The Mojave Desert, a bioregion of pastel vistas, bountiful minerals, and
intriguing off-road trails that beckon free spirits, is the object of an intense debate that will shape future land use and
management strategies.A spreading urban population is taking a toll on the desert, which covers some 25 million acres -- one-fourth of California -- in five counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Inyo, and Los Angeles.
Local communities and government agencies responsible for managing millions of acres in the Mojave Desert are grappling with the question of how to safeguard the environment and economy without sacrificing either.
One way is through cooperative conservation planning, a relatively new strategy in which government agencies work with private landowners and economic stakeholders such as cattle ranchers, miners, and off-road enthusiasts to decide how the lands should be managed.
"Cooperative, coordinated planning provides a framework to conserve habitat and foster economic development," said Henri Bisson, desert district manager of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). "It protects listed species, streamlines the permitting process for development, and provides certainty for the outcome of projects."
The California Biodiversity Council, interested in the pros and cons of coordinated planning from the local perspective, invited community leaders and representatives of special interest groups to its December dinner forum and council meeting in the desert heartland city of Barstow. Discussion focused on the West Mojave Coordinated Management Plan, a proposed multi-agency, multi-species habitat conservation plan that covers 9.4 million acres -- nearly one-tenth of California. The federal government owns two-thirds of the planning area, or 6.2 million acres; 3.1 million acres are in private hands, and the state owns about 100,000 acres. Eventually, the plan is expected to be released in draft for public comment.
Conceived by the BLM, California Department of Fish and Game, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the plan would designate areas to be reserved for habitat, multiple uses, or development. If adopted by local governments, the West Mojave plan would provide a regional blueprint for areas that should be preserved for endangered species, such as the threatened desert tortoise, Mohave ground squirrel, and other creatures that may be listed someday.
The plan would eliminate the need for participating communities to conduct individual environmental studies and case-by-case project reviews normally required to comply with the Endangered Species Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.
Local Perspective
A panel representing local government described to the council their community's
incentives and disincentives for participating in the West Mojave plan.
Brian Hawley, director of community development for the city of Lancaster, citing incentives, said participation in the West Mojave plan would simplify the processing of development plans, thereby eliminating time-consuming steps and cutting costs for projects that fuel local economies and create jobs.
"Local governments are under a mandate to eliminate red tape, and we think the West
Mojave plan is going to solve a major problem for us," Hawley said. If the cities do not adopt the
plan, Lancaster and other Antelope Valley communities should enact a comparable habitat
conservation plan of their own, he said.
Disincentives, Hawley said, are the complexities of the plan, which initially sought to protect two species -- the desert tortoise and the Mohave ground squirrel -- but has become more complicated as other issues emerged, and now addresses the needs of more than 100 other species.
Lorelei Oviatt, home rule program coordinator for the Kern County Planning Department, said coordination is a big incentive for county participation in regional planning.
"We can sit across the table with the agencies being the facilitators and listening to our concerns, rather than just being regulators," she said. "Regulation becomes more of a one-stop shop and less of a shopping mall."
The potential for the public to view regional planning as a government tool for preempting local control and imposing its own land management values is a disincentive for participation, Oviatt said.
Donna Thomas, a director of the Eastern Kern Resource Conservation District, said land-use stakeholders share deeply held views, commitments, ties, and appreciation for the desert. They want a flexibility -- "a living, changing document" that can be readily amended -- rather than a process as unwieldy as "Jello" or rigid as concrete, she said.
Thomas, who serves on a West Mojave plan working group, cited as incentives for participating in regional planning the landowner's desire to cut red tape and avoid piecemeal, short-term management approaches that prove ineffective.
The planning process needs to build trust, emphasize a grass-roots approach, get everyone to participate, find common ground, share the burdens, communicate, and listen, Thomas said.
Distrust and suspicion are major disincentives for participation, she said. Other disincentives include fear among small cities of losing out to more rapidly developing and populous areas, fiscal impacts, turf issues among public, private, and military landowners or managers, and a lack of consensus on scientific studies.
Hawley said people aren't inclined to trust information they don't understand, and scientific studies should be communicated publicly in a more easily comprehensible way.
Ranchers, local business owners, off-road enthusiasts, and community leaders who attended council dinner and luncheon discussions said they:
Loss of access to some old familiar off-road trails troubles Mike Ahrens, southern area
field representative for the California Association of 4WD (4-wheel drive) Clubs Inc.
"I've ridden and camped in this desert since the 1970s, and it's difficult to see that there's anything wrong with that, but there is, and that's why we're involved in these planning meetings," Ahrens said. "The incentive is survival. It's important that my family be able to do this (enjoy off-road activities)."
Ahrens recognizes that public involvement in planning decisions helps local residents make their voices heard while gaining better understanding of the responsibilities confronting government land and wildlife managers.
Conflicts being aired in the debate over the West Mojave plan are being encountered elsewhere in California as well, Secretary for Resources Douglas P. Wheeler, the council chair, said.
"Changes are not always easy to make, but they will be beneficial to us all as we tackle these institutions and problems from a new perspective," Wheeler said.