It's time for those who love the Mojave Desert to take action. It's easy to do, meaningful, and you can sit under your swamp cooler while making the calls. And it might just save the desert.
The California legislature's Assembly Bill 1000, the California Desert Protection Act, would strengthen protections for the Mojave Desert by ensuring water transfers that stem from desert aquifers do not harm natural or cultural resources, including vital groundwater or habitat. The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, as a way to address the threat of plans such as the one from Cadiz, Inc., to sell 16.3 billion gallons of water ( 50,022.872 acre feet) per year from their land in the Mojave Desert near Amboy, for 50 years, to a number of water districts in Orange County.
The Cadiz Water Project poses a serious threat to the future of wildlife across the eastern Mojave Desert, including the Mojave National Preserve and Mojave Trails National Monument. A recent study has shown that the plan would endanger a major spring in the Mojave, contradicting assertions made by Cadiz.
Read more about the study connecting Bonanza Spring with the aquifer, HERE.
Call to Action:
Call State Senator and Appropriations Committee Chair Anthony Portantino and ask he release AB 1000 for a vote.
Call (916)651-4025 or (818)409-0400
Script:
I’m calling to urge Senator Portantino to release AB 1000 to protect California’s desert from the Cadiz Water Project. I believe the Cadiz Water Project will endanger wildlife, habitat, and cultural resources in the Mojave Desert, including Mojave Trails National Monument and the Mojave National Preserve.
Add your own concerns, and thank the senator's office for noting your input.
You can also call your own representatives in the California assembly and senate to voice your support for AB 1000 and your opposition to the Cadiz Water Project.
Find your state legislators HERE.
In addition to calling your state legislators, you may also post support for AB1000 and your opposition to the Cadiz Water Project on social media.
If you love the Mojave Desert, please join us in taking action to protect it. The desert has been drying already, making each source of water invaluable for the desert bighorn sheep, resident and migratory birds, mammals, reptiles, and even insects. Cadiz threatens the survival of this wildlife.
Some people look at the desert as a barren and lifeless landscape. We know better, but Cadiz could make that perspective come true.
Thank you for taking action to protect our desert!
Read more HERE.
Additional coverage:
Comments