Obama to designate new national monuments in the California desert

[elmac]

Source: Washington Post

President Obama has set aside more of America’s lands and waters for conservation protection than any of his predecessors, and he is preparing to do even more before he leaves office next year. The result may be one of the most expansive environmental and historic-preservation legacies in presidential history.

On Friday, Obama will designate more than 1.8 million acres of California desert for protection with the creation of three national monuments: Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow. The new monuments will connect three existing sites — Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks and the Mojave National Preserve — to create the second-largest desert preserve in the world.

Obama has unilaterally protected more than 260 million acres of America’s lands and waters under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which gives the president wide latitude to safeguard at-risk federal lands that have cultural, historic or scientific value.

The act is among the most powerful tools at any president’s disposal. Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked the law more than any president in history; Harold L. Ickes, his interior secretary, kept a pile of potential national-monument declarations in a desk and pulled them out whenever Roosevelt was in a good mood.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-to-designate-new-national-monuments-in-the-california-desert/2016/02/11/5b77db4e-c6be-11e5-a4aa-f25866ba0dc6_story.html

[SunSeeker]

1. Excellent. Joshua Tree is otherworldy. nt

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

7. JTNP is practically in my back yard

We can see the entrance from our kitchen window. What's nice is that we've reached the age to qualify for a free Senior Pass to visit the National Parks.

You can see the Salton Sea from Key's View, and hear the coyotes yelping at night. Wonderful.

I'm happy to hear even more of the desert will be protected.

[dhill926]

11. you live in a stunningly beautiful area....

great work by O.

[JudyM]

13. You're so lucky. Would love to see any pics you have!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

14. Here's one of my favorites

I'd show you more, but not only did my computer hard drive crash, but also the back up hard drive. Moral: back up your back ups on discs.

[JudyM]

15. Gorgeous! Whoa.

So sorry about your hard drives. I lost a couple, as well... Heartbreaking and frustrating. Was it Windows? Both of mine died from updates!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

17. Yeah, it was classic Windows behavior

And I hadn't thought about it being related to an update. All I know is I turned off my computer and when I went to turn it back on it said -- well, it didn't say anything. Fortunately many of my earlier photos of living in Alaska and Hawaii were pre-digital, so unless I have a shoe-box failure I should be in good shape.

[GummyBearz]

10. Yea

Especially when your there tripping balls on acid

[ancianita]

2. That's my president!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. The Pave-The-Earth crowd and esp. the Bundy Gang will go nuts, again. . nt

[elmac]

4. Yep, kind of like giving the middle finger to all those Bundy nuts

a day after the refuge was cleared out. Sometimes things just work out that way, wink, wink.

[Matthew28]

6. This is why we must fight them and go nutz on them.

We can not allow these evil people to get into office.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Thanks, so much, to the President, for saving this precious land. It needs protection. n/t

[Galileo126]

8. Thank you, Mr. President...

I live in the high Mojave - it's not a "wasteland", it's something to be protected. It's fragile, but O-so-awesome.

I'm going for a hike today, just to put emphasis on this. I'll pet a desert tortoise for the Prez.

:0

[hunter]

9. The California desert is a beautiful ecosystem that deserves many more protections.

Go Obama!


It makes me angry that people want to "use" or "reclaim" these lands because they can't see that beauty.

Off road vehicle enthusiasts and alternative energy developers are among the worst. (Yes, solar and wind energy development can be a bad thing!)

If we were smart we'd allow no new development of undeveloped lands, and we'd be restoring lands previously damaged by our ignorant and short sighted "use" of them.

[mike_c]

12. the Mojave is one of my favorite places on Earth....

[Le Taz Hot]

16. This Californian LOVES the desert!

I'm older now and can't take the heat but back in the 1970's we'd go almost every weekend. So beautiful. My grandparents retired to Joshua Tree.

Thank you, President Obama.