by Frances Nicklen | I have lived in the Imperial Valley, specifically the city of El Centro, since I was four years old. I have suffered through dust storms and dry spells and polluted air for fourteen years of my life – but I didn’t always know it. Before my family moved to the valley, […]
by Ruth Nolan | “In the beginning…they laid a woman, Ninmaiwaut (palm) on her back…took a wooden spindle and drilled her. First blood, then fire came forth. This woman then became a palm tree.” –from Tempalpakh: Cahuilla Indian knowledge and usage of plants It’s a very windy March afternoon, and I’ve just driven into […]
by Christian Schoneman | The Salton Sea, near Californa’s southern border, is a GREAT place. It is home to lots of birds, a State Recreation Area, a State Wildlife Area, and a National Wildlife Refuge. It is California’s largest lake. It has been a military training ground and a set for movies. NASA uses it […]
The Ongoing Fight Against Environmental Injustice | by Marina Barragan | When you talk about current events you are usually discussing an event that happened recently, something that happened today, yesterday, and sometimes they are even talking about ongoing events. When I am talking about the right to breathe I am talking […]
Airborne Dust and Valley Fever | By Edie Harmon and Craig Deutsche | It began with a mild cough that would not go away. After three weeks it was apparent that something was seriously wrong. When the cough became so racking that sleep was impossible, medical intervention was sought. The doctor listened to […]
Bringing a Tiny Mammal Back from the Brink | by Tanya Henderson | “What is a vole?” That is a question that I often hear when telling people about the Amargosa Conservancy’s work on behalf of the Amargosa Vole. Voles are small (larger than a mouse, but smaller than most rats), stocky, short tailed […]
In this issue: • Join The Re-vole-ution! Bringing a Tiny Mammal Back from the Brink • Change Comes Slowly To The Desert • EPA and Communities Tackle Childhood Asthma • Desert Tortoise Conservation: Science And Politics Clash • Anatomy Of A Successful Grass Roots Campaign: Communities Challenge a Flawed Travel Management Plan • Lands With Wilderness […]
Floods | By Birgitta Jansen | “I’ve never in my life been so scared,” said Isabelle Woodward as she told the tale of Sunday evening, October 18, 2015. On that night a major storm was flooding Grapevine Canyon in the park’s north end. Isabelle, a park guide at Scotty’s Castle, and her husband Mike […]
Moving Forward with Protection | by Laura Cunningham | Desert lovers applauded the declaration on February 12 of three new national monuments in the California Desert. Using the Antiquities Act, the President issued proclamations creating the monuments after more than a decade of legislative work by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) as well as tireless […]
Air, Water, Health, And Habitat Are At Stake | By Kim Delfino | Fourteen years ago, the California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) and California Legislature decided to approve the largest agriculture-to-urban transfer of water in the country. At its peak, the water transfer would move more than 367,000 acre-feet of Colorado […]
