Z107-7 LOOKS AT THE OPEN SPACE GROUP’S 4 YEAR STUDY RESULTS

While some close to an extensive, 4-year study by the Open Spaces Group say the County of San Bernardino, the Marine Base, and the Town of Yucca Valley don’t want it to be made public yet, Z107.7 News has obtained a copy of their report on “Conservation Priorities for the Morongo Basin.” Reporter Dan Stork analyzes the high points of the document…
The report advocates an effort to place substantial areas of the Basin under increased protections, through a combination of acquisitions, conservation easements, cultivating working relationships with the federal Bureau of Land Management, and land use regulation. The report states five conservation priorities for the Basin. They are protecting Joshua Tree National Park; protecting the mission of the Marine Corps Ground Air Combat Center; maintaining wildlife connectivity and habitat; maintaining community identity; and protecting community views and treasures. The lands that are, in the language of the report, the highest-priority lands “targeted” for conservation action, lie mainly in the Pipes Canyon Wash, Copper Mountain, and San Bernardino-Little San Bernardino Mountain wildlife linkage areas; along the northern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park; and section-sized BLM tracts across the Basin. The Morongo Basin Open Space Group is a partnership of 22 state, local, and federal entities including county and municipal government, business, conservation, water agency, educational, national park, and military organizations.