Threats to Conservation Lands: Reevaluation of the Desert Renewable Energy Plan
Presented by Frazier Haney
The June chapter meeting speaker will be Frazier Haney, who will discuss the impacts of the Trump Administration’s recent decision to review the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at the San Bernardino county Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands. Frazier is Land Conservation Director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust. However, he will not represent the Trust. His opinions will be his own.
The recent Trump Administration decision to review the DRECP has alarmed both advocates of wild land preservation and advocates of renewable energy. Fears are that BLM lands protected by the DRECP, such as the Chuckwalla Bench and Juniper Flats, will be opened for development, while unnecessary delays and litigation will disrupt the growth of the renewable energy industry. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), one of the partner agencies of the DRECP, is conducting public scoping meetings for input on possible changes to the plan.
The DRECP was adopted in 2016 after eight years of study and negotiations. It encompasses over 22.5 million acres of BLM land in seven California counties, including Riverside and San Bernardino. The plan identifies desert conservation lands to be protected for their wilderness, wildlife, and recreation values. Carefully crafted by the public, federal, state, and local governments, utilities, renewable energy developers, and conservationists. It is a carefully crafted balance between conservation and energy development. DRECP partner agencies besides the BLM include the California Energy Commission and Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Frazier Haney has been the Conservation Director at the Mojave Desert Land Trust since September 2013. He grew up hiking, climbing, and camping in the Midwest and the California Desert. Finishing a bachelor’s degree in ecology at UC Santa Cruz, Frazier began his career managing preserves for the Wildlands Conservancy. He now serves in volunteer capacity on the Board of The Wildlands Conservancy, and is actively involved in the high desert community, helping to educate the public on the value of conservation. He currently lives in Joshua Tree with his wife Jamie and their daughter Lily. He gave a program on California’s new national monuments at the August 2016 chapter meeting.
