DesertBlog

More Desert Wilderness

Earlier this month, we asked you to call your U.S. Representatives to show support for the national Omnibus Public Lands Bill, containing wilderness desig- nations for over 700,000 acres in California. (If you haven’t called your representative yet, please do so now.)

Now we have an opportunity to get even more of California’s wild desert places formally designated as wilderness — the highest protection our public lands can receive from the federal government.

All you need to do is write a quick, heart-felt note to Sen. Dianne Feinstein mentioning why you love wild desert places in general, and mentioning a few places in particular. Full details and instructions from the California Wilderness Coalition’s Laurel Williams are below. Deadline: tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, Feb. 24. (Please note that your letters should be sent to Laurel at lwilliams@calwild.org, not directly to Sen. Feinstein. Laurel will hand deliver them to the Senator.)

We have an incredible opportunity this week to hand deliver letters to Senator Dianne Feinstein, asking her to protect some of the really special areas that were left out of the California Desert Protection Act. In order to convey the importance and urgency of this effort, I need your help. Please take 2 minutes and write a personal, unique letter that I can bring with me. Letters from people who know and love the desert will make a big difference on what she decides to do.

Here are some talking points, but these letters should come from the heart – if you have visited any of these places, would like to someday, or just like the idea that they exist – this is the time to wax poetic about why you love the desert and want to keep it wild.

• Address your letters to Senator Feinstein, US Senate, Washington, DC
• Mention that there is a land grab happening in the desert right now.
• Between military expansion, OHV use, and renewable energy development, the desert is about to be completely carved up.
• Now is the time to set aside our remaining wild places for protection, or they could be lost forever.
• Name the specific places being proposed for wilderness: Malpais Mesa additions, Slate Range, Great Falls Basin, Surprise Canyon, Golden Valley additions, Big Morongo, Cady Mountains, Avawatz Mountains, Kingston Range Additions, Castle Mountains, Soda Mountains, Deep Creek, Trilobite and Clipper additions, Milpitas Wash, Vinagre Wash, Palo Verde additions, Indian Pass additions
• Many of these areas include lands purchased specifically for conservation
• Many of these pristine places are immediately threatened by development that could easily be done in a more appropriate place
• Tell Senator Feinstein that you would like her to craft legislation to protect these places
• Make sure to include your name and address so that she knows you are a real live person

Please email me your letter ASAP so that I can deliver it (don’t send it in directly, or it may not get read in time): lwilliams@calwild.org

Thank you in advance for all your help!

–Laurel

Photo of Picacho Wilderness by Nick Ervin

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