SB 307 Passes Natural Resources Committee - Voice Your Support for Next Hearing

Updated: Apr 30, 2019

Senate Bill SB 307 passed the Natural Resources Committee, with senators Allen, Hertzberg, Jackson, Monning, and Stern voting yes, Borgeas, Caballero, and Hueso abstaining, and Senator Brian Jones voting no.

Now, the bill that protects Mojave Desert groundwater from extraction without adequate scientific study, and thus protects the wildlife dependent upon the groundwater for their survival, goes to the California Senate's Appropriations Committee, and you can help ensure SB 307 is passed through that committee as well. It is important that you voice your support for SB 307 as it goes to Appropriations as Senator Brian Jones - the sole "no" vote in the Natural Resources Committee, is also a member of the Appropriations Committee.

SB 307 has been slated for a hearing on May 6 in Appropriations. At the hearing, the bill will be placed on the “Suspense File” because it incurs fiscal cost. On May 16, the Committee is slated to hold another hearing to release the legislation to the Senate floor, or hold, and effectively kill the bill. The decisions for holding or releasing bills are made in advance by Senate President Atkins and Appropriations Chair Portantino, so it is especially important to communicate your support to these two senators.

Cadiz Inc. plans to pump 16 billion gallons of groundwater each year for 50 years from an aquifer that lies beneath the Mojave Trails National Monument, Mojave National Preserve, and Joshua Tree National Park. USGS scientists have found this pumping would overdraft the aquifer up to 25 times over safe sustainable levels, but the Trump administration has eliminated the required federal review and placed the project among its top "Emergency and National Security" projects list. With the appointment of David Bernhardt as Secretary of the Interior, it is critical that those who care for the desert speak out in support of SB 307

Read SB 307

How You Can Help - Tweet or Call the Senators

First, anyone with a Twitter account can help get the word out to committee members by tweeting these messages, or your own:

Senator Atkins, Senate President Pro Tem: 916-651-4039 or @ToniAtkins

Senator Portantino, Chair of Appropriations: 916-651-4025 or @Portantino

Senator Pat Bates, Vice Chair of Appropriations: 916-651-4036 or @SenatorPatBates

Senator Brian Jones: 916-651-4038 or @SenBrianJones

Senator Steven Bradford: 916-651-4035 or @SteveBradford

Senator Jerry Hill: 916-651-4013

Senator Bob Wieckowski: 916-651-4010 or @BobWieckowskiCA

Suggested Tweets:

@______ Counting on you to support #SB307! Ensure Calif’s Mojave desert ecosystem isn’t destroyed by project @LATimes calls “essentially useless & environmentally damaging.” @GeneralRoth has right approach backed by @SenFeinstein @MayorOfLA @CAController

Additional tweets (send to those senators listed above, or others who should support SB 307):

The Cadiz "Peer Review" report is PR reviewed, not peer reviewed. The USGS science found Cadiz would overdraft the aquifer up to 25 times a safe, sustainable level. #SB307

Don't gamble with the lives of Mojave Desert wildlife. Support SB307. The wildlife of the Mojave National Preserve, Mojave Trails National Monument, and Joshua Tree National Park are counting on you. #SB307

Cadiz is a bad move for desert tourism and its jobs. Protect the gateway communities for the Mojave National Preserve, Mojave Trails National Monument, and Joshua Tree National Park - support SB 307. The Mojave's wildlife - and humans - are counting on you! #SB307

It is important to also call senators, especially Atkins and Portantino.

Call script:

Hello. My name is _________. I am calling to ask Senator ________ to please support SB 307 to protect the fragile ecosystem and the wildlife of the Mojave Desert, including the Mojave National Preserve, Mojave Trails National Monument, and Joshua Tree National Park. (If you are a constituent of the senator you are calling, please note that as well.)

It never hurts to keep voicing your support for SB 307 to your state senator as well.

Find your California State Representatives/Senators at http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

Mojave Watch urges desert residents and all Californians (and others) who care about desert wildlife; our desert national parks, monuments, and preserves; our wilderness and other public lands; and water conservation and management, to take strong action in support of the passage of SB 307 into law. The bill prohibits water "transfers" from a desert aquifer within the region designated, unless the State Lands Commission, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, finds the transfer will not "adversely affect the natural or cultural resources" of federal and state lands in the region.

Subscribe to Mojave Watch Action Alerts to stay up to date on how to ensure your voice is heard on issues of importance to desert residents and supporters.

We cannot thank you enough for your support and efforts in support of, SB 307. The wildlife of the Mojave Desert don't have paid lobbyists and can't make campaign contributions or hire former staffers as favors to senators. They rely on us. Access to water is a matter of life and death for desert wildlife. The desert is not a wasteland, and we do not want to see it become one, for the sake of Cadiz Inc. making billions of dollars. The science does not support Cadiz. It's time our politicians and our policies do not.