California Desert Protection Act of 2010

The purposes of the monument are to preserve the nationally significant biological, cultural, recreational, geological, educational, historic, scenic, and scientific values in the protected areas and to secure the opportunity for present and future generations to experience and enjoy the magnificent vistas, wildlife, land forms, and natural and cultural resources of the monument.

The California Desert Protection Act of 2010 adds approximately 74,000 acres (300 km2; 116 sq mi) of land to the National Park System.

The largest parcel (31,000 acres/48 sq mi/130 km2) is known as the "Bowling Alley"—a narrow strip of land between the southern boundary of the park and Ft. Irwin that was designated a wilderness study area by the California Desert Protection Act of 1994.

The bill adds a 29,000 acres (120 km2; 45 sq mi) area containing the Castle Mountains on the border of Nevada to the Mojave National Preserve.

This land was left out of the original California Desert Protection Act that created the preserve due to an open-pit gold mine that was still active in 1994.

Permitted uses include hiking, camping, mountain biking, sightseeing, hunting, off-highway vehicle use on designated routes and horseback riding.

The bill requires the Secretary the Interior to develop a cultural resources management plan to protect the Xam Kwatchan Trail network extending from Avikwaame (Spirit Mountain, Nevada) to Avikwlal (Pilot Knob, California)[1] that is sacred to Native American tribes in this region.

[8] This section affects all applications for authorization to construct wind or solar electricity generation facilities in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.

The following section requires the DoD to study the potential of renewable energy development on areas of military bases in California and Nevada that are not needed for training.

It was understood by the people working on the bill, including environmental groups, Senator Feinstein, and Congressman Jerry Lewis, that once Fort Irwin finished its expansion, the remaining areas would become wilderness.

[9] The Army finished its plans for the Fort Irwin expansion and enlarged the base to include a portion of the Avawatz Mountains Wilderness Study Area.

[9] The California Wilderness Coalition (CWC) took Senator Feinstein's Deputy State Director, James Peterson, and her field representative for San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange Counties, Chris Carrillo, on a tour of the Fort Irwin WSAs.

[10] Dianne Feinstein, who proposed the legislation, states that "conservation, renewable energy development and recreation can and must co-exist in the California Desert."

This bill, if enacted, will have a positive and enduring impact on the landscape of the Southern California desert, and I hope it will stand as a model for how to balance renewable energy development and conservation.

"[11] The Wildlands Conservancy executive director David Myers testified at the May 20 Senate Committee hearing that "Ten years ago, prominent Democrats and Republicans alike saluted this donation [of Catellus lands] as a patriotic private sector [gesture]".

However, it believes that Title II "would legislate matters that should be left to the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, given the fact that renewables development on the public lands is in its infancy."

Johanna Wald, attorney for the NRDC, testified that "BLM and other federal agency staff have ... little to no expertise in renewables development on the lands under their jurisdiction."

"[12] The Sierra Club calls the bill "an important first step towards achieving balance between the protection of public lands and wildlife in the desert and the pressing need for renewable energy development to address the challenge of climate change" and "strongly supports the wilderness designations, wild and scenic rivers designations and National Park expansions".

"The bill is the product of more than three years of intensive work by the Senator's staff, with a wide variety of user interests, ranging from environmentalists to energy producers, the OHV recreation community, various local and state government officials, and the U. S. Department of Defense.

"[3] "The California Desert Protection Act would preserve the natural beauty of our home for future generations while also creating much-needed business and tourism opportunities now," said Karen Lowe, President of the Morongo Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Some of the most noteworthy aspects of the legislation are the provisions designed to encourage the development of renewable projects on previously disturbed private lands through the creation of Habitat Mitigation Zones in the California Desert Conservation Area."

Finally, SCE appreciates the language in the bill that expressly authorizes the company to maintain, upgrade, and replace existing transmission facilities in the monuments, including the development of a new east-to-west line."

She led a group of stakeholders including Ted Craver, Chairman and CEO of Edison International, two of today’s panelists, Mr. Meyers and Ms. Wald, and others, on a tour of the proposed monument site.

"[15] Dr. Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, testified at the May 20 Senate Committee hearing that "The Department's own analysis confirms that our military's heavy reliance on oil and other fossil fuels creates significant risks and costs at a tactical as well as a strategic level" and that "the military has been actively pursuing solar, wind, geothermal and other forms of renewable and alternative energy."

"[16] The Castle Mountains area "has unique grasslands that you typically don't find in the desert" says Mojave National Preserve Superintendent Dennis Schramm.

"[17] At the May 20 Senate Committee hearing, Bureau of Land Management Director Robert Abbey said the agency is already on track to designate areas for renewable energy development by next year.

Senator Lisa Murkowski suggested that it might be counterproductive to prohibit development before the federal agencies complete their assessments of which lands are best suited for solar and wind projects.