el paisano fall winter 2013

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The newsletter of the Desert Protective Council Fall / Winter 2013 Number 217 P .O. Box 3635, San Diego, CA 92163-1635 (619) 342-5524 http://www.protectd eserts.org continued on page 2 continued on page 2 Conservation Corner by Terry Weiner H appy F all into W inter! I have exciting news to share with you in this issue. You know that or the past ew years DPC has been working dilig ently to expose the myriad destructive impacts already aecting the desert, and slow down the ederal rush to scrape hundreds o thousands o acres o southwest desert public lands or the use o remote large- scale energy development. DPC has worked closely with other grass-roots organizations to raise public awareness o this renewable energy jugger- naut in the desert and to recruit public sup- port or an approach that prioritizes renew- able energy development on roofops in the built environment, and on abandoned mine sites, brown elds or irreparably degraded land close to cities. Despite the best eorts o DPC, other local desert conservation organiza tions and President’s Letter by Janet Anderson W hy is the Desert Protective Council (DPC) interest ed in preserving and protecting the desert? When you look at the literature addressing this question, there are many dierent answers. One example is Lawrence Hogue’s All the Wild and Lonely Places, Journeys in a Desert Landscape in which he takes the entire book to answer the question. Some authors emphasize the plants and animals specic to the desert, or the geology and paleontology. Other authors ocus on the landscapes and characteristics typical o desert climate, as well as the lie style that desert weather enhances. DPC continues to ocus on the preservation o desert plants and animals, many o the geological characteristics o the desert, as well as sacred places o the Nati ve Americans. Te pervasive sunshine in the desert is being exploit ed as a ready energy resource. Recent and planned industrial-scale solar projects usurp tens o thousands o acres o public land with only lip service to the impacts on migrating birds, sensiti ve desert species, desert soils and habitat, and with little consideration o the devastation o the view shed. Tese project planners also dismiss the erosion in quality o lie or local economies and resident humans. Te use o wind turbines to capture wind energy is dangerous to the passage o migrating birds and to local birds. Wind projects, with their noisy turbines, invade the peace and quiet o nearby human residents. Native American sacred landscapes are ruined during the process o erecting the monstrous turbines and the roads required to build and maintai n the acilities. One o DPC’s approaches toward solving the problems o inappropriate desert usage is the education o young people in understanding the values o the desert. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP), in partnership with the Anza- Borrego Foundati on, has developed several programs to introduce the wonder and ecology o the desert to young people. Since 2004, Anza-Borrego Foundation has conducted an overnight camping program in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park or fh graders rom San Diego and Imperial Counties. DPC has been, and contin ues to be, the most consistent and largest under o this “Camp Borrego” Program. Caliornia State Parks also educates children across the state with the “Parks Online For eachers and Students (PORS). Tese are live programs, broadcasted rom various state parks, and beamed as interactive television programs into individual classrooms. Anza-Borrego Foundation and the Desert Protective Council support and help und this project in ABDSP. Another program, which we continue to support, is the ubb Canyon Desert Photo by Janine Blaeloch Camp Borrego Fifth Grade Tent Camp Photos – Palm Canyon hike - Spring 2011

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Conservancy’s ( CDC) project to research various methods o extirpating invasiveSahara mustard rom ubb Canyonin Borrego Springs. CDC works inpartnership with Anza-Borrego to combatthe exotic mustard where it has taken holdthroughout the Park and threatens nativeplants.

In another contribution to educationabout the desert and environmental justiceimpacts on human communities, DPCcontinues to be a sponsor o the important

annual Imperial Valley EnvironmentalHealth Leadership Summit.

As you will read in our conservationcoordinator’s column, the DPC Board isalso supporting and promoting an excitingand important educational project inthe orm o a desert documentary lm

or V. We are in the process o raisingseed money or Backcountry Pictures orthe research and development o a lmabout the wonders and importance o ourdesert lands. Backcountry Pictures are

lm producers with a wonder ul trackrecord o creating nature and historicaldocumentaries.

In 2014 we will celebrate the 60thAnniversary o the Desert ProtectiveCouncil. We are planning a celebration orFall 2014. During this gathering we willcelebrate many o the successes DPC hasachieved over the past 60 years and renewour goals or the uture.

– Janet Anderson, President

El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council2

Solar Done Right, and despite the increas-ing media coverage o the benets o roo -top solar and local distributed generation,we are not making the headway needed toprevent massive ragmentation o unction-ing desert habitat and devastation to sensi-tive desert species.

We most likely would all agree that oneo the obstacles to public understanding othe importance o this issue is the widelyheld, mistaken belie that the desert is a vast empty wasteland, devoid o li e orcomplexity. “Why not ll these vast empty

spaces with industrial development?” wehear people say.Given the widespread damage occurring

across our deserts, it is urgent that we takewhatever opportunities we can to educate awider audience about the desert and inspirethem to wish to preserve it, as we do.

Just such an opportunity has come ourway! In June o this year, as DPC’s Con-servation Coordinator, I arranged a lunch

meeting with the award-winning lmmak-ers at Backcountry Pictures http://back-countrypictures.com/ to discuss the need

or a documentary V lm project thatwould bring the truth about our magni-cent deserts to the American public.

How the ate ul June meeting withBackcountry Pictures came to pass: I had just viewed the extraordinary documentarycalled Cali ornia Forever produced by SallyKaplan and David Vassar, the lm makersat Backcountry Pictures. Cali ornia Forever

ocuses on the history o and currentchallenges posed to Cali ornia’s State Parks.It aired on PBS nationally in 2012 withamazing audience saturation and greatreviews. It is beauti ully done, in ormative,and inspiring. I was so impressed with the

segments on CA desert state parks, that Icalled up the lmmakers and asked them ithey would consider doing an educationaldocumentary about the wonder, beautyand importance o the unprotected andimminently threatened areas o Cali orniaDesert. Tey shared that they had beencontemplating the idea o doing just sucha desert documentary. Tus the lunchmeeting and the launching o the desertdocumentary lm project.

I agreed to be instrumental in seeking

seed money or the lm in the amounto $25,000. Te seed money will pay orconducting research, scouting a numbero desert locations with experts in theeld, writing a detailed Creative reatmentdescribing the stories to be presented,and developing a written presentationwith a preview clip or use in the major

undraising campaign or the actualprogram production.

Te Desert Protective Council kickedoff the und-raising with a $5,000 donationand the CA/Nevada Regional Desert Com-mittee o the Sierra Club ollowed with a$5,000 contribution. Te Anza-BorregoFoundation pitched in $1,000.00 and wehave received various individual donations.As o November 23, 2013 we have accrued$21,000 with $4,000 needed by year’s end.

Background on the lmmakers:Founded by David Vassar and Sally Ka-

plan in 2001, Backcountry Pictures (BCP)has established an award-winning trackrecord making movies that move people.With their previous projects, Backcoun-try Pictures has demonstrated the abilityand the sensibility to create a lm that

could have a tremendous impact on publicperception o these ragile ecosystemsand the need to preserve them. Check outthe links to Backcountry Pictures’ videoclips, bios, press and other here: http://backcountrypictures.com/ and see http://cal4ever.com/ to view the CA State ParksDocumentary.

I hope our member and riends, inaddition to renewing your memberships

Conservation Corner…from page 1

President’s Letter...from page 1

Snow Creek area, at the base of the San Jacinto

Mountains and west of Palm Springs, threatened

by wind turbine development.

Photo by Terry Weiner

Desert Five-spot in bloom, nestled in a dead

Ocotillo. Photo by Terry Weiner

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http://www.protectdeserts.org 3

The Desert Protective Council mournsthe passing o Dr. Robert C. Stebbins

on September 23, 2013 at the age o 98. Dr.Stebbins, the preeminent expert o westernNorth American reptiles and amphibians,

was a long-term supporter o the DesertProtective Council and an esteemed membero our DPC Science Advisory Panel.

He is perhaps best known or writingand illustrating A Field Guide to WesternReptiles and Amphibians, still in printa er nearly y years o its rst printing.As emeritus pro essor o zoology at UCBerkeley, and curator emeritus in theMuseum o Vertebrate Zoology, Dr. Stebbinswas passionate not only about the snakes,reptiles, rogs and salamanders he studied as

a herpetologist, but equally protective aboutthe diverse and endangered habitats thesecreatures call home.

His pursuit o education, outreachand advocacy in the name o reptiles andamphibians, helped nurture the eld owestern herpetology into a respected eldo science, encouraged uture naturalists,and made the eld accessible to the weekendnaturalist hiking with his eld guide in hand.

As a scientist, he didn’t shy away romusing his knowledge to argue orce ullyagainst allowing off-road vehicles to runroughshod over desert lands in Cali ornia.In act, he played a large role in lobbyingCali ornia Senators to set aside the MojaveDesert as a preserve. He also spearheadedthe efforts to turn the open space, StrawberryCanyon at UC Berkeley, into an ecologicalreserve, thus protecting natural habitat nearthe campus.

In his later years, Dr. Stebbins turnedhis passion toward an educational outreachto schoolchildren, hoping to spark aninterest in nature. He made two educationallms and wrote several science books

or elementary school students. His mostrecent book, Connecting with Nature: ANaturalist’s Perspective, is a mix o personalstories, hands-on activities or children, withrein orcements or studying ecology as a wayto connect with nature.

Robert Cyril Stebbins was born March

31, 1915, in Chico, Cali ., not ar rom hisamily’s 15-acre ranch and orchard. Teoldest o seven children, Stebbins moved

with his amily in 1922 to San Francisco,where his ather created agricultural lmsand worked as a UC Berkeley instructorin plant breeding and genetics. Te amilyeventually moved to the San Fernando Vallein Southern Cali ornia, where Stebbinsattended North Hollywood High School.He studied at UCLA, graduating with anundergraduate degree in zoology in 1940 ana Ph.D. in zoology in 1943.

A ellow o the Cali ornia Academy oSciences, Stebbins was awarded in 1978 theBerkeley Citation, the highest honor given toUC Berkeley aculty.

In 2004, on the occasion o the 50thAnniversary o the Desert ProtectiveCouncil, Dr. Stebbins sent our organizationa letter containing an excerpt rom his

exquisitely detailed observations o a deserttortoise, garnered rom two days in the eldnear Cali ornia City, CA in October 1975.He enclosed his eld notes in a card with hispainting o Mojave Yucca on the cover.

Te DPC is proud to have publishedDr. Stebbins paper:Off-Road Vehicles- ABiologist’s Perspective as an EducationalBulletin in our Fall 2009 El Paisano.

We are grate ul to have known RobertStebbins and honor him or his li etimeo dedication to teaching others about the

wonder, beauty and importance o ourreptilian and amphibian riends, as well as hadvocacy or protecting desert ecosystems.

In Memoriam: Dr. Robert C. Stebbins

or 2014, will consider supporting this im-portant project with a contribution towardthe seed unding and/or a donation towardcompletion o the lm. You are welcometo contact me about this project at (619)342-5524 or email me at [email protected]. Donations to the desert

documentary should be made out theDesert Protective Council with the memo:“ Desert lm project”. Tank you or con-tinuing to support the Desert ProtectiveCouncil and our work in 2014.

Cheers, be well and Happy Holidays!

– erry [email protected]

Anza-Borrego: A PhotographicJourney by Ernie Cowan E rnie Cowan began his love affair with

the desert as a young reporter or theSan Diego Evening ribune, coveringAnza-Borrego Desert State Park. Over thedecades, he’s captured thousands o imageso the desert’s unique beauty, which havebeen used in state park brochures, greet-ing cards, and numerous publications. Inthis second edition o Anza-Borrego: A

Photographic Journey, Cowan capturesthe Cali ornia state park through breath-taking images that impress the viewerwith the sheer scope o size, moods, andseasonal variations ound within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Tis arm-chairadventure into Cali ornia’s largest statepark leaves the reader wanting to make the journey to Anza-Borrego, and experiencethe wonders o this park in person.

Robert C. Stebbins in his Kensington, California,

studio in 2004. Photo by Charles Brown/Museum

of Vertebrate Zoology Archives.

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El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council4

By Laura Cunningham

Large-scale solar and wind projectscontinue to invade desert wildlands

in Cali ornia and Nevada, as well as newtransmission line proposals. Despite theplanning effort o the Desert RenewableEnergy Conservation Plan (DRECP),conservation efforts or desert tortoises,burrowing owls, kit oxes, desert-dwellingbirds, and rare plants continue to bepiecemeal. Tose o us who grew upexploring, hiking in, and simply wonder-ing at the vastness, beauty, and solitudeo the desert (including the many pastand present Desert Protective Councilmembers) continue to work towards better

alternatives or renewable energy such asurban roofop solar projects, the “distrib-uted generation” option. In the case osolar power towers, disturbed browneldlocations need to be seriously considered,instead o thriving deserts ull o li e. Ocourse we would pre er all renewableenergy be constructed at the point o useso that long transmission lines do not tearthrough the backcountry. Regardless owhich technology is used, the cumulativeimpacts to the desert are growing.

Most amously, Ivanpah Valley is ground

zero or solar development on a huge scale.Te three solar power towers o the IvanpahSolar Electric Generating System (ISEGS)built by BrightSource Energy and ownedby NRG, is in the testing stage and may bein ull operation by early next year. Whendriving the I-15 south o Vegas, one cannothelp but notice the brilliant sun-like glare

rom atop the towers as hundreds o thou-sands o garage-door-sized mirrors are di-

rected upwards to bounce sunlight towardsthe tower top and ocus solar energy onto aboiler. Te solar ux created in a 2,000- ootradius around the tower can have extremetemperatures – up to 1,000 degrees C nextto the boiler – that has already begun killing

birds and insects. Agencies responsible oroverseeing and regulating the power planthave still not decided how to mitigate orcompensate bird mortality at these largepower towers. US Fish and Wildli e Service(FWS) has suggested solar companies place

unds into oundations and stakeholdergroups such as the Sonoran Joint Venturethat will work toward improving bird habi-tat. But these measures may not be local tothe project.

Te problem with protecting birds underthe ederal Migratory Bird reat Act is thatno mechanism yet exists or allowing aproject to legally kill birds incidentally, asthe original law was written to stop the har- vest o birds or the eather trade when thatwas ashionable in the early 20th Century.FWS has struggled with how to avoid thekilling o birds when “take” permits cannotbe issued or species such as warblers andswallows that y into the solar ux andperish.

Golden eagles have been seen soaringthrough Ivanpah Valley and nesting in the

surrounding mountains. Tey are protectedunder the ederal Bald and Golden EagleProtection Act, in which the FWS can seekto issue “take” permits or incidental deaths.

Te agency has recently been gearing up toissue such permits or wind projects thathave already killed eagles. Recent discus-sions by FWS biologists point to the po-tential need to issue take permits or thesesolar power tower projects as well.

I this is not enough o a threat toIvanpah Valley, two other solar projects arenearing the end o environmental review bthe Bureau o Land Management (BLM):the Stateline Solar Farm project in Cali ornia adjacent to ISEGS, and the Silver StateSouth Solar Farm on the Nevada side o thborder in eastern Ivanpah Valley. Both areto be built by First Solar and would meanthe grading o almost 5,000 acres or phot voltaic panels. Tis is renewable energy thatshould go in urban areas on roo ops andinll structures, not on diverse Mojave Desert scrub with a dense tortoise population.

FWS has recommended against theremoval o this habitat and blockage ogenetic connectivity or tortoises betweenthe southern Ivanpah Valley (within MojavNational Preserve) and northern areas oprotected habitat, areas which currentlyallow genetic ow between various DesertWildli e Management Area units set aside

or tortoises. Isolating the southern Ivanpatortoises could spell doom eventually orthis population.

Desert Protective Council, Basin &Range Watch, and the Desert ortoiseCouncil nominated a new 31,859-acre Areao Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC

Ivanpah Valley: Desert Conservation Issues in a Nutshell

Ivanpah Valley in 2010, before the solar projects began construction, as seen from the foothillsof Clark Mountain in Mojave National Preserve. Photo by Laura Cunningham

The solar ux visible around the solar powertower in Ivanpah Valley. Photo by Kevin Emmerich

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http://www.protectdeserts.org 5

By Diana Lindsay

The enigmatic Marshal South o the Anza-Borrego desert region remains a contro-

versial character to this day, and perhaps thatis what makes him so interesting.

He was a prolic writer o poetry andprose. Te list o published materials includes

more than 90 poems; about 90 newspaperand magazine articles; 97 Desert Magazine articles; and 8 novels. His earlier li e as awriter was overshadowed by his controver-sial li estyle and his experiment in primitiveliving during the 1930s and 1940s that were

eatured in his Desert Magazine articles writ-ten between 1939 and 1948. It is the latteryears that have colored his history. Images ohis amily living on a waterless mountaintople a lasting impression.

Many o South’s desert writings inspireda generation o readers to learn more about

what the desert has to offer – peace, solitude,health, inspiration, mystery and lore. He waspassionate about the desert and advocateddiscovering the real desert.

South began concentrating on the pub-lication o his novels when he was alreadyliving on Ghost Mountain. He wrote eightnovels, two o which have a setting in theAnza-Borrego desert. His Anza-Borregonovels include areas that Marshal South

regularly visited while he lived on GhostMountain that will be amiliar to those whohike in this desert.

In Flame of Terrible Valley , the Vallecito

Stage Station is described as “a sinister,crumbling ruin, which is said to be haunted.”Te story, according to the original Londonpublisher, “deals with the dogged vengeanceo a Chinese ong and the quest or stolengold.” Te inspiration or this story came

rom two sources. One o which was anyaexperience o camping at the old stage statiruins in the 1920s when she elt the presenco ghostly apparitions. Te other inspira-tion came rom stories about his neighborto the north in Earthquake Valley who wasrumored to have been involved in smugglingChinese into the United States rom Mexico

In Robbery Range the historic Wahren-brock’s Book House on Broadway in down-town San Diego was the inspiration or thebeginning o this story. Te early legendssurrounding the Vallecito Stage Stationwere woven into the story. Some o the locahomesteads, cattle ranches, and cattlemen othe area were used as models or charactershe described.Robbery Range reects more oMarshal’s thoughts about the desert’s myster-ies and his spiritual belie s than the previou

book. Desert solitude and silence became vehicles that led to questioning the mean-ing o li e and death and o the existence oother-worldly possibilities.

Te new printing o the two Anza-Bor-rego novels was made possible through theMarshal South estate via his eldest son, RideSouth. It is Rider’s wish that readers redis-cover his ather’s writing talent and that theyhave un reading these western clifangersthat have been compared to those written byLouis L’Amour and Zane Grey.

Marshal South Rides Again: His Anza-

Borrego Novels includes both Flame of TerriblValley and Robbery Range. Te book has beencombined with a bonus written by LucileIverson South that tells “the rest o the storyo what happened to Rider South a er he leGhost Mountain. Te duo-pack, with a retailcost o $18.95, is available rom Sunbelt Pulications: www.sunbeltbooks.com. SunbeltPublications also published Marshal Southand the Ghost Mountain Chronicles in 2005.

Marshal South Rides Again:His Anza-Borrego Novelsalternative with the BLM, which would

protect the alluvial an ull o yuccas, creo-sote and tortoises over paving the area withsolar panels. Tis would also protect theconnectivity corridor in the valley or tor-toises to maintain genetic ow. Te agency

may, however, designate the ACEC but stillapprove the Silver State South project as acut-out.

On November 12, 2013, De enders oWildli e announced a lawsuit over these is-sues, naming BLM, FWS, and Interior Sec-retary Sally Jewell or inappropriate reviewo the Stateline and Silver State projects.

All this controversy in Ivanpah Val-ley has illuminated many problems withill-planned renewable energy projectsthroughout the Southwest. In ChuckwallaValley to the south in Cali ornia, Bright-Source has a proposal under review tobuild another solar power tower project,two towers taller than at Ivanpah, at 750

eet each. Agencies and environmentalgroups are scrambling to decide how toprotect bird li e i the towers are built.Te massive Desert Sunlight Solar Farmand Genesis Solar Energy Project nearbyare already under construction, and deadbirds have been ound at each. A ederallyEndangered Yuma clapper rail was oundat the Desert Sunlight project near Desert

Center, possibly attracted to the “lake e -ect” o the sky-blue reective sur aces othe photovoltaic panels. Many water birdsmay use the valley as a ight corridor be-tween the Salton Sea and Colorado River,thus raising another bird mortality issue orsolar projects out in wildlands.

Near onopah, Nevada, the companySolar Reserve is constructing its single600- oot tall solar power tower out in themidst o a Great Basin desert landscape,and again the mirrors at a distance appearlike water.

With so many large power plants goinginto wild desert, many conservationistsare asking agencies to stop approvingthese projects until more study can bedone about the impacts to birds and otherwildli e. Policymakers still drag their eetwith looking at urban distributed genera-tion alternatives which would save so muchremote, wild habitat and decrease the need

or transmission lines.

Ivanpah Valley…from page 4

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El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council6

Not long ago, we received a postcard

rom Zion National Park in Utah,rom a dear riend and DPC member. Te

photo captured a weirdly beauti ul, isolatedand little-known geological eature o Zion,a system o subterranean tubes called theSubway . In his message, our riend statedthat although he would never be able to visit that area o Zion, just knowing thatthis remarkable geologic eature exists andis protected by the national park, evoked inhim a sense o wonder and deep peace.

Do you too eel that sense o peace

when you ponder the vast wild beauty oour public lands? How would you eel iyour children’s children would not be ableto experience journeying through the Cali-

ornia desert, taking in the vast landscapes,uncluttered by human development andin rastructure? Imagine a world wherethere are ewer and ewer places to campand hike “in the middle o nowhere” hear-ing nothing but the sounds o nature.

Trough El Paisano, our web site, andDPC Face Book page, you’ve learned aboutthe ongoing onslaught o industrial-scale

solar and wind development throughoutour southwest deserts. In this issue o ElPaisano, wildli e biologist/ artist LauraCunningham poignantly summarizes thedevastation currently occurring on manythousands o acres o our remote, beauti-

ul, unctioning desert habitats. Futuregenerations are at risk o being cheated outo the experience o uncluttered desert viewsheds, dark skies and desert silence.

Te Desert Protective Council occupiesan important and unique niche in desertconservation: DPC is one o the very ewconservation organizations in this countrydevoted exclusively to protecting and pre-serving our southwest deserts. Many o the

large national conservation organizationsseem to include desert protection as an afer-thought, while other small desert grassroots groups only have the resources to ocus on asingle issue at a time.

Te part o DPC’s mission to educate“children and adults to a better understand-ing o the deserts” has never been moreimportant i we are to save our desert ecosys-tem. We need your generous support to con-tinue and expand this part o our mission.

In DPC’s early years, our members o-cused on participating in desert land-use-planning and in educating local and ederalpolicy makers about the importance o thedesert. During the past two decades, con-gressional decision-makers have zeroed-inon millions o acres o our western publiclands as the solution to our need or moreenergy. As people have increased their timein ront o computer screens and Vs, ournation’s lack o connection with nature hasbeen exacerbated. In our communities, weare losing contact with and concern ornature, in part due to ewer and ewer local

wild edges (undeveloped woods and mead-ows in contrast to developed parks with“recreation equipment”). As we indulge lessand less in leisurely outdoor exploration,we are losing our individual and collectiveability to expand our imaginations, developour curiosity and deepen our apprecia-tion and caring or the nature immedi-ately around us. Tis puts us in danger olosing our nation’s interest in ghting toprotect valuable natural environments andresources.

DPC’s advocacy through participating in

land management planning, and in protestand litigation, is important but unless weare able to help create or re-create interest,appreciation and sympathy or our wilddeserts, we are ghting a losing battle. Nev-er has protection o public land wwwwoc-curred in this country without the public’sunderstanding and vigorous support.

We know you understand the valueo our desert and want to preserve it. We

would be honored and grate ul to haveyour year-end support so your DPC cancontinue the pressure on our decision mak-ers through our letters, while organizingand inspiring our ellow grassroots groups.In 2014, we especially want to ocus on

projects and programs to educate a broaderpublic about the wonder and importance othe desert. You can read about these vari-ous programs in the President’s Letter onthe ront page.

Tis is the time o year to reect uponall o the wonder ul personal experiencescamping, hiking and auto-touring you’veenjoyed throughout our diverse southwestdeserts. As you look orward to the NewYear, planning your goals and dreams or2014, we ask that or the sake o the deserplease consider making an end o year addtional tax-deductible donation to the DPC.

Only with your generous support canwe be success ul in implementing all as-pects o our mission.

The Desert Protective Council needs your support in 2014!

DPC Turns 60!

C an you believe that in 2014, theDesert Protective Council will turn

60? In November 1954, a hundred or sodedicated desert lovers gathered around

a campre at the mouth o beauti ulDeep Canyon, at the oot o the SantaRosa Mountains in Palm Desert Cali-

ornia, to strategize about saving Joshuaree National Monument rom uranium

prospecting. From that small, success ulcampaign, the Desert Protective Councilwas born and has been involved indozens o desert preservation campaignssince.

Te DPC plans to organize a celebra-tion o our history, our members andour advisory panel, past and present

Board members, and the desert activ-ists and scientists who have contributedsignicantly to desert education anddesert protection. We plan to put on aparty toward the end o 2014. We needyour support and ideas or possible ven-ues, or speakers and your presence atthis anniversary party. We will keep youposted. Look or updates in spring 2014!

Whitewater River Canyon – Coachella Valley. The wild

scenic beauty of this Canyon is threatened from ridgetop

encroachment by wind turbines. Photo by Terry Weiner

By Terry Weiner

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http://www.protectdeserts.org 7

Desert Protective CouncilNew and Renewal Membership Form

Enclosed is my remittance o $_______ New Membership Gif Membership Renewal

Name_________________________________________Address_______________________________________City, State, Zip________________________________Phone_________________________________________Email_________________________________________Please make checks payable to: DPCMail to P.O. Box 3635, San Diego, CA 92163-1635Dues and all donations are tax-deductible.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS (please check) Li e $300.00 one time Sustaining Membership $50.00 annually Regular Membership $25.00 annually

Joint Membership $35.00 annually Senior/Student/Retired $15.00 annually Additional Gif o $_________

Desert Protective Council

Website: http://protectdeserts.orgTwitter: @protectdesertsFacebook: acebook.com/DesertProtectiveCouncil

Janet Anderson , PresidentPauline Jimenez, Secretary Larry Klaasen , reasurerTerry Weiner

Imperial Projects & [email protected](619) 342-5524

Indy Quillen Communications [email protected]

For donations o $50.00 or more, we will send you a copy oCali ornia Desert Miracle by Frank Wheat.

Al red RunteAllan SchoenherrAnn Harvey Anza-Borrego FoundationArt MontanaBarbara Hill & Violet SteeleBetty and Steve Ball

Bill JamesBrett StearnsC.R. and Barbara B FowlerCarol Jahnkow Cindy BurrascanoCommunity ORV WatchCraig DeutscheDaniel L FischerDarrell & Ima Jean WalkerDave VossDave WellsDavid GarmonDavid McMullenDelores LukinaDene Barrett & Patricia GaspersDiana & Lowell Lindsay Edward PushichFleet PalmerFrancis BoschieroGeorge WuerthnerHelen HuffmanHoward WilshireIndy & Michael QuillenIngrid GordonJack MegasJames AndreJan EmmingJanet AndersonJanet Westbrook Jared Fuller

Joe & Donna HopkinsJohn & Stephanie MoodJohn HiattJohn PetersonJulie and Stephen WebberKaren SchambachKathy and Jim Dice

Kristine and Brian owerLarry HendricksonLarry KlaasenLawrence MaxwellLeslie and Steven HartmanLeslie MorganLetty & Courtney MankerLuAnn TompsonMarie & Glenna BarrettMartha DickesMesonika PiecuchMichael and Sally Noack Michael FromeMichael Howard

Pam NelsonPat Scully Paul A MitchellPaul SmithPauline JimenezPeggy WhiteheadPhilip Leitner

Philip PrydeRalph SingerRick RyanRobert FischerShannon Dougherty & David LagardaSheila BowersSierra Club, CA/NV Desert CmtStacy Goss

erry Frewinerry R Weinerom Budlong

Vicky HooverWen ChangWes and Celeste Cater

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Desert ProtectiveCouncilSince 1954protectdeserts.org

P.O. Box 3635San Diego, CA92163-1635

The newsletter of the Desert Protective Council

El Paisano #217 Fall / Winter 2013

Inside:

3 In Memoriam:Dr. Stebbins

4 Ivanpah Valley

Issues

5 Book Review

6 DPC Needs YourSupport in 2014

One of my favorite places in the desert is south of Searchlight Nevada, where you can watch the sun and Spirit Mountain interact in color,and see across the Piute Valley to the Mojave National Preserve. Unfortunately, the view captured in this photo would be shattered by theapproved Searchlight Wind Energy project, if it is built. Photo by Shaun Gonzales