Desert News 10/21

Tortoises dominate the news this week

October 21, 2024

water falls on brown rocky mountain under blue sky during daytime

10/15

Glen Canyon Dam faces deadpool

The Glen Canyon Dam was built with a significant design flaw: there is no drain at the bottom. If the reservoir continues to decline, billions of gallons of water would be trapped in a dead-pool reservoir.

10/16

As Solar Booms in the California Desert, Locals Feel ‘Overburdened’

The tiny town of Desert Center, California is nearly surrounded by utility-scale solar projects, some of them within frisbie-throwing distance of residences. Locals are suggesting minor changes to projects and facing stiff opposition from companies.

Feds eye streamlined permits for desert tortoise

“The general conservation plan will advance desert tortoise conservation by working with project proponents to direct mitigation to focused areas that have more protection and higher quality habitat,” Peter Sanzenbacher, a Fish and Wildlife Service Mojave Desert Division supervisor, said in a statement.

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Rare plant sanctuary dedicates Presidio County field station 

The station will soon provide a safe place to bunk for researchers hoping to study some of the Chihuahuan Desert’s rarest plants on 2,200 acres of virtually untouched wilderness. The land is also home to rare animals including the Mexican long-nosed bat.

10/17

Judge tosses out Mojave off-road plan for not adequately protecting imperiled tortoise

The court ruled that the BLM failed to show how designating thousands of routes for off-road vehicles in critical tortoise habitat and conservation areas “aligns with the objective of minimizing impacts to this threatened species.” Experts estimate the adult tortoise population has been cut in half in the area in the last decade, based on previous findings.

Plutonium just had a bad day in court

A federal judge declared that plutonium pit production — one ingredient in the U.S. government’s $1.5 trillion nuclear weapons expansion — has to be performed in accordance with the nation’s strongest environmental law.

10/18

Joshua Tree National Park road closures to begin Oct. 28. Here's what to know

The road resurfacing project will close one road at a time until November 11. Access to campgrounds and trailheads may be affected. Check out the park website for details during that period before you visit.

Feds: Lithium developer illegally drained wetlands near Salton Sea

The EPA says the Hell's Kitchen geothermal and lithium extraction project near the Salton Sea illegally drained 1,200 acres of fragile wetlands by dumping dredged fill nearby.

10/19

Arizona Lottery partners with Desert Botanical Garden to preserve native plants

The partnership will pump $100,000 into efforts to protect saguaros and monarch butterflies.

10/20

Big Bend National Park's Chisos Basin To Close For New Lodge Construction

The project is being funded through the Great American Outdoors Act as part of a concentrated effort to address deferred maintenance and repair needs in national parks throughout the country.

10/21

Mojave National Preserve Removes 500 Utility Poles To Reduce Raven Predation on Desert Tortoises

The utility poles, installed in the 1940s, provided nesting and perching sites for ravens along a 15-mile stretch of the Preserve.