el paisano winter/spring 2015

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The newsletter of the Desert Protective Council Winter/Spring 2015 Number 220

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

continued on page 2continued on page 2

by Mary Ann Carmack & Judy Palmer

This is a story about a river, a desert, anadventure, and a dream. Te river isthe Amargosa, the desert in and aroundDeath Valley National Park, the adventureis a 14-day hike along the river, and thedream is all about preserving this piece othe planet Earth.

THE RIVERFew people know about Death Valleys

Amargosa River. Originating just northo Beatty, Nevada as a bubbling spring in

a rural meadow, it courses 170 (274 km)miles through dramatic and varied scenery.Unique in many ways the river provideshabitat or many rare and endangeredplants and animals such as the AmargosaVole, oad and Niterwort.

THE DESERTTe river flows through Death Valley,

one o the lowest, hottest, driest places on

2014 MinervaHoyt DesertConservationAward to DPC

W

ith the burgeoning o what promisesto be a flowery spring across the

southwest deserts, the Desert ProtectiveCouncil received a wonderul surpriseand great honor: Te Joshua ree NationalPark Association has chosen erry Weinerand the DPC to receive the 2014 MinervaHoyt Desert Conservation Award.

Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, the awardsnamesake, grew up in the late 1860s in awealthy genteel amily in Mississippi. Her

marriage to Dr. Sherman Hoyt led heraway rom the south to New York, andthen to Pasadena where she became activein high society and civic causes.

Her passion or gardening introducedher to some o the native Caliorniaplants. In trips to the southern Caliorniadeserts, she ell in love with the beautyand austerity o the scenery, andbecame ascinated with the heartiness

o desert plants. She was disturbed bythe widespread wanton destruction onative desert plants by people digging up,burning and otherwise abusing large cactiand Joshua trees in the high desert. In1930 she ormed the Desert ConservationLeague with the goal o establishing parksto preserve desert landscapes.

Hoyt served on a Caliornia

commission, ormed to recommendproposals or new state parks. In thatposition she recommended that largeparks be created at Death Valley, theAnza-Borrego desert and the Joshua reeorests in the mountains north o PalmSprings. Having become convinced thata national park was the best option orpreserving the Joshua ree Region, shehired biologists and desert ecologiststo document the natural and culturalresources. Tis eventually led to President

Franklin Roosevelt signing a presidentialproclamation establishing the 825,000-acre Joshua ree National Monument onAugust 10, 1936.

Te Minerva Hoyt Desert ConservationAward was established to recognizeindividuals or organizations who haveworked to urther Ms. Hoyts legacythrough notable achievements in the areaso leadership, protection, preservation,research, education or stewardship othe desert and whose efforts have led toa significant and lasting contribution on

behal o the deserts o Caliornia.Te Award was launched in 2004 on

the tenth anniversary o the conversiono Joshua ree National Monument toa National Park. Te first award wasbestowed upon wentynine Palmsresident, Susan Luckie Reilly, or herdedicated and successul efforts to keephigh-powered transmission lines out othe Morongo Basin.

Beatty To Badwater:Two Weeks AlongThe Amargosa River


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Previous Annual Recipients:

2005 Larry and Donna Charpied

2006 David Myers and the Wildlands

Conservancy

2007 John Wohlmuth and the CoachellaValley Association of Governments

2008 Mark Jorgenson, Superintendent of

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

2009 United States Senator

Dianne Feinstein

2010 Owens Valley Committee

2011 Elden E. Hughes

2012 Steven and Ruth Rieman

2013 Dee & Betty Zeller

Te Desert Protective Council, andProjects and Conservation staff, erry

Weiner, will be the 11th Annual Awardrecipients. Te DPC is honored to jointhe ranks o these very dedicated andsuccessul desert conservationists.Te timing o the award is particularlypoignant since it coincides with DPCscelebration o the 60th anniversary o its

1954 ounding around a campfire in DeepCanyon, Palm Desert.

Te Minerva Hoyt DPC Awardcelebration event will be held on March26, 2015 at 3PM in the Living Desert inPalm Desert Caliornia, not ar rom thelocation o DPCs first gathering.

Mark Wheeler, President o the Joshuaree National Park Association and DavidSmith, Superintendent o Joshua reeNational Park will present the award,which will be celebrated by about 100invited guests.

El Paisano, the newsletter of the Desert Protective Council2

earth. Tis is a winter hike, not or thoseinexperienced in desert travel. Te remoteroute is waterless, winter temperatures canswing rom below reezing to over 100o F(38o C), and high winds (with blindingdust storms) occur ofen. Considerablepreplanning is necessary to saely traversethe arid expanse, and meticulous attentionmust be paid to route, provisions, andabove all, water.

THE ADVENTURE

Troughout history humans have been

inspired to attempt new challenges. Soit was with the concept o ollowing theAmargosa River rom beginning to end.Tis is the ideal winter outing when snowsblock the high mountain trails. Tere isanother bonus; the trek is all down hill!From Beatty (elevation 3307 f )to Badwater (elevation -282 f )one descends 3589 f (1094 m). Alongthe way, accommodations can be had athistoric Death Valley Junction, ShoshoneVillage, and ecopa Hot Springs Resort toprovide brie respites rom desert camping.

Te first hal o the hike generally ollowsalong the old rail bed o the onopah &idewater Railroad (RR) that served theregion rom 1909 until 1938.

Starting in Beatty the route initiallyollows the rock-strewn riverbed andthe relatively smoother RR rail bed.From Big Dune, the riverbed veers westtoward the mountains avoiding most othe settlement o Amargosa Valley and on

into Death Valley Junction. Sections o theold highway also accompany the rail bedand river to Shoshone and ecopa. From

ecopa the spectacular Amargosa Canyonwith its towering cliffs o colorul rocksprovide stark contrast to the openness othe desert.

Bypassing the off road vehicle (ORV)area at Dumont Dune, one enters DeathValley National Park. Here one can enjoysunrise at the seldom-visited Ibex Dunesand the lush oasis o Saratoga Springs.From there, the level expanse o the

Beatty To Badwater

from page 1

2014 Minerva Hoyt Desert Conservation

Awarded to DPC...

from page 1

Last all DPC was honored to receivea $500.00 donation rom the PhyllisWheat Naturalists Fund of the NaturalistsClubo East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.DPC thanks Naturalists Club boardmember and ormer president, Jack Megas,

or enabling this generous donation.Over the past 30 years, Jack has ledmany Naturalist Club trips to the desertsouthwest. His popular educational tripslide shows have beguiled other NaturalistClub members and riends into doing theirown explorations o the western deserts.Jack deeply appreciates the need to protectour deserts and he has been a long-termsupporter and member o the DesertProtective Council.

Te Naturalists Clubwas ounded in1969 or the purpose o actively promotingknowledge and appreciation o our naturalenvironment. It is an all-volunteer,non-profit organization. Education is themain ocus o Te Naturalists Club. Club

programs are designed to enable peoplewith diverse interests to get togetherand exchange ideas with an emphasison local natural history. Activities aregeared to the layperson, to acquaint her/him with the natural world through fieldtrips, workshops, and courses. Part o theNaturalists Club mission is to preserve thenatural environment. You can learn moreabout the Naturalists Club on theirweb site: www.naturalist-club.org.

Noteworthy Recent Donations to the DPC General Fund

Amargosa River Walk in Beatty, Nevada

Perennial Waterfall in Amargosa Canyon


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by Laura Cunninghamphotos by Laura Cunningham

The Crescent Dunes Solar Project hasa 653-oot tall solar power tower builton public land near onopah, Nevada,

similar to the ones built in Ivanpah Valley,but incorporates molten salt thermalstorage. It is the tallest molten salt solarpower tower in the world.

SolarReserve, a Caliornia-baseddeveloper o utility-scale solar powerprojects, is still testing its 110-megawattpower tower project, which was begun in2011.

Te company received a $737 millionDepartment o Energy loan guarantee. Teproject includes 17,500 heliostats (mirror

assemblies) that collect and ocus thesuns thermal energy to heat molten saltflowing through the solar power tower.Te high temperature molten saltcirculates rom the tower to storage tanks,where it is then used to produce steam andgenerate electricity.

We visited the Crescent Dunes solarpower tower to observe testing onFebruary 17 and talked in person with

Bureau o Land Management (BLM)personnel in onopah to discuss a recentbird mortality event.

We learned that 130 birds were killed inthe solar flux o the power tower during aour-hour period on January 14, 2015, as

the birds flew into the intense solar flux oa special test arrangement o mirrors abovethe tower receiver. Solar flux is heat energy(kilowatts per square meter) transerred toan object, and not actually heated air.

A January 2014 compliance reportexplains what biologists on the groundsaw and reported to BLM, the specieso bird is not yet clarified. During thissurvey, several biologists on the projectsite reported seeing the birds fly into thesolar flux, turn white, and vaporize. Noremains were ound. Te solar field at a

distance appears like a large lake in thebasin as the mirrors reflect blue sky, andcould be attracting waterbirds or otherbirds.

During the same survey, two ravenswere seen flying toward the solar flux,and one was reported by biologists to flyinto the solar flux field, turn white, and

vaporize.What apparently caused this bird kill

was a different array o mirrors on standby in a halo array, where a majority o

mirrors were aimed above the tower in adonut shape o intense solar flux. Tis fluxwas so intense and hot that it surpassednormal solar flux, and was only used ortesting purposes as mirrors were beingaimed and aligned at the tower. Te flocko birds haplessly flew into this super-intense flux and perished immediately.

Tis test array was determined to bedangerous to birds and was changed to adifferent array, the pancake array, aferengineers tried to mitigate testing by usinggeometries o mirrors that would not

create such an intense solar flux.What has not been mitigated is what we

believe to be the lake effect o the solarmirror field out in the desert basin whichmay be attracting birds to a perceivedwater eature, then luring them to theirdeath in the solar flux. Tis solar flux willbe intense during operation as well asduring testing, as witnessed at the Ivanpahsolar project in Caliornia where birds

such as swallows are singed and burnedas they fly into the edges o the solar flux,and die.

BLM also pointed out to us that NVEnergy was sending this energy mostly tomines to the east, toward central Nevada,

and not houses. So large strip mines arethe beneficiaries o this green energy.

During bird mortality monitoringsurveys biologists ound ew otherremains, only a wing o a bird in the solarfield area. Future mitigation will includesurveys outside the project boundary todetermine what effects the solar power

tower might be having on surroundingbird habitats.Biologists ound remains o a barn

owl that had apparently collided with aheliostat in October 2014.

Instead o large-scale solar thermalprojects such as this that have greatimpacts to local deserts and bird aunas,we would rather support small-scaleroofop solar systems and photovoltaicpanels on parking lots in urban areas. Tesolar flux issues o these tall power towersmay be impossible to mitigate.

Laura Cunninghamis a naturalist, artistand writer. Her book A State of Change:Forgotten Landscapes of California, is a

captivating and detailed look at Californiaspaleolandscapes and their denizens. It was

published in 2010 by Heyday Books inBerkeley. With her husband, Kevin Emmerich

she founded the watchdog group Basin &Range Watch. They live in ruralNevada.

Solar Power Tower in Nevada Desert Kills Birds During Testing

Halo testing solar flux above the tower

that killed birds.

During testing the tower receiver becomes

white hot as mirrors aim intense solar flux

at it. Birds similarly turn white hot and

superheat to their deaths.

Arc Dome peak in theToiyabe Range visible

in the distance from the power tower.


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http://www.protectdeserts.org 5

by Terry Weiner

The Backcountry Pictures team is happyto report some exciting updates or thedesert documentary. An article about thedocumentary, by producer Sally Kaplan, waspublished in the Sierra Clubs Caliornia/

Nevada Desert Committees December Issueo the Desert Report. (Go to desertrepor-tonline.org). Te Desert Report is mailedto all Caliornia and Nevada congressionalstaff offices and to over 3,000 recipients,so we believe this issue will generate somegood publicity or the project.

Also at the end o December 2014, goodnews arrived in the orm o a generous filmdevelopment gif. Tis allowed the produc-ers to start work on a film trailer or sizzlereel or the project, as well as engage a

social media group to launch a undingcampaign or the project.Te filmmakers were eager to reach this

milestone o securing unds to produce a

film trailer because a number o ounda-tions and granting organizations requireone. Furthermore, the filmmakers, andothers who support the project, preera visual sample, as opposed to a writtenproposal, to present to potential individual

donors as well. As the old adage goes, apicture is worth a thousand words.

Pre-production or the trailer began atthe beginning o the New Year. Te last week

o January, 2015 Director David Vassar, Di-rector o Photography Chris ufy, and As-

sistant Camera and Editor Christian Whitepacked up the SUV with camera and sound

gear to set off or desert locations. Tey trav-eled to the Mojave National Preserve, NiptonCaliornia, Rhyolite Nevada, and Blythe,

Caliornia to film out in the field.Along the way, Producer Sally Kaplan,

and project team academic advisors BrucePavlik, author o Te California Deserts,an Ecological Re-discoveryand Jim Andre,Director o UC Riverside Sweeney GraniteMts. Desert Research Center, joined them.In addition to capturing some wonder-ul scenic shots, as well as detailed imagesrom the Ivanpah Solar Power acility, thefilm team also gathered compelling inter-

view material rom advisors Pavlik andAndre, as well as rom Blythe, CaliorniaNative American spokespeople, Alredo

and Patricia Figueroa.Te finished trailer will be used as acenterpiece or the undraising package tosolicit major production unds or the film.

Te experience o producing this trailermakes the project more real than ever.As producer Sally Kaplan notes, Tere isnothing like being outside on location withactual participants filming, versus simplysaying it all out on paper in proposal orm.

With a film trailer near completion and asocial media campaign about to launch,the producing team eels more than ever,this film is finally becoming a reality. Nowall they need is the commitment o somereal dollar support to begin the produc-tion phase in earnest!

Note from Terry Weiner:As o this writing, I have previewed the

film trailer. It is heartbreakingly beautiuland compelling! I cant wait to work withthe filmmakers to share it with potential

donors. Most o us have contacts or knowpeople with contacts or individuals,oundations or companies that donate toworthy causes each year. I urge each oyou to participate in our DPC campaign tofinish this urgently important documentaryfilm or a national V audience. Pleasecontact me with names o potential donorcontacts and help us procure undingor this beguiling and inspirationaldocumentary. It is my sincere hope that thefilm will inspire appreciation o the unique

beauty and ragility o the desert, and instilla desire to visit the desert in person. I thankyou rom the bottom o my heart.

Desert Documentary Project Update: a Film by Backcountry Pictures

by Terry Weiner

Good news: On February 12, 2015 inresponse to a petition rom the Centeror Biological Diversity, Caliornias Fish

and Game Commission made the rareFlat-ailed Horned Lizard a candidateor protection under the CaliorniaEndangered Species Act. As a candidatespecies, it is illegal to kill, harm, harass orcapture these cryptic lizards without stateauthorization. State Wildlie officials willanalyze the status o the species and makea decision on final protection within thisyear. Te Flat-ailed Horned Lizard resides

in gravelly, sandy low desert habitat and hasbeen in decline or decades due to habitatdestruction and off- road vehicles.

Action needed: In 1964, the sameyear that Lyndon Johnson signed the

Wilderness Act, he signed another pieceo legislation that may have had an evengreater impact on protecting more publiclands or recreation. Te legislation wasTe Land and Water Conservation FundAct (LWCF). Tis legislation assured anannual stream o unding rom off-shoreenergy development income or acquiringprivate lands or priority public uses.Unlike the Wilderness Act, however, it

came with an expiration date. Te Landand Water Conservation Fund is aboutto expire, in September o this year. Howthe und works is that monies (up to$900 million dollars) accumulated in the

und annually are available or outdoorrecreation purposes only i appropriatedby Congress each year. Te level o annualappropriations has varied widely since theorigin o the und. Please ask your senatorto support the reauthorization o the LWCAct, Senate Bill 338, with ull dedicatedunding. Ask them to oppose any efforts toreduce or limit the unding.

Five Oclock in the morning, filming on

location in the winter desert.

Conservation and Projects Coordinator Updates


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Over the 90 days betweenmid-November and mid-February,more than 1400 people signed an onlinepetition entitled, We dont have to Sacrifice

Californias Deserts for Renewable Energy.Te petition was authored by DavidGarmon, M.D., President o the ubbCanyon Desert Conservancy (CDC) andsupported and circulated broadly by DPCand other conservation organizations.

Te petition was in response to thepublication o the draf Desert RenewableEnergy Conservation Plan (DRECP) thatwould streamline the siting o remote,utility-scale energy projects on hundreds othousands o acres o desert habitat.

Te petition highlights UCLAs

Luskin Centers July 2104 estimate o thegenerating capacity that already exists onroofops in LA County alone. Tis UCLAreport estimates the generating capacity on

LA roofops exceeds the 20,000 megawattso generating capacity that would be ast-tracked by the DRECP, and could be donewithout the need to build more 500 kV

transmission lines.On Tursday, February 26, 2015 Dr.

Garmon delivered the signatures andcomments o the petitioners to the officeso Governor o Caliornia (Jerry Brown),to the Chair o the Caliornia EnergyCommission (Robert Weisenmiller), andto the Director o the Desert RenewableEnergy Conservation Plan (Chris Beale).Dr. Garmon was able to meet with DirectorBeale and the governors liaison or overan hour and a hal during which time heemphasized the petition-signers vehement

opposition to siting large-scale energyprojects in the Caliornia desert, andsupport o roofop solar and point-o-usedistributed generation.

During the 135-day public commentperiod that closed February 23, 2015, theCaliornia Energy Commission (CEC)received over 12,000 comments in responseto the 10,000-page DRECP.

Mr. Beale did not provide an estimateas to when the process o evaluating andincorporating the public comments would

be completed, nor when the final planwould be submitted to the state (CEC, CAFish & Wildlie) and ederal (BLM, US Fish& Wildlie) agencies or their approval.

by Dr. David Garmon

This past summer, DPC was notifiedthat our organization was named asa 5% beneficiary in a amily trust o a latelong-term DPC Advisory Panel director.In December we received a handsomecheck rom Elizabeth W. Forgeys Familyrust. Te DPC is deeply grateul to Bettyor thinking o our organization whenplanning or the distribution o her part othe amily wealth. It is a proound honor tobe remembered by this dedicated wildliebiologist. Betty was an active member othe Desert ortoise Council as well as aDPC science advisor. Her desert tortoiseresearch was a major contribution toward

creating awareness o the uniqueness o ourstate reptile and its ragility in the ace orampant development throughout its habi-tat range. Her active participation in theDPC was an extraordinary contribution tothe DPCs work. Betty died in 2007 at theage o 87. Tis donation rom the ForgeyFamily rust was among several wonder-ul surprises that occurred during our 60thanniversary year.

The Sierra Club Caliornia/Nevada

Desert Committee sponsors outings todesert areas. Tese include service trips,carcamps, backpacks and day hikes.

In service trips, groups o volunteerstravel to places in desert public landsto help restore aesthetic values bydoing projects such as picking up trash,disguising illegal off-road routes orimproving trails.

Carcamps involve camping inareas accessible by car. During the day

participants explore the area, doing thingssuch as hiking and visiting local attractionsBackpacks include one or more nights

out in the wilderness, carrying everythingyou need and hiking rom one campsite tothe other.

All o these trips give people a chance toexplore desert areas - either ones that arenear home (day hikes, some service trips)or ones that take them to new areas.

Te hope is that participants will cometo enjoy and appreciate desert landscapesand to value them.

Taking Grassroots to the Capitol

Elizabeth Forgeys

Family Trust

Sierra Club Desert Outings for 2015

Interested in a Desert Outing?For more inormation on upcoming

desert outings, please email Kate Allen [email protected].

You can also go to the DesertOutings section o the Desert Report:desertreportonline.org.


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http://www.protectdeserts.org 7

Desert Protective Council

New 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)Lie $300.00 one timeSustaining Membership $50.00 annuallyRegular Membership $25.00 annuallyJoint Membership $35.00 annually

Senior/Student/Retired $15.00 annuallyAdditional Gif o $_________

Desert Protective Council

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

Janet Anderson, President

Pauline Jimenez, SecretaryLarry Klaasen, reasurerTerry Weiner

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

Indy QuillenCommunications [email protected]

For donations o $50.00 or more, we will send you a copy oCalifornia Desert Miracleby Frank Wheat.I you would like to receive our newsletter electronically,rather than in the mail, please send an e-mail message stat-ing subscribe electronically to: [email protected].

Allan SchoenherrArt Montana, MDBarbara R ReberC.R. and Barbara B FowlerCallie MackCarol Wiley

Carrie SchneiderDave KwinterDave WellsDavid GarmonDeborah KnappDelores LukinaDiana & Lowell LindsayDipika KadabaEdward PushichFrancis BoschieroGary and Lynn WeinerGeorge EarlyHenry M Warzybok

Howard WilshireJack MegasJane HigginsonJanene Colby & Scot MartinJanet AndersonJanet Westbrook

Jim MorehouseJimmy and Judy SmithJohn PetersonKaren SchambachKelley and Mark JorgensenKelley Worrall

Ken SitzKilbee BrittainLarry HendricksonLawrence MaxwellMargie Burks & Larry HausmanMarie & Glenna BarrettMarilyn MoskowitzMark JaynesMichael FromeMichael HowardNeil NadlerPat and Larry Klaasen

Pat ScullyPatrick DonnellyPaul A MitchellPauline JimenezPhilip LeitnerRalph Singer

Ray and Shirley MoutonRich RyanRobert and Maureen CatesRobert FischerSam & Astrid WebbShannon Dougherty & David LagardaSusan Masseyerry FrewinTe Naturalists ClubWen ChangWendy YoungrenWilliam M Neill

Thank you to our members & donors for your 2014-15 donations

DPC BookstoreLooking or reading material about

the desert? Weve done the hard work oryou and rounded up a nice selection toperuse. ake your pick rom a variety o

titles ranging rom Ecology and NaturalHistory, to Literature, Photography andField Guides. Whatever youre looking or,we probably have it listed on our websitewww.protectdeserts.org check it out!


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Desert ProtectiveCouncilSince 1954protectdeserts.org

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

The newsletter of the Desert Protective Council

El Paisano #220 Winter/Spring 2015

Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard Pair

Favorite Desert Reptiles

el paisano winter/spring 2015

Documents