On Friday’s Z1077 Up Close Show, host Gary Daigneault spoke with Chair of the County Board of Supervisors Dawn Rowe, who was asked about how and why the County works with the Mojave Desert Land Trust. Rowe said that the county collaborates with the MDLT on species mitigation efforts. Rowe explained mitigation efforts as a way to offset the impact of development on protected or endangered species
Dawn Rowe: “So if you’re going to purchase one acre of land, and the offset is a half acre, that developer has to buy a half acre somewhere else and dedicate it in perpetuity to conservation efforts.”
Rowe described the county’s relationship with the MDLT:
“They have a specific mission which is acquiring lands that is sometime sympatico with the county and sometimes challenging for the county. We have species that we have to mitigate when we have development projects that move forward, so if the county ever wanted to do a multi-species habitat conservation plan, that would allow pathways for development by mitigating the impact to certain species, it’s hard for the county to consider this as an option in certain areas because there isn’t land available for the county to acquire for mitigation. This is something that the land trust could work with the county on, because they are specifically buying land for mitigation.”
Rowe will be holding an open house with representatives from the Mojave Desert Land Trust one week from today at 4:30 p.m. at the Joshua Tree Community Center.
You can hear the full interview with Supervisor Rowe by listening to the Up Close Show as a podcast at Z1077fm.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
