They may be sites that you have visited… and now, there’s a widely supported proposal to protect scenic public lands in the California desert.
It’s a grassroots, ground-up proposal with over a decade of work being done by local leaders to protect these areas, and designate them as national monuments.
They not only provide beauty but support the local tourism and outdoor recreation economy.
Marina Barragan, is a young organizer from the Sierra Club.
She says the Sierra Club and Senator Diane Feinstein are in support of protecting these desert public lands, and she hopes President Obama will also get behind the effort.
“Making these lands monuments would protect them, so I think that everyone should really care because it’s another place to enjoy in peace and in its natural beauty without being industrialized, it’s land that we don’t really have anymore.” – Marina Barragan, Sierra Club.
National monument designations for these three landscapes – Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains – will protect their beauty and history,
• Natural Wonders: The Mojave Trails is home to the longest undeveloped stretch of historic Route 66. Sand to Snow has the tallest peak in all of Southern California. Castle Mountains has rocky peaks, Joshua trees, and stunning views of the California and Nevada desert mountain ranges.
• Historic: Castle Mountains are considered a ‘living laboratory’ showcasing the progression of human history in the Eastern Mojave where you can find elements of Native American, Western American, and mining history. The Mojave Trail has irreplaceable archaeological and cultural sites including Native American Trails and trade routes. Within the Mojave Trail there are also 550 million-year-old trilobite fossil beds of the Marble Mountain and other geologic formations. The Mojave Trails represents the largest land gift in U.S. History with over 200,000 private acres donated to the federal government for conservation in perpetuity.
• Wildlife: Castle Mountains provides critical habitat for the desert animals including desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, bobcats, mountain lions, golden eagles, Swainson’s hawks, desert tortoise, Gila monsters, prairie falcons, Bendire’s thrashers, grey vireo. Sand to Snow is one of the most critical wildlife corridors in Southern California.
