Mojave Trails National Monument. Photo by Bob Wick/BLM.
UPDATE - September 1, 2018: Disappointingly, Senators Toni Atkins and Anthony Portantino stalled the community's attempts to pass SB120 during this year's legislative session. However, the Conservancy will continue its work with the growing chorus of voices opposed to the Cadiz company's disastrous plans.
The Cadiz company plans to pump 16 billion gallons of groundwater each year from a basin underlying the Mojave National Preserve and Mojave Trails National Monument, and sell it to a water district in Orange County. The project is supported by the Trump administration and may proceed soon if California officials do not intervene. The groundwater pumping could decimate natural springs that wildlife depend upon for survival, according to research released this year.
But we may have an opportunity to prevent this damage. California State Senator Richard Roth just introduced SB120, a companion bill to AB1000 brought forward by Assembly Member Laura Friedman. The bill would ensure that California authorities conduct proper environmental review of the Cadiz project and prevent lasting damage to our wildlife and wildlands.
The California legislative session will close soon, so we need to ask that California Senate leader Toni Atkins make SB120 a priority. Please call Senator Atkins' office and leave a message asking that she ensure passage of SB120 and protect our Mojave wildlands. Her office can be reached at (916) 651-4039.
Photo by Michael Gordon.