The Newsletter of the Desert Protective Council P.O.

Box 3635, San Diego, CA 92163-1635

Phone: (619) 342-5524 Website: www.dpcinc.org
Spring 2007 Editor: Larry Hogue Number 196

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
The year 2007 will bring changes and new opportunities to
DPC. With this issue you will see our ongoing improvements to
El Paisano, the main method by which we stay in touch with
you, our valued members, as well as policymakers and
academics.
Reflective of our growing efforts to improve DPC’s overall
functioning, I invite you to look over our streamlined and more
user-friendlywebsite. We have added new material, removed
outdated items and generally made it easier to navigate and
more eye-catching. Writer/author Larry Hogue, in concert with
Shirley Harshenin, our “webmistress,” will continue to make
refinements in the months ahead. In the new cyberspace world
we live in, a quality website is a must, and ours now projects a
professional standard of operation to the world.
This year DPC is building on its longstanding tradition of
supporting and building educational programs that will enhance
desert conservation. In the last two years we have financed fifth
grade experiential campouts in the desert for Imperial County
kids; moreover, we paid for the hardware and curriculum to
allow students to interact electronically with desert resource
professionals. In 2007 we are now helping to fund projects for
Imperial Valley College’s Ecology Club and its Environmental
Science Program. By underwriting desert field trips and more
we are cultivating future conservation advocates right in desert
communities themselves.
Education, however, is just one facet of our mission. This
organization’s history of robust advocacy continues and touches
numerous issues affecting California’s fragile desert lands (see
the updated articles in this edition).
A third major aspect of our work in 2007 will be
stewardship. We are constantly seeking to locate suitable
private lands in Imperial County to purchase for conservation in
a manner that will enhance existing wilderness areas or
sensitive protected landscapes. When acquired, such lands will
be placed in public hands for permanent protection.
Finally, the Board is actively canvassing for new members to
add to our existing team. We are seeking new board members in
southern California who possess an interest in our precious
desert wild lands and who have available time, talent and/or
other resources they would like to contribute to the mission and
goals of the DPC. Please contact
me or Terry Weinerfor further
information. A fun part of the job is reviewing worthy proposals
in which to invest our
Mesquite Fund ! We are fortunate indeed
not only to have a tradition of activism,
but now also the
considerable means to support projectsbenefittingthe people
and desert lands of Imperial County.
See you around the next bend in a desert canyon somewhere.
Nick Ervin, President
Wise words from author David James
Duncan:*
Too m any of us spend too m uch
tim e learning too much about
destruction. The result is inertia
and compassion fatigue. All the
tim e we spend m onitoring
destruction is tim e that could be
spent doing sm all, effective acts of
compassion. I feel best, work best,
and love m ost when I shrink the
realm of possibility down to
something that I myself can
actually do, with my lim ited
knowledge, lim ited scope, my
Page 2 EL PAISANO Number 196
whole heart, my small thin voice,
my own two hands.

*Reprinted with permission from

Grist online magazine.

WE’VE UPDATED OUR

WEBSITE
WITH A NEW SLIDESHOW
AND EASIER NAVIGATION.
CHECK IT OUT AT:
www.dpcinc.org
Stewardship The campaign to buy Nolina Peak and complete the fund
MOJAVE VALLEY LAND TRUST raising goal of $972,500 (which includes funds for acquisition
SPEARHEADS NOLINA PEAK and stewardship until the National Park can accept the land and
CAMPAIGN
by Pat Flanagan the necessary administrative expenses for the next year) runs
For those of us who live and work in the California Desert, the until May 11, 2007. Time is running out and we still need over
rapid growth of urban encroachment on our wildlands can be $200,000 to complete the campaign. We need your help.
both a surprise and a shock. However, we are not unique. Donation and membership information is available at
Before we blame developers for the problem, we need to think www.mojavedesertlandtrust.org .
about the growth of our populations and the fact that developers
are merely responding to that growth. Advocacy
Our challenge is to raise our voices and efforts so that the SMART ENERGY SOLUTIONS
inevitable urbanization is properly planned to protect our wild PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE TO
places. We need to ensure habitats that support a wide diversity POWERLINK
of life and protect those corridors through our open spaces that by Elizabeth Lambe, Sierra Club
encourage a continuing genetic flow through plant and animal The campaign to protect Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, local
populations. communities, and other natural lands continues to build
Local land trusts, with their entrepreneurial abilities to momentum. In February the State Park Commission met in
acquire critical lands and hold conservation easements, play an Borrego Springs and heard public testimony regarding Sunrise
important role in this Powerlink threatening
effort. For cash starved Anza-Borrego. This
municipalities, as well as hearing was only the
federal, state, and local second time ever that the
land managers, land Park Commission had
trusts are often the held a special hearing on
critical partner to realize a threat to one of
the visions of general and California's state parks.
specific plans. When (The first such hearing,
possible, acquired lands held in November 2005,
are given to the was about the Foothill
appropriate agencies to South Toll Road
include within their proposed to run through
boundaries. If that is not Nolina Peak, framed by the yuccas of Yucca Valley San Onofre State Beach
possible, the land trust remains the steward in perpetuity. in South Orange County.)
The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is currently working Over 500 people attended the hearing in Borrego Springs all
with Joshua Tree National Park to acquire Nolina Peak, a wearing yellow "Save Anza-Borrego, Say No to Sunrise
critical section (639 acres) adjacent to Covington Flats along Powerlink" stickers and banners.
the park’s northern border. This unique and biologically rich Thanks to everyone wearing their bandanas, stickers and
area is the natural topographic continuation of Quail Mountain, carrying signs, the Commission was greeted with a sea of
a wilderness area within the park that is home to bighorn sheep, yellow carrying the message "Protect our Park!" Prior to the
deer, mountain lion, bobcat, and coyote. Although Nolina Peak meeting the campaign had a rally in the parking lot and handed
is undeveloped (except for the one-acre cell tower installation at out talking points for those who were planning to testify.
the top) it is dangerously adjacent to housing developments on On Saturday, April 14, Santa Ysabel resident Denis
the eastern border of the Town of Yucca Valley (view map). Trafecanty ran 50 miles through Anza-Borrego in a fundraising
The Bureau of Land Management owns 640 acres of prime and awareness raising effort to stop the Powerlink. Denis was
wildlife habitat immediately north of the Nolina Peak property. greeted by 40 supporters in Borrego Springs and 20 more in
MDLT is working to turn the Nolina Peak acquisition into a 2 Julian. His run raised over $10,000. Donations are still being
for 1 deal by arranging for the transfer of the BLM parcel to accepted by theAnza-Borrego Foundation .
Joshua Tree NP. These two acquisitions by the Park would The next big event for promoting the message that there are
preserve important wildlife habitat and maintain a permanent smarter energy solutions will be the San Diego Earth Fair on
scenic open space buffer between the communities of Yucca April 22nd. Sierra Club and other coalition members will have
Valley and Joshua Tree. booths where we will be gathering signatures on petitions and
handing out information about energy alternatives that make
Page 4 EL PAISANO Number 196
more sense, like conservation, renewable energy and other
"non-wires" alternatives. To "illuminate" that point, the Sierra
Club's Smart Energy Solutions Task Force volunteers will be
handing out low-energy light bulbs to attendees who write a
personal note to Governor Schwarzenegger.
Number 196 EL PAISANO Page 5
DESERT NOTES by Pat Flanagan … In Ed Bulletin #06-2 by Richard Halsey and
Brief news items from around the deserts… the California Chaparral Field Institute, we brought you
Good newsfor the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge! Wilderness information about fire in high desert and chaparral
Watch reports that Refuge manager Paul Cornes quickly environments and how to safeguard your home from wildfire.
scuttled plans for a live streaming video camera and satellite TinaMarie Ekker of Wilderness Watch points out that the Rocky
dish in the Kofa Wilderness after a barrage of comments from Mountain Research Station also has an excellent video on
hunters’ groups and wilderness advocates. The idea was to protecting your home, and it applies in all habitats where
“bring the refuge to the people” through their home computers, wildfire is a threat, from forests to high deserts. To get your
using a video camera and satellite dish at Adams Well, a desert FREE copy of the"Wildfire: Preventing Home Ignitions"
watering hole popular among local wildlife. As with all DVD, contact Richard Schneider, Rocky Mtn. Research Station
intrusions of technology in wilderness, however, the plan would Publications at 970-498-1392.
have ruined the wilderness values it sought to convey, as well as
potentially conflicting with hunters’ fair chase ethics. IMPERIAL COUNTY PROJECTS AND
Wilderness Watch, the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, and CONSERVATION COORDINATOR’S
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers all applauded the decision, as COLUMN
do we …More good newsfor southern California desert By Terry Weiner
wilderness! In October, Congresswoman Mary Bono (R- Senator Darrel Steinberg, Chair of the State Senate Natural
Riverside) introduced her “California Desert and Mountain Resources and Wildlife Committee, has introduced legislation,
Heritage Act,”which would designate approximately 125,000 SB 742, to renew the State of California’s OHV Program,
acres of new wilderness in the San Jacinto, Agua Tibia and which is due to sunset in January 2008. If passed in its present
Santa Rosa mountains and Joshua Tree National Park. The bill, form, the bill could have negative outcomes for law
which has bipartisan backing, was introduced as a “draft” and enforcement, conservation, restoration of off-road vehicle
will be reintroduced in the 2007-08 Congressional Session. damage to state and federal public lands, to private property
Meanwhile, organizers have been gathering broad-based owners and to other forms of recreation in California. Senate
support from environmental and business groups, including the Natural Resources Committee staff have convened a
Joshua Tree and 29 Palms chambers of commerce. According to stakeholder working group which has been meeting weekly in
Deborah DeMeo, California Desert Program Manager for the structured negotiations to amend the bill to meet the needs of
National Parks Conservation Association , “With this legislation different interest groups. The conservation community has two
Congresswoman Mary Bono is protecting some of Riverside representatives in this working group. After four weeks of
County’s most outstanding wild places for residents, visitors, negotiations and meetings with legislative staff, the bill is a far
and future generations to enjoy.We appreciate her efforts and cry from a form that most conservation groups in the state,
look forward to this important bill becoming”law. … And including DPC, can support. We will continue to work with
great news:A condor returned, at least briefly, to San Diego Senator Steinberg to make the bill more environmentally
County for the first time friendly and then work with members of the Assembly Water,
in nearly a century. Parks and Wildlife Committee. You can view SB 742 at:
Flying north from its http://info.sen.ca.gov/
(read the strikeouts on the amended
home in Mexico’s version to see how the bill has been weakened).
Sierra San Pedro de The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released its Draft
Martir National Park, a Environmental Assessment for Controlling Raven Predation on
California condor the threatened Desert Tortoise, our California State Reptile.
crossed the border over This is good news because previously there was no plan in
the Jacumba Mountains on April 4, spent a day or two touring place to deal with this major threat to a species whose numbers
San Diego’s mountains and deserts, and then returned whence continue to decline across the California desert. The Desert
she came. The three-year-old female, hatched atSan theDiego Protective Council will be submitting comments on this draft
Zoo and released into the wild in 2005, is one of 11 condors plan. You can view the five alternatives proposed by Fish &
released in Baja since 2002. Biologists in the condor recovery Wildlife athttp://www.fws.gov/ventura/ .
effort also report that another female in the Baja group has laid The Desert Protective Council will also be filing comments
an egg this spring, another first for this population. The goal is on the Bureau of Land Management’s Eastern San Diego
for this population to some day connect with the reintroduced County Draft Resource Management Plan. The purpose of this
condors in Central California. To do that, we need to keep these plan is to update planning decisions based on changes in
wilderness corridors open andahem!
– – free of power lines. circumstances and policies since the current land use decisions
For more on the importance of wildlife connectivity, see this were adopted. The current plan is well over 20 years old. The
month’sEd Bulletin, “Linkages: Connecting Time and Space,” planning area includes 103,000 acres with a range of
Page 6 EL PAISANO Number 196
environments harboring many sensitive habitats and species. western Imperial County, north of SR-78, west of SR-86 and
There are several Wilderness areas, Wilderness Study Areas and south of Highway S-22. The area is east of Anza-Borrego
Conservation Column (cont.) Desert State Park and overlaps portions of Ocotillo Wells State
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern in this planning area. Vehicular Recreation Area. The proposed action area
Issues addressed in the five alternatives in the Draft Plan encompasses about 40,000 acres, of which about 14,300 acres
include management of off-road vehicle and other types of are federal mineral lands managed by the BLM El Centro.
recreation, protection of visual and cultural resources, and The Draft EIS considers opening this area to geothermal
grazing. Preliminary concerns include downgrading the visual development because the area is supposed to be capable of
resources classification of McCain Valley (allowing for wind producing enough hot water
energy development in this scenic and highly visited area), and deep in the earth to fuel at
target shooting in bighorn sheep critical habitat near the Table least two power plants and
Mountain WSA. Comments are due May 31, and you can produce up to 50
obtain a hard copy of the document by calling the BLM El megawatts of power. If the
Centro at (760) 337-4400 or emailingcaesdrmp@ca.blm.gov ; leases are approved and the
you can also view it on theBLM’s website. We’ll have full testing shows that there is
talking points on our website soon. enough hot water available
The Backcountry Horsemen of California have submitted a to produce a significant
nomination of Coyote Canyon as “Coyote Canyon Wild Horse amount of energy, then
Historic District” to the National Register of Historic Places. more environmental
The State Historical Resources Commission will consider the documentation would have
rd
nomination at a May 3meeting in Hollywood. The to take place. Noise, Existing Imperial Valley plant
Backcountry Horsemen contend that although the National particulate pollution from diesel construction and drilling
Register applies to “places,” the horses are a character-defining equipment, dust from pad and road construction, loss of the
element that could make Coyote Canyon eligible. They believe currently unspoiled viewshed, adverse effects on the local
that Coyote Canyon and its herd meet the criteria of the aquifer, soil erosion, and introduction of invasive plant species
National Register because of a link to the traditional values of are some of the expected impacts from the placement of wells,
the American West. The equestrians would like to see the horse pipes, pads, power plants and transmission lines. There would
herd returned to the canyon and consider it an “act of also be an impact to off-road vehicle recreation because of
rehabilitation,” according to the nomination. In March 2003, curtailment of some use in that area. The amount of opportunity
after a long controversy, at the request of the Department of lost to ORV recreation will depend on how many leases are
Parks and Recreation, a helicopter removed a band of horses granted and the number of wells ultimately developed.
that had roamed the canyon for years. Park officials said at the The Desert Protective Council is planning to address
time that the removal of the 29 horses was done in the best concerns about the impacts to desert habitat and to “Special
interest of the horses and for the protection of the ecology of the Status” wildlife species, such as the flat-tailed horned lizard, the
canyon. Some of the horses were starving and the presence of Colorado Desert fringe-toed lizard, and the Le Conte’s thrasher,
horses in the riparian area was affecting the movements of the which the BLM lists as having a high potential for occurring in
endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep. You can submit the area. A number of plant species at risk of endangerment –
comments on this nomination to: Milford Donaldson, FAIA, Mecca Aster, Orcutt’s Woody Aster, and Peirson’s Pincushion,
State Historic Preservation Officer, PO Box 942896, among others – also have a high potential of occurring here.
Sacramento CA 94296. San Sebastian Marsh, a vital oasis and one of the last holdouts
If you have input for us on these or any other desert for the endangered desert pupfish, is just south of the leasing
conservation issues, please contact me at (619) 342-5524, or area. Potential threats to this wetland area should be thoroughly
terryweiner@sbcglobal.net . And remember to check our addressed. The leasing area also has a documented cultural
advocacy sectionfor regular updates. history that spans more than 10,000 years; at least two tribal
groups consider the cultural resources of the area as part of their
Advocacy cultural heritage. The DEIS does not discuss how these
ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO SAVE resources will be protected.
THE DESERT: One question which arises from this proposed major energy
STOP MASSIVE GEOTHERMAL development project is whether the mission of the state parks
DEVELOPMENT extends to lands managed as state recreation areas, but not
IN IMPERIAL DESERT owned by DPR. In response to the threat the Sunrise Powerlink
The Bureau of Land Management has held scoping meetings poses to Anza-Borrego, DPR Director Ruth Coleman has stated
regarding their Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the that the mission of California State Parks does not include
“Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area.” The area is located in energy development projects. If the geothermal leases are
Number 196 EL PAISANO Page 7
approved for development, this could set a precedent which will Council. We’ll have pricing and ordering information on our
make it that much easier for the next energy project proposed website soon.
for California state park land to be justified.
What you can do: Obtain a copy of this Draft EIS and send in
comments on any part of the document that concerns you. You
can view the document online or obtain a hard copy by calling
Erin Dreyfus at (760) 337-4400. Mail your comments before
April 30th to California Desert District Office, attention John
Dalton, 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley
CA 92553.

San Sebastian Marsh Photo by David Scriven

NEWS ABOUT OUR MEMBERS

Long-time DPC member Ms.
MYFANNWY CALDERON of
Bellingham,WA passed away in late February of this year.

DPC Board Vice President and long-time member of the Desert

Protective CouncilGEOFFREY SMITH and his wife Camille
Armstrong were recently featured in a front page San Diego
Union-Tribunearticle about their 20 years of successful work
protecting wild areas in San Diego’s back country and
throughout California. The article, entitled “Protection, Acre by
Acre,” described Geoffrey and Camille’s roles in Senator
Barbara Boxer’s California Wild Heritage Campaign to protect
more than 2.4 million acres of California as federal wilderness.
Senator Boxer referred to the couple and other campaign
volunteers as her “eyes and ears on the ground” and said,
“Without them, I certainly could not have gotten as far as I
have.” Read the full article
here. Congratulations, Geoffrey and
Camille, and thank you!

PRESTON ARROWWEED , Quechan Elder, Imperial County

DPC member and founder of the Ah-Mut Pipa Foundation,
through a $30,000 grant from the Desert Protective Council, has
finished production of a 30-minute video presentation:
Journey
From Spirit Mountain . The video focuses on the Quechan
Creation Story, the Colorado Desert’s sacred lands, and the
importance of desert ecology to the Quechan culture. The film
will be sold with an accompanying study guide for teachers and
will be available for purchase through the Desert Protective
Page 8 EL PAISANO Number 196
KEEP YOUR MEMBERSHIP IN DPC
CURRENT If you would like to receive this newsletter electronically
Membership in the Desert Protective Council is based on a please send an e-mail message stating “subscribe
January 1 to December 31 term of membership. If you are a life electronically” to Terry Weiner. Rather than a printed
member you do not need to renew. However, we are always copy, you will receive e-mail notification that the
receptive to gifts to keep our projects going. Many of our newsletter has been posted to the website.
members, life and regular, are most generous, and your
donations help ensure that DPC remains a strong voice for
conservation in all of our deserts. You can donate online
here.
Much of our current activity is based on projects in Imperial
County, as required by the settlement of the Mesquite Mine
lawsuit. Since we engage in many other projects and issues
outside of Imperial County, we keep nonrestricted donations in
a separate account for use in more general desert issues.

DESERT PROTECTIVE COUNCIL --

WHO WE ARE
Nick Ervin,President
Geoffrey Smith,Vice President
Larry Klaasen,Secretary
Byron Anderson,Treasurer
Terry Weiner,Imperial Projects & Conservation Coordinator
Shirley Harshenin,
Webmistress –
www.nutheadproductions.com
Larry Hogue,Communications Consultant

DESERT PROTECTIVE COUNCIL NEW AND

RENEWAL MEMBERSHIP FORM

Enclosed is my remittance of $_______

[ ]New Membership [ ]Gift Membership [ ] Renewal

Name_________________________________________
Address_______________________________________
City, State, Zip________________________________
Phone_________________________________________
Email_________________________________________
Please make checks payable to: DPC
Mail to P.O. Box 3635, San Diego, CA 92163-1635
Dues and all donations are tax-deductible.

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS (please check)

[ ] Life $300.00 one time
[ ] Regular Membership $25.00 annually
[ ] Joint Membership $35.00 annually
[ ] Senior/Student/Retired $15.00 annually
[ ] Additional Gift of $_________

Have you remembered DPC in your estate planning?

Number 196 EL PAISANO Page 9
FAVORITE DESERT PLACES:
GRAND CANYON’S PIPE CREEK Grand Canyon and away from the crowds. I’ve done this hike
by Larry Hogue twice, and seen one hiker on the Tonto Trail section. The trail
Silence and solitude: these are two qualities that the average also crosses Pipe Creek, with its lush waterfed gardens and
Grand Canyon visitor may have trouble finding. While it’s dramatic waterfall.
possible to find silence in the “no-fly zone” over the North and PRACTICAL MATTERS : Begin the hike on the South
South Rim visitor centers and the canyon’s Main Corridor trails, Kaibab Trail, as early as possible if hiking in summer. Four
these are also the park’s most crowded areas. If you choose to miles of steep downhill hiking will bring you to the Tonto Trail,
get away from the crowds by heading to remote areas east or where you’ll turn west and leave the crowds behind. Two
west, then you enter the air corridors frequented by the dreaded rolling miles over the blackbrush-covered slopes of the Tonto
Grand Canyon air tours (OHVs of the sky). I once took a soul- brings you first to Burro Spring and then to Pipe Creek. Pipe
inspiring dayhike to Yuma Point on the Boucher Trail – until Spring, about ¼ mile upstream, is listed as perennial in
8:30 a.m., when the helicopters first appeared. The silence and Annerino’s “Hiking the Grand Canyon,” but it’s always best to
sense of refuge in this grandest of desert temples were check at the Back Country Office, 928-638-7875, and vital in
destroyed. Only at night does the visitor to these more remote summer. If water is available here, the best approach is to carry
regions experience the full remoteness of the Grand Canyon; a water treatment system, allowing you to spend all day in this
this, of course, requires a backpacking trip. shady oasis without carrying a lot of water down from the
One trail offers a solution to this dilemma for those without trailhead. If hiking in summer, plan to leave Pipe Creek after
the time, inclination, or permit for a backpack into the canyon’s 4:00 p.m., to avoid the worst of the heat as you continue west
remote regions: the section of the Tonto Trail between the South on the Tonto and then climb out on the Bright Angel Trail from
Kaibab and Bright Angel Trails. Although these are some of the Indian Gardens. (It’s also possible, of course, to visit Pipe Creek
busiest trails in the Park, this section of the Tonto is seldom on a dayhike from Indian Gardens backpackers’ camp.)
traveled because no camping is allowed here. For the fit hiker For a more detailed description of this hike, visit
capable of covering 14 miles with roughly 3,500 feet of www.freewebs.com/lawrencehogue .
elevation loss and gain in a single day, this route offers the Do you have a favorite spot in our southwestern deserts?
possibility of spending most of a day amidst the silence of the Write to tell us about it!

P.O. BOX 3635

SAN DIEGO, CA 92163-1635

Enjoy this complimentary

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE consider joining today!
Nolina Peak Campaign..................................page 2
Desert Notes..................................................page 3
Conservation Column....................................page 3
Geothermal Development..............................page 4
News About Our Members............................Page 5