODA MOUNTAIN SOLAR LOOMS OVER MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE
Public Resources At Risk
From Bechtel
T
The fundamental contradiction in the
numerous proposals by private companies to build industrial-scale renewable
energy projects and long-distance power
lines on acreage administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is that
the lands are public while the profits from
the construction and operation (or sale) of
the power plants and transmission lines
accrue to large corporations. The public
does gain electricity. Yet the energy would
be just as available and the contradiction
avoided through siting on private, previously-disturbed lands or through distributed generation at sites near where the
electricity is consumed.
The contradiction is especially evident in the proposal by Soda Mountain
Solar, a subsidiary of Bechtel Development Company, to site its Soda Mountain
Solar project (hereafter, project) on public
lands immediately adjacent to the Mojave
National Preserve, the third largest unit of
the National Park System in the contiguous U.S. at 1.6 million acres.
The proposed project is a 350-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) electric power generating plant set for siting on 4,397 acres
of public land administered by the BLM
some 6 miles southwest of Baker, California. The application by Soda Mountain
Solar, LLC requests a right-of-way authorization to construct a solar field on 2,691
acres, a project substation, an access road,
operations and maintenance buildings,
and to realign approximately 3.3 miles of
Rasor Road. The North Array, on the west
side of Interstate 15, is proposed to end in
the vicinity of the Zzyzx Road overpass. On
the other side of the highway, the South
Array will be situated next to the Rasor
Off-Highway Vehicle Area. The East Array
is proposed for construction immediately
to the north, less than one mile from the
10
Area of proposed solar project
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
rity of the Preserve – its essential quality – rests on the fact that
it (a) protects a relatively intact ecosystem of the eastern Mojave
Desert from threats associated with commercial development,
(b) provides connectivity between other protected national areas
within the Mojave desert region, and (c) provides opportunities for
solitude, thereby functioning as a refuge from urban areas.
It is disingenuous to reject this argument merely because the
project would be sited on the doorstep of the Mojave National Preserve rather than within its boundaries. The currently undeveloped, natural area at the northwest corner of the Mojave National
Preserve where the project might be sited is effectively part of the
park. This is most evident with respect to the unobstructed and
dramatic view into the Preserve documented in the panoramic
photo by Michael Gordon. This vista would be obscured by project
buildings and PV panels attached to single-axis trackers with a
minimum height of 20 feet. In order to ensure solitude for visitors
and a refuge from urban areas, the National Park Service manages
the Preserve to protect dark skies. A solar facility at the corner of
the Preserve is incompatible with that management goal because
a solar facility with all of its lighting will significantly degrade the
visitor experience. The project will violate the visual integrity of
the Preserve.
The proposal to site the Soda Mountain Solar project near the
Mojave National Preserve and the likely consequences of that for
Continued on page 13
© 2013 MICHAEL E. GORDON
Mojave National Preserve boundary and at the base of the mountains extending into the park.
The Public Scoping Report was released in January 2013 by
BLM, the lead NEPA agency for National Environmental Policy Act
proceedings, and San Bernardino County, the lead CEQA agency
under the California Environmental Quality Act. The letters of
commentary submitted by individuals, environmental organizations, California government agencies, and such national entities
as the National Park Service during the October to December 2012
scoping period and summarized in the Report delineate a host of
likely environmental consequences to public lands and the Mojave National Preserve, many of which may be irreversible. The
potential, significant environmental impacts include decreased
spring discharge in the Soda Springs (Zzyzx) area as a result of
groundwater pumping for the project, loss of habitat for the endangered Mohave tui chub, loss of high-quality desert tortoise
habitat, increased habitat fragmentation for desert bighorn sheep,
and the loss of wildlife connectivity with the Soda Mountains
(http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/barstow/renewableenergy/
soda_mountain.html).
The consequences for the Mojave National Preserve are of special concern because the project threatens not only the particular
resources and landscape that Congress mandated to be protected
by the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, but the very integrity of this treasured unit of the National Park System. The integ-
A sunrise view of the proposed Soda Mountain Solar project. Photographed from the northern tip of the proposed ‘North Array’ near
Blue Bell Mine access road. Interstate 15 runs horizontally through the frame
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
11
ILEENE ANDERSON
Continued from page 1
access. The Algodones Dunes has also become notorious for offroad mayhem, which results in human deaths annually.
In 2000, Sierra Club joined the Center for Biological Diversity,
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), and
Desert Survivors in legally challenging management of species
protected under the federal Endangered Species Act in the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA). As a result of that lawsuit, in
order to protect the Peirson’s milkvetch and other species, three
closures to off-road vehicles were agreed upon between the conservation groups, BLM, and the off-road vehicle groups. They were
put in place until the BLM revised the Recreation Area Management Plan (RAMP). These areas include a large central closure of
approximately 48,000 acres, a small closure at the north end of
the dunes near Mammoth Wash, and a very small closure south
of Interstate 8 (which bisects the dunes). Each of these areas was
identified for protection of the Peirson’s milkvetch. In all, the existing wilderness coupled with these closures, which have been
in place since 2000 protected 54% of the landscape from off-road
vehicles. The remaining 46% remained open to ORVs.
In 2003, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and
others successfully challenged a Bush Administration RAMP that
re-opened the approximately 50,000 acres of closures. Also in 2003,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed critical habitat protection for the Peirson’s milkvetch on over 52,000 acres, but in 2004,
ultimately designated only 21,800 acres. By 2006, federal court rulings had kept the closures in place, while directing the BLM to
again revise their RAMP. The rulings also directed the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service to revise the critical habitat designation for
the Peirson’s milkvetch. By 2009, the court was satisfied with the
paltry 12,105 acres of critical habitat that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service had designated for the Peirson’s milkvetch. Finally, in 2012,
the BLM released a final RAMP, which re-opened all of the closures
– the largest conservation rollback in the California deserts in the
last 10 years. It fails to protect all of the Peirson’s milkvetch critical
Algodones wilderness with ORV incursions
12
ILEENE ANDERSON
BLM Reopens Parts Of Dunes That Had Been Closed For 10 Years
Hwy 78 divides wilderness & ORV open area
habitat, and it fails to consider a limitation on the number of vehicles on the Algodones Dunes at any one time. The final decision
for this ill-conceived RAMP was issued in 2013.
Not only does the flawed RAMP put a long list of imperiled
species back in harm’s way, but it is also a blow to sustainable
energy planning in the California Desert Conservation Area. Just
two days prior to the release of the final decision on the Algodones
RAMP, the BLM had assured the public it would take meaningful
measures to off-set the impacts of large-scale renewable energy
projects in the California Desert Conservation Area. Clearly, reopening previously protected habitat for rare species in an iconic
National Natural Landmark to destruction by fossil-fuel guzzling
and emission-spewing vehicles misses the mark on every count.
Plants and animals are not the only ones to suffer. Sadly, Imperial County, where the Algodones Dunes are located, has some
of the worst air quality in the nation. Dust, also known as particulate matter or PM10, is kicked up by the off-road vehicles as they
speed through the Algodones Dunes. Off-road vehicles are also not
required to comply with California’s stringent vehicle emission requirements. Once airborne, the small dust particles and exhaust
from the off-road vehicles drift into the adjacent communities
and exacerbate health related diseases such as asthma in both
children and adults.
So the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Desert Survivors, and PEER are once again challenging the BLM in court over
this faulty plan. The dazzling beauty, the unique plants and animals, and the local community all deserve a more balanced approach to managing the Algodones Dunes, not one that exacerbates air quality problems and destroys rare plants and animals.
Ileene Anderson is a biologist and Public Lands Desert Director for
the Center for Biological Diversity. She has worked on Algodones
Dunes conservation issues for over 15 years.
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
Geothermal In Nevada
Resources At Risk From Bechtel
Continued from page 9
at 1/10 the pressures used in the fracking processes in the oil &
gas industry. This is part of the reason that we should not be too
concerned about another possible effect of hydraulic stimulation:
earthquakes5. In Nevada, where most geothermal fields are remote
from high-density population and infrastructure, earthquake risk
becomes even less of an issue. In short, hydraulic stimulation in
geothermal fields should be of minimal concern environmentally
at this time; but let’s not give the industry a free pass, and let’s
keep an eye on how this method is utilized in geothermal fields.
Is geothermal energy a truly sustainable resource? We have
already seen the decline (now curbed by advanced technology) of
the Geysers geothermal field near Calistoga, California. In spite
of this example, proper resource management should be capable
of mitigating reservoir declines. Much depends on the area for
which the question is asked and the type of technology used. If
the question is whether the earth’s internal heat is sustainable,
the answer is clearly yes. The ability of this heat to easily flow
back into geothermal fields from which heat is being extracted is
the more important question. In Nevada the rate of heat replenishment should be sufficient to offset the rate of heat extraction
indefinitely for the geothermal resources now being used by advanced binary generation plants. Among the various options for
renewable energy in Nevada, geothermal development will certainly be a major player.
Continued from page 11
local citizens reflect the growing income inequality in the United
States, the gap between the richest 1 percent and the remaining 99
percent of the population in America. Bechtel, a transnational corporation that will profit financially from the construction of the
project, is a privately-owned engineering and construction firm.
Chairman and chief executive officer Riley P. Bechtel is the great
grandson of founder Warren A. Bechtel and heir to the company.
Riley Bechtel is consistently ranked in the top 200 richest people in
the United States and among the richest men in the world. Thus
a Soda Mountain Solar project will not be built adjacent to Bohemian Grove in Sonoma County, site of the San Francisco-based
exclusive men’s hangout known as the Bohemian Club, where
members like Riley Bechtel encamp each summer. But it will be
constructed on public land far from the closed-to-the-public encampment in Sonoma.
This is more than an academic argument as the public resources at risk from the project are those enjoyed by the 99 percent. Annually, some 550,000 people visit the Preserve and their
experience will be impacted by Soda Mountain Solar. School children from the gate-way community of Barstow, many of whom
have never been to a national park, travel via Zzyzx Road (and
through the project if it is built) on National Park Service-organized field trips to the Desert Studies Center to experience the desert up close, to learn of the history and culture of the Chemehuevi,
and, if they are lucky, to see the bighorn sheep that frequent the
springs in the area. The Desert Studies Center, a field station of
California State University, is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. It provides an opportunity for these children to
receive instruction among natural ponds, dry lakes, and rugged
mountains. Local citizens who use the Rasor Off-Highway Vehicle
Area will be impacted by the realignment of Rasor Road. The safety of the thousands who travel to and from Las Vegas on Interstate
15 may be at risk from the glare of the estimated 1.5 million PV
panels that will comprise the facility. The project simply does not
serve the public interest.
There is a larger, regional context for the contradiction between private and public interests revealed by the Soda Mountain
Solar project. The once-dramatic view of the Ivanpah Valley on a
moonlit night from atop Clark Mountain, a singular unit of Mojave
National Preserve, has been altered beyond redemption by the panels, looming towers, and bright lights of the Ivanpah Solar Electric
Generating System, a power facility built by BrightSource Energy
and Bechtel. The Iberdrola energy project, proposed for the Silurian
Valley a few miles away, would, along with the Soda Mountain Solar project, interfere markedly with connectivity between Joshua
Tree and Death Valley National Parks, an essential habitat corridor
with Mojave National Preserve at its biological center.
Perhaps, as with the Wall Street movement, those who care
deeply about Mojave National Preserve will occupy the contested
space to protect the public interest.
David von Seggern has been a Sierra Club member since 1987 and is
currently chair of the Toiyabe Chapter. His career comprised three
phases, all involving energy. He first did research on seismic methods to locate and characterize underground nuclear explosions. He
went on to do research on applying seismic methods to oil and gas
exploration. Lastly, at U. Nevada-Reno (UNR), he became manager
of the seismic network at Yucca Mountain, the Nevada. He has continued to work on various research projects since retiring in 2005.
References: Please refer to the Notes section of desertreport.org for
references for this article.
Total Nevada BLM geothermal
lease sales ($millions)
G. Sidney Silliman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a member of the
California/Nevada Desert Committee. The arguments expressed
here do not represent the views of the Committee or the University.
Figure 5
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
13
Current Issues
SMALL BLUE JEWEL DECLARED
ENDANGERED
The mountain ranges of the Great Basin and Mojave deserts are
isolated remnants of what was wide-ranging and connected habitat in the Pleistocene era – as the climate dried and got warmer,
the ranges became isolated from one another, as did the species
that lived on them. The Mt. Charleston blue butterfly is one of
several that evolved from the Shasta blue butterfly, and is now
confined to only the high ridges in the Spring Mountain range. In
September 2013 in response to a settlement agreement between
the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Center for Biological Diversity it was declared as endangered and to be protected under
the Endangered Species Act.
This isolation and impacts from human use have not been
kind to the Charleston blue and it has been considered imperiled
since the early 1990s. Currently it is only known to occupy two locales out of the 16 known historically; it is presumed to be present
in 8 others and presumed extirpated from the other 6. The primary
threats are habitat loss and degradation due to fire suppression
and succession, implementation of recreation development projects and fuels reduction projects, impacts from wild horses and
nonnative plant species; inadequate regulatory mechanisms; collection; and climate change impacts. – Rob Mrowka
FOLLOW-UP: BOBCAT PROTECTION ACT OF 2013 BECOMES LAW
IN CALIFORNIA
The Bobcat Protection Act of 2013 (Assembly Bill 1213) was signed
by CA Governor Jerry Brown in October. This new law establishes
a no-trapping zone around Joshua Tree National Park, and directs
the state’s Fish and Game Commission to establish similar zones
around other places in the state where wildlife is protected. The
new law, which takes effect January 1, 2014, also prohibits trapping bobcats on private land without the written permission of
the landowner. For more background on this issue, see Chris
Clarke’s article in the June 2013 issue of Desert Report.
US FISH AND WILDLIFE
SERVICE PROPOSE LISTING
THE BI-STATE DPS OF THE
GREATER SAGE-GROUSE
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced in October
that it is proposing to list the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment
(DPS) of the greater sage-grouse as a threatened species under
the Endangered Species Act and to designate 1.86 million acres as
critical habitat. The current range of this bird is limited to 6 population management units, which is less than 50% of their historical range.
The Bi-State sage-grouse is a geographically isolated, genetically distinct population of Greater sage-grouse. They occur on the
California-Nevada border in the Mono Lake area, and are found in
parts of Mono, Alpine, and Inyo Counties in California and in parts
of Carson City, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, and Mineral Counties in
Nevada.
14
Major threats to the Bi-state sage-grouse population include
livestock grazing, infrastructure (fences, power lines, roads), invasive plants, altered fire regimes, urbanization and habitat conversion, mining, renewable energy development, climate (including
drought), and predation.
Without an ESA listing, the Fish and Wildlife Service expects
that within 30 years it is likely that all the populations in Nevada
will be extirpated and that only isolated populations in California’s Bodie Hills and Long Valley would remain.
The FWS will make a determination within 1 year.
DIRECTOR OF BLM NOMINATED
President Obama has nominated Neil G. Kornze, a native Nevadan,
as Director of the BLM. Kornze has led the BLM since March 1, 2013,
as Principal Deputy Director, overseeing its conservation, outdoor
recreation, and energy development programs. Previously, Kornze
served as the BLM’s Acting Deputy Director for Policy and Programs
since October 2011. He joined the agency in January 2011 and has
worked on renewable and conventional energy development,
transmission siting and conservation policy.
Before joining the BLM, Kornze was an advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, working on renewable energy, mining,
water, outdoor recreation, rural development and wildlife conservation issues, as well as the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009.
BIG HORN SHEEP CAPTURED
AND TAGGED TO MONITOR
PNEUMONIA
State and federal wildlife experts conducted a helicopter survey
and GPS tracking project in November to determine the extent of
a pneumonia epidemic that, since May, has killed more than 100
bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert.
Officials have said the highly contagious infection may have
come from a sick domestic sheep or goat illegally dumped from a
truck as it travelled through the area.
Tests have determined they all had the same strain of pneumonia which is carried by domestic sheep and goats; bighorn
have no immunity and almost always die of it.
WIND ENERGY COMPANY FINED
$1 MILLION FOR BIRD DEATHS
In November, Duke Energy Renewables was fined $1 Million after
pleading guilty to killing 14 eagles and 149 other birds at two Wyoming wind farms. This is the first time the Justice Department
has prosecuted a wind energy company for the death of an eagle
or other protected bird under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The
bird deaths occurred between 2009-2013.
As part of the settlement, Duke will continue to use field biologists to identify eagles and shut down turbines when they get
too close, it will install new bird detection technology, and it will
voluntarily report all eagle and bird deaths to the government.
With the recent discovery of the large number of bird deaths
due to improperly sited solar and wind projects, this lawsuit may
be the first of many legal actions.
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
Superintendent Mark Butler
Proposed Development
Continued from page 2
“One of the things that I find most interesting about Joshua
Tree National Park is the subtleness of the place. On the surface
it looks very harsh and very threatening, but when you look at
it more closely, you can really discover a tremendous amount of
fragility and beauty,” says Butler. “At first glance people think the
desert is a harsh, barren and lifeless landscape, but in reality, it’s
not. I really think that all park visitors can benefit greatly by attending a park interpretive program or a Desert Institute class to
be introduced to and learn more about the desert. This will help
them begin to understand and appreciate it.”
Butler believes that because there is general lack of understanding about the desert, there has been a long history of threats
to Joshua Tree National Park.
“One of the key challenges facing the park comes from the
increasing level of large-scale urban and industrial development
occurring adjacent to the park’s boundary,” said Butler. Development along the park’s boundary is a concern because it can lead
to fragmentation and disruption of wildlife habitat and wildlife
migration corridors, resulting in increased levels of genetic isolation among the park’s desert dwelling animals, like mountain
lion, coyote, bobcat, bighorn sheep, mule deer and numerous varieties of insects, arachnids, and birds. Development immediately
adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park may also be a significant
factor in how the park responds to climate change, especially if
wildlife corridors that give animals room to roam in order to find
food, water, shelter and mates are impeded. Butler concludes that
because of these ongoing threats it will be very important for the
park to continue to work proactively with all communities on its
boundary and within the region to encourage land use and development policies that can help protect the park.
“I think that so much of what has threatened the Joshua Tree
National Park in the past is the consequence of people not having
visited and experienced its wonder,” says Butler. “A majority of the
visitors to the park quickly become desert lovers who appreciate the
uniqueness of the landscape and are interested in seeing it protected. They are a key part of the solution by ensuring that this place is
preserved and protected for present and future generations.”
Continued from page 3
persistence in this metapopulation fragment will likely depend on
north to south movements across I-10 to maintain genetic diversity.” But double the allowed disturbance area for such corridors
and linkages would be impacted.
In addition to habitat destruction, there are many other areas of concern if this development project proceeds. These include
water (or lack thereof), leap frog development issues, urban
sprawl, increased vehicle traffic, and very limited public services
in this area.
Recently, Glorious Land Company submitted a slightly scaleddown plan through the Joint Powers Review process of a Specific
Plan which only includes what they are naming “Phase 1” as part
of a tiered process. This is clearly a piecemeal approach and unlawful under the CEQA process.
STACY GOSS
Seth Shteir is California desert senior field representative for the National Parks Conservation Association.
IMPACTS TO JTNP AND SURROUNDING WILDERNESS AREAS
The urbanization of the southern boundary of the Park would
be a major threat to the parks mission, which is to “preserve and
protect a representative area of the Colorado and Mojave deserts
and the natural and cultural resources for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations”. During construction of
Glorious Land Company’s new city, which would last for many
years, the noise and dust generated by the huge earthmoving
equipment would spread far beyond the site and will be seen and
heard for many miles through the southern canyons of the Park.
Construction would destroy or disturb much of the wildlife that
inhabits the area.
As the development grows and people move in, light from the
area will penetrate many miles into the Park and pollute the dark
night skies that are sought after by many visitors. The increasing
population will likely bring an increase of illegal off-road vehicle
use in the Park. It will introduce domestic predators and significantly increase the population of ravens, which prey on young
desert tortoises. Likewise, illegal hunting could become a major
problem.
This area of the Park is used by occasional visitors for a solitude experience in the Cottonwood Mountains, where cross country hiking can be a remarkable adventure. The quiet and rarely
used Pinkham Canyon Road 4WD route would become a much
more traveled route, bringing many more people into an area that
currently only sees the determined visitor. The Orocopia and Mecca Hills Wilderness areas, that lie at the southern boundary of the
proposed development, would experience very similar impacts.
If this development is allowed to go forward (and it will be
challenged at every step), the whole nature of the area will be irreversibly changed. Joshua Tree National Park, the Orocopia Mountains, and the Mecca Hills will become a sacrifice zone for a totally
unneeded and unwanted progression of urban sprawl. “Paradise
Valley” will become “Paradise Lost”.
Jeff Morgan has lived in the Palm Springs Area of Riverside County for over 35 years. He is currently the Chairman of the Tahquitz
Group of the Sierra Club and frequently chairs the Desert Committee meetings when they are held in the Coachella Valley. He has
been active in many successful fights against inappropriate developments in the area.
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
15
BY JOHN HIATT
CONTINUED DROUGHT IS FORCING COOPERATION
The Colorado
A River Under Stress
16
entire flow of the river, and set out to assert their own claims. In 1928 the Colorado River
Compact was signed. This compact divided the entire flow of the Colorado among the
seven states. Mexico got nothing, and no provision was made for leaving anything in the
river (in 1945 Mexico was allocated 1.5 million acre-feet in return for limiting Mexican
diversions on tributaries of the Rio Grande). The quantity of water allocated to each state
was based on then current and potential usage and ten years of flow data from the period
shortly before the compact was signed. According to the data available at that time, the
average annual flow was 17.5 million acre-feet. California got the largest share at 4.4 million acre-feet annually and Nevada the smallest at 300,000 acre-feet.
Until 1936 and the completion of Hoover Dam there was no storage capacity and no
regulation of the river’s annual flow. Since 1936 a number of other dams have been built,
including Glen Canyon Dam. Between them, Lakes Mead and Powell, backed up by Hoover
and Glen Canyon Dams respectively have a storage capacity of about 60 million acre-feet.
This volume equates to some four years of the total normal average flow of the river.
During both the 1950’s drought and the filling of Glen Canyon Reservoir in the 1960’s the
surface level of Lake Mead fell substantially, but no impact was felt by downstream users
because Arizona and Nevada were using only a small portion of their allocations.
STACY GOSS
T
The Colorado River is vitally important
to the residents of the seven western
states that share its drainage basin. It
supplies irrigation and drinking water to
more than 30 million people over an area
stretching from Denver to San Diego. Unfortunately, the river is over allocated and
over utilized and with the current drought
we are reaching the point where who uses
its water and how much they use will almost certainly have to change.
In order to understand how we’ve gotten to where we are today it is necessary
to look back at how the Colorado River,
one of the most regulated in the world,
has been manipulated and managed
since 1900. Prior to the twentieth century
the Colorado ran free and was only utilized by those few people and settlements
along the river that used minor amounts
for irrigation and municipal purposes.
The Colorado is one of the very few rivers
in this country that has no major cities
along its banks, although Las Vegas is only
a few miles away. The river has never really been suitable for navigation, and the
extremely hot summers along the lower
reaches discouraged settlement. Most of
the municipal use takes place outside the
river’s drainage basin.
The first real change to the Colorado
came in 1900 when the Imperial Land
Company started diverting water from the
river to the Imperial Valley for agricultural
purposes. In 1905 the diversion canal was
overwhelmed by the rivers’ spring flood
and the river changed course and flowed
into the Salton Sink for a year and created the Salton Sea. As the Imperial Valley
boomed and became an important farm
area, more and more water was diverted.
By 1920 the other six states that share the
Colorado River drainage basin became
concerned that California might claim the
Lake Mead at Hoover Dam and the “bathtub ring” of calcium deposits indicating
higher water years
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
LEFT: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; RIGHT: STACY GOSS
Lake Mead Overlook near Hoover Dam. The photo on left is from the undated kiosk currently at the overlook. The photo on the right
was taken November, 2013. Note that Pyramid Island is no longer an island.
In the year 2000 the idea that the Colorado River could be
completely consumed and unable to deliver its legal allocations
seemed far-fetched. But in 2001 the current drought began and
2002 saw the lowest flows measured since record keeping began:
just 25% of normal run-off. The level of Lake Mead fell precipitously and water managers began to take notice. With the exception
of two very wet years, the drought that began in 2001 is still with
us. The flow during the 2013 water year, which ended September
30, was 35% of average and the second lowest on record. The 2012
water year wasn’t much better with about 45% of average flow.
By 2005, it was apparent that the drought on the Colorado
was not going away soon and the States and the Department of
Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river, realized that changes to the compact were needed and began work
on something called the Quantification Settlement Agreement,
which was signed in 2007. This agreement laid out a framework
for allocating water based on volume in storage and identified
specific Lake Mead levels for the categories of surplus, normal
condition, phase1 shortage, phase 2 shortage, etc. It also stipulated
that except during times of surplus no State could take more than
its legal allocation. The only state really affected by this stipulation was California, which had been diverting more than 5 million
acre-feet as opposed to its 4.4 million acre-foot allocation.
The phase 1 shortage level for Lake Mead is 1075 feet above
mean sea level. The lake surface currently (November 1, 2013)
stands at 1104 feet above sea level and, barring a very wet winter,
is expected to fall by about 25 feet by November 2014. This will
mean the Bureau of Reclamation will be very close to declaring a
shortage, which will require Arizona and Nevada to reduce their
diversions from the river below their full allocations.
Starting in 2002 Las Vegas, which uses almost all of Nevada’s
allocation, initiated a water conservation program, modest at
first but ultimately quite aggressive. It has reduced Nevada’s consumptive use of Colorado River water from 330,000 acre-feet per
year to 235,000 acre-feet per year. During this period the popula-
tion of Las Vegas grew by 400,000 people. This is a remarkable
accomplishment.
Approximately eighty percent of the Colorado’s water is used
for irrigation. Major conservation efforts in that area are much
more difficult, for a variety of reasons. First is cost; agricultural
water is cheap, only a few dollars per acre-foot (about 326,000
gallons), due to the subsidies associated with federal water projects. Secondly, in order to thrive, plants need a certain minimum
volume of water. In the hot summers of the interior deserts of
California and Arizona that is a lot, about 5 acre-feet per acre per
year, enough water to cover each acre of farmland to a depth of 5
feet if applied all at once. In addition, since there is a significant
amount of salt in water from the Colorado (about 1 ton per acrefoot of water) which remains behind in the soil when irrigation
water either evaporates or is transpired by plants, enough water
must be applied to the soil to flush the salt through the soil into a
drain system. The Salton Sea persists because it receives agricultural drain water from the Imperial and Coachella Valleys and the
Mexicali Valley in Mexico.
Nearly a century ago Colorado River authorities made crucial
decisions based upon inadequate information and naive assumptions. We are left with an overly-complex system further complicated by Western water law that says, first in time, first in right.
Straightening out this tangle is a huge challenge. But under the
duress of drought small changes are being made. It is in the interest of the three Lower Basin States, Arizona, California and Nevada
plus Mexico to keep the water level in Lake Mead higher than 1075
feet above sea level so that there is not a declared shortage. Hence,
there are several agreements in effect that allow conserved water
to be stored in Lake Mead for later use. Prior to these agreements
the situation was “use it or lose it.” There was no incentive to conserve water.
Based on current knowledge and projections the jobs of those
charged with meeting the demands for Colorado River water will
Continued on page 21
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
17
BY LEN WARREN
GETTING TO KNOW AN INTERESTING DESERT DWELLER
Phainopepla: The Bird In The
Shiny Black Robe
18
communication call, and the aggressive scolding call of territorial Phainopeplas, may be
heard all over their winter range.
In February, the attention of Phainopepla turn to one another. Males begin singing.
Courtship assemblages, consisting of several males and females perched together, begin the process of mate selection. A great deal of chasing occurs as everything is sorted
out. Courtship flights occur with one male flying in large circles over his territory; white
wing patches flashing with each wing beat. Joined by other males and females, courtship
flights can be spectacular, especially at sunrise and sunset. Sometimes phone wires provide great courtship perches.
Females often associate with multiple males by spending as much as a day or two in
the territory of a candidate while becoming familiar with him. She remains uncommitted
however, until mate feeding when, as part of the bonding process she will accept berries
from her new mate. Males and females with adjacent winter territories will combine territories. Females who have chosen a more distant mate will abandon her winter territory
and join his territory.
In a fork or shady branch of the chosen nest tree, the male begins the nest. The sound
of his rapid bill-clicking will lead the observer to the nest. Females join in the nest building process near the end, lining or helping to line the nest with soft materials, including
feathers stolen from unsuspecting verdins. (After the verdins have delivered down, feathers, and other quality ‘fuzz’, to meticulously weave it into the base of their nest, they then
leave to find more. Sometimes, at this point, a Phainopepla will sneak in to grab a beakful
for its own nest.)
ALL THIS PAGE: NANCY GOOD
T
The Phainopepla, a desert songbird, is a
common sight in desert riparian areas
throughout Southwestern United States
and much of Mexico.
In Greek, Phainopepla nitens means
‘shining black robe’ and is the only North
American member, of four species, in
the Silky Flycatcher group. The male is a
glossy, iridescent black with a bright red
eye. Females also have a red eye, but the
plumage is a subtle light gray. Phainopepla range from Coastal California to western Texas, Central Nevada, most of Arizona, all of Baja, and much of northwestern
Mexico.
Although an excellent flycatcher, the
life of Phainopepla revolves greatly around
the consumption of a diet of berries.
Phainopepla can eat approximately 1100
desert mistletoe berries per bird per day.
Phainopepla are ‘reverse migrants’. In the
fall, these 7 to 8 inch frilly-crested songbirds arrive in great numbers throughout
southwestern deserts. They then individually claim and defend a winter territory.
The quality of their territory is determined
by the quantity of rapidly ripening desert
mistletoe berries. The desert mistletoe is
parasitic to mesquite, acacia, and palo
verde, and increases in density in drier
areas. The Phainopepla has a special digestive system which processes all the
berries, and favorite ‘pooping perches’ accumulate huge cotton candy sized clumps
of sticky seeds.
Individual Phainopepla territories are
usually held throughout winter. They are,
however, constantly contested by other
Phainopeplas, territorial mockingbirds,
and roaming flocks of western bluebird,
cedar waxwings, American robins, and
other berry eaters. A quiet observer can
witness countless aerial attacks and aggressive postures. The short whistling
Female Phainopepla
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
When the Phainopepla nest is complete, two, occasionally
three brown speckled eggs are laid. Males and females share in incubation. After hatching, it takes 19 days for the nestlings to fledge.
They are fed insects only for the first part of the nesting period. As
the nestlings develop, berries are introduced and become an increasing portion of their diet. Most Phainopepla are fledged in late
March and early April. As the heat arrives in late April and early
May, Phainopeplas vacate the desert for cooler mountain habitats.
The facts are as yet unproven; but here is where the story becomes most interesting to me. It appears the Phainopepla migrate
to cooler mountain habitats, replacing mistletoe with gooseberries, currant berries and the like. They then breed again in the
same season. Actual proof of dual breeding is lacking. One alternate theory is that it is possible that there are two distinct populations, one that breeds in the deserts in February through April, and
one that breeds in cooler mountain habitats in May- July. Another
theory is that non-breeders in the desert may be the population
that breeds later in the season in the secondary habitat.
There seems to be more circumstantial evidence that dual
breeding occurs. Phainopepla are known mimics. Many phrases from other species are incorporated into the song repertoire.
When the birds are caught for banding, the story continues to unfold. Phainopepla in the net and in the hand often mimic the calls
of birds of prey, or the alarm call of other songbirds. To add to the
dual breeding theory, when caught in early desert breeding areas,
they often mimic birds from cooler mountain habitats, not present in the desert areas. This adds to the idea that these individuals
‘must have been there’. Also, the very small clutch size, averaging
two eggs, is thought to be too low to sustain a healthy population.
Therefore, dual breeding would be mathematically sensible.
In 2012, a project called “Have a Phainopepla Day” sponsored
by US Fish and Wildlife, Red Rock Audubon Society, and Shoshone
Village was held for Death Valley Academy students. Phainopeplas
were caught and color-banded with the assistance of the students.
The project introduced birds and birding, bird banding, binoculars,
telescopes, bird books, and video cameras to the students. The ‘one
species’ study concept helped them understand that every species
has its own detailed life history, and although common, a species
may still hold many mysteries. I have studied birds for my whole
life. I have studied desert riparian birds for five years. I have seen
many amazing birds and bird behaviors. For me, the greatest moments of my life were when I had the privilege to place a live bird
in the hand of a child, and to quietly observe a magic moment
taking place.
THE WINTER MEETING will be held
February 15-16, 2014 at the Flower
Building in Shoshone, CA. Vicky Hoover
and Terry Frewin will co-chair. This is
the annual joint meeting of the
Wilderness and Desert Committees.
THE SPRING MEETING will be held May
17-18, 2014 at the James San Jacinto
Mountains reserve. Jeff Morgan will
chair.
We encourage local citizens in the area
to attend, as many of the items on the
agenda include local issues. Email Tom
Budlong at tombudlong@roadrunner.
com or call 310-963-1731 to be put on the
invitation list.
Since 2009, Len Warren has been a nest searcher for the Amargosa Canyon Songbird Project for PRBO (Point Reyes Bird Observatory) along the Amargosa River, just outside Death Valley.
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
STACY GOSS
NANCY GOOD
Female Phainopepla
Next Desert
Committee
Meetings
19
Outings
California/Nevada Regional Conservation Committee Desert Committee
For questions concerning an outing, or to sign up, please con-
or modifying fences to give pronghorn greater mobility on the
tact the leader listed in the write-up. For questions about Des-
Plain, and the recreation will be determined by the wishes of
ert Committee outings in general, or to receive the outings list
the group. This is an opportunity to combine carcamping, day-
by e-mail, please contact Kate Allen at [email protected]
hiking, exploring, and service in a relatively unknown wilder-
or 661-944-4056.
ness. Contact leader: Craig Deutsche, craig.deutsche@gmail.
com, 310-477-6670. CNRCC Desert Committee
The Sierra Club requires participants to sign a standard
liability waiver at the beginning of each trip. If you would like
to read the Liability Waiver before you choose to participate,
MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE RESTORATION EVENT
please go to sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms, or contact
February 14, Friday
the Outings Department at 415-977-5528 for a printed version.
NON-SIERRA CLUB ACTIVITY
Make the Mojave National Preserve your 2014 Valentine, join
For the most current listing, visit the Desert Report web-
site at www.desertreport.org and click on outings.
the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy and the National
Note: Non Sierra Club Activities are not sponsored nor
Park Service in a restoration project on February 14, prior to
administered by the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club has no infor-
the California/Nevada Desert Committee meeting on Saturday
mation about the planning of these activities and makes no
and Sunday. Meet at 9 a.m. on Valentine’s Day, work through
representations or warranties about such activities. They are
the early afternoon, and adjourn in time to reach Shoshone
published only as a service to the readers of this publication.
for dinner. Bring lunch, water, sun screen and hat. Tools will
The Sierra Club California Seller of Travel number is CST
be provided. Don’t miss this annual, pre-Desert-Committee-
2087766-40. (Registration as a seller of travel does not consti-
meeting service opportunity. It’s good work and we’ll have fun.
tute approval by the State of California.)
Contact Sid Silliman for project details, for directions to the
site, and to RSVP: [email protected].
DEATH VALLEY WILDERNESS RESTORATION
January 30-February 1, Thursday-Saturday
SOUTHERN NEVADA WILDERNESS SERVICE
Help restore wilderness values in this beautiful and remote
February 22, Saturday
national park. Project will be picking up plane crash debris
A one-day project helping BLM enhance wilderness in or at the
in the southern part of the Park. Meet early Thursday after-
edge of one of the new (2002) wilderness areas in southern Ne-
noon in Shoshone. Work at the crash site Thursday after-
vada managed by the BLM. Option to enjoy the area on Friday
noon and all day Friday. Work Saturday if needed. Primi-
and campout Fri night with Vicky Hoover, contact Vicky to
tive camping Thursday and Friday night near the work site,
sign up 415-977-5527, [email protected]
will need to bring all supplies, including water. Leader Kate
Allen [email protected], 661-944-4056. CNRCC Desert
DEATH VALLEY EXPLORATION
Committee
February 28-March 3, Friday-Monday
Meet on Friday at 11:00 to set up, Hike at 12 noon in Amargosa
WINTER ESCAPE IN THE CARRIZO PLAIN
Canyon. Sat. travel through lower Death Valley, hiking at Nat-
February 8-9, Saturday-Sunday
ural Bridge and Golden Canyon Camp at Texas Springs Camp-
This outing combines a day of service in the Carrizo Plain
ground in Furnace Creek. Sunday travel north through the
National Monument with a day of sightseeing and/or hiking.
park stopping at sites along the way to Mesquite Sand Dunes.
Weather can be cold, gray, and rainy, or it can be warm and
Camp at Stovepipe Wells. Monday hike up Mosaic Canyon.
bright - we take our chances. The service will be in removing
Bring your own food and water, and start with full tank of gas.
20
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
There are some services at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells.
Colorado Under Stress
You may join the trip for just Sat. & Sunday. Contact leader:
Carol Wiley, [email protected], 760-245-8734.
CNRCC Desert Committee
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK - SPRING WEEKEND
March 6-9, Thursday-Sunday
Visit Joshua Tree National Park when temperatures are cooler
and wild flowers may be blooming. We may explore palm oases, boulder areas, and desert canyons or climb peaks within
the Park. Camp in the Indian Cove campground (picnic tables,
fire grates, and pit toilets). Bring your own drinking water or
fill up at the Indian Cove Ranger Station. Hikes may be off trail.
Some vehicle travel on dirt roads may be required. Cost is $30
per person and includes 3 nights of camping. $20 deposit required to confirm participation. Group size limited to 16. For
reservation information call leader: Rich Juricich, [email protected], 916-492-2181. Delta Sierra Group/CNRCC
Desert Committee
MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE
March 28-30, Friday-Sunday
Meet at Sunrise Campground at 11.00 am on Friday, 4 mile rt
Continued from page 17
become increasingly difficult. We know from tree ring data that
pre-historic droughts in the Colorado Basin have lasted as long
as thirty years and that the twentieth century was the wettest
century in the last two thousand years. Projections of future climate change suggest a drier, warmer climate with greater extremes in this region. We also know from recent experience that
river flows are influenced by the previous year(s) precipitation because the soil acts as a sponge and the perennial flows are dependent on the level of saturation of that sponge. A “normal” year preceded by a dry year will have decreased river flows because part of
the “normal” year precipitation will be consumed in re-saturating
the soil sponge.
Is there any reason for optimism? Yes, I think there is, because we are starting to see some cooperation between the major municipal water purveyors. And Mexico is now partner in the
discussions. But the 800-pound gorilla in the room is agricultural
use. So far, the irrigation districts – speaking for farmers – haven’t
shown much appetite for change. A drying, warmer climate will
increase agricultural water demand. At some point we are going
to have to re-consider how we use the water of the Colorado, an
increasingly scarce and valuable resource.
John Hiatt, a desert activist living in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a member
of the CNRCC Desert Committee and is a board member of Friends of
Nevada Wilderness.
hike to Teutonia Peak that afternoon. Potluck that evening.
Saturday enjoy a 6 mile hike around Barber Peak from Holein-the-Wall. Hike to Kelso Dunes on Sunday. For those wanting to stay over on Sunday, we can camp at Granite Pass.
Camping is primitive so bring plenty of water. More information will be available at time of sign-up. Contact: Carol Wiley
at [email protected] or 760-245-8734. CNRCC Desert
Committee
CARRIZO SERVICE AND FLOWERS
April 19-20, Saturday-Sunday
This outing combines a day of service in the Carrizo Plain
National Monument with a day of sightseeing and/or hiking.
If there are winter rains, wildflowers can be spectacular, although this is not a promise that can be made far in advance.
Weather will be cool in evenings and comfortable in the day.
The service will be in removing or modifying fences to give
pronghorn greater mobility on the Plain, and the recreation
will be determined by the wishes of the group. This is an opportunity to combine carcamping, exploring, and service
STACY GOSS
in a relatively unknown wilderness. Contact leader: Craig
Deutsche, [email protected], 310-477-6670. CNRCC
Desert Committee
Lake Mead at Hoover Dam
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
21
Architecture And Nature
Continued from page 7
A building inspired by the side-blotched lizard for example would
translate the animal’s behavioral tactics in posture and orientation as well as the skin structure and distribution of skin color,
which all work together to perform a thermo-regulatory function.
The Tumbleweed Library (of Scattered Readings) is a conceptual design project by Feral Office, which explores how the wilderness could be inhabited, not only physically but also poetically and
culturally. How can we find ways to touch the landscape lightly?
The inspiration comes from desert plant morphologies and their
strategies of dispersion and movement across the landscape.
A series of tumbleweed-inspired structures, 10-feet in diameter, are scattered along the Interstate 15 in the Mojave. Each holds
at its center a cabinet containing a book and an inbuilt GPS device.
As in desert plant morphologies, the interweaving and tangling
of light-weight branching elements forms a resilient structural
volume. The visitor/ reader/ explorer experiences the excitement
of search, arrival, sudden solitude, the wrestling with the thicket
of the book cabinet’s enclosure, the discovering of a hidden book
(known or unknown), the calm of pausing to read. The Desert Library Map mobile phone app enables the user to search and track
down the Cabinets by location, title or author. As the structures
are incrementally rolled across the landscape by different readers, or even displaced by flash floods, high winds, or animals, the
layout of this dispersed library changes over time.
As in the tumbleweed, there is a certain excess of structure in
many desert plants. What appears to be an exuberance of formal
language is in fact a way of adapting to the harsh and changing
environment.
Excess in nature is actually a strategy for survival and resilience. In architecture the view still remains that simplicity is the
“correct” way of being inspired by nature. Minimal forms and surfaces, optimization of structure through reducing it to its minimal
elements - often emulated in modernist architecture - are rarely
seen in plants and animals adapted to the desert. Nature does the
opposite there - it optimizes through maximizing form. A multitude of elements, folds, spikes and hairs abound! The strangeness
and fantastical qualities are simultaneously pragmatic.
As architects we need to be open to other mindsets, inviting collaborations with scientists at the very start of projects. We
could explore alternative architectures which touch the wilderness in a different way, through lighter, more playful and expressive structures. Extreme environments have produced some very
imaginative and almost eccentric responses in plants and animals. Perhaps architecture can learn from that.
Eccentric structures and pragmatic functions. Could solar
generation have spatial and atmospheric qualities? Design
research project by Berenika Boberska
This article was based on a joint paper with Ilaria Mazzoleni (IM
Studio ) presented at the Desert Symposium in Zzyzx in 2013.
BERENIKA BOBERSKA
Berenika Boberska is an architect and installation artist living and
working in Los Angeles. Her current work focuses on reimagining
spaces and scenarios for the arid landscapes and ex-burbs of the
American West. She is a Professor in Practice at Woodbury University School of Architecture and the principal of Feral Office, an architecture and design research practice. www.feraloffice.com
Abandoned suburban house, California City
22
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
Published by the Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee
All policy, editing, reporting, and graphic design is the work of volunteers. To receive
Desert Report please see details on the back cover. Articles, photos, and original art are
welcome. Please contact Stacy Goss ([email protected], 408-248-8206) about contributions well in advance of deadline dates: February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1.
OUR MISSION
The Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee works for the protection and conservation of the deserts of California, Nevada and other areas in the Southwest; monitors and works with public, private, and non-profit agencies to promote preservation of
our arid lands; sponsors education and service trips; encourages and supports others
to work for similar objectives; and maintains, shares and publishes information about
the desert.
JOIN SIERRA CLUB
From community issues and action to lobbying on a national level, membership helps
you take action on many issues. As a member, you’ll have opportunities to get involved
with local chapters, as well as be part of a large national network of environmental advocates. Your voice will be heard through congressional lobbying and grassroots action.
www.sierraclub.org/membership
www.desertreport.org
Desert Tortoise Council
deserttortoise.org
EarthShare California
earthshareca.org
The Wildlands Conservancy
wildlandsconservancy.org
The Desert Legacy Fund at
The Community Foundation
Serving Riverside and San
Bernardino Counties
thecommunityfoundation.
net
Sierra Club San Gorgonio
Chapter
sangorgonio.sierraclub.org
VICE CHAIR
Joan Taylor
(760-778-1101)
EASTERN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Donna Tisdale
[email protected]
619-766-4170
OUTINGS CHAIR
Kate Allen
[email protected]
(661-944-4056)
EASTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY
Donna Charpied
[email protected]
760-347-7586
ENERGY ISSUES
Joan Taylor (California)
760-778-1101
Laura Cunningham (Nevada)
[email protected]
775-513-1280
COORDINATORS
CALIFORNIA WILDERNESS
DESIGNATION AND PROTECTION
Vicky Hoover
[email protected]
415-928-1038
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
George Barnes
[email protected]
650-494-8895
CO-EDITORS
Craig Deutsche
[email protected]
Cal French
[email protected]
Nate Krumm
[email protected]
Liz Crumley
[email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Jason Hashmi
[email protected]
(626-487-3791)
Desert Protective Council
dpcinc.org
COACHELLA VALLEY
Jeff Morgan
[email protected]
760-324-8696
OFFICERS
CHAIR
Terry Frewin
[email protected]
(805-966-3754)
OUTINGS EDITOR
Kate Allen
[email protected]
(661-944-4056)
Sierra Club California
sierraclub.org/ca
IMPERIAL COUNTY
Terry Weiner
[email protected]
619-342-5524
EDITORIAL STAFF
MANAGING EDITOR
Stacy Goss
[email protected]
(408-248-8206)
CIRCULATION
Kate Allen
[email protected]
(661-944-4056)
Funding for Desert Report
is made possible, in part, by
the generous, ongoing
support of the following:
NEVADA WILDERNESS
DESIGNATION AND PROTECTION
Marge Sill
[email protected]
775-322-2867
DESERT WILDERNESS
DESIGNATION AND PROTECTION
Terry Frewin
[email protected]
805-966-3754
MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE
Sid Silliman
[email protected]
CARRIZO NATIONAL MONUMENT
Craig Deutsche
[email protected]
310-477-6670
OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ISSUES
Terry Weiner
[email protected]
619-342-5524
George Barnes (public lands)
[email protected]
650-494-8895
MINING ISSUES
Stan Haye
760-375-8973
NEVADA WATER ISSUES
John Hiatt
[email protected]
702-361-1171
PANAMINT/INYO MOUNTAINS
Tom Budlong
[email protected]
310-963-1731
DESERT REPORT DECEMBER 2013
23
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