The Perils and Promise of the Federal Landscape by Adam M. Sowards Many commentators view the United States and its Constitution as an experiment in democracy. And as an experiment, the nation remains forever unfinished, because democracy’s terms change when novel ideas arise, when results of the trial fall short or turn out different from […]
Unsustainable Groundwater Extraction in Southern Nevada by Patrick Donnelly The remote basins of the northern Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin are quite arid, but they also harbor remarkable aquatic biological diversity at isolated springs – oases in one of the driest places on earth. These springs, marshes, wetlands, creeks, and other surface water features […]
A Highway through Utah’s Red Cliffs National Conservation Area by Tom Butine, Board President, Conserve Southwest Utah Due to its climate and outdoor environment, the county has become a retirement, tourism, and recreation destination. It has experienced almost a four-fold increase of population over the last 30 years (to 183,000), and is projected to […]
It’s Still There, with Many Challenges by Gary Gray Our neighbor to the east, the Salton Sea, is still stunningly gorgeous but continues, on a daily basis, to become a greater health hazard and wildlife habitat loss . This giant inland body of water provides an essential migratory stopover for hundreds of bird species migrating […]
Public support for a public resource By Susy Boyd and Geary Hund | Despite making up nearly one quarter of California and representing one of the largest intact ecosystems left in the lower forty-eight states, California’s 25 million acres of desert lands receive very little state funding for conservation projects. By contrast, other California regions […]
A balancing act amidst conflicting interests by Birgitta Jansen | Matt Kingsley, stocky of build and easy in presence, has a demanding job encompassing a wide variety of tasks and balancing many conflicting interests. But it suits him. Matt was born and raised in a Mennonite Community in Indiana, the second youngest in a family […]
Setting an ecological baseline by Sophie S. Parker | By definition, desert ecosystems receive little rainfall − less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) annually. For much of the year, the only locally and naturally available sources of surface water in the desert are seeps and springs − places where groundwater comes to the Earth’s surface. […]
In This Issue: • Mojave Desert Springs: Setting an Ecological Baseline• From the Editor: The Coronavirus Pandemic: A Chance to Learn• The Border Wall is on its Way: Goodbye to the Jacumba Wilderness• An Interview With Matt Kingsley, Inyo County Supervisor• Proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument• Sabinoso Wilderness: Freeing a Land-Locked Wilderness Area• A […]
By Birgitta Jansen | Most people who have ever met Mike Reynolds in person, know that his favorite activity in Death Valley is hiking. Anyone who has ever gone out hiking with Mike has come to realize that his tall and loosely structured body lopes along at speeds rarely matched by others. Terrain so rugged […]
By Kerry Morrison | We have come to invite you to join us, to just add water to our communities at the Salton Sea. Instead of death in dry browns and reds, life in wet blues and greens. These truths exist at every scale. Since our founding of The EcoMedia Compass and Save Our […]
