Get Outdoors - Volunteer: Fragile Mojave Preserve Threatened by Airport Legislation

Situated at the intersection of the Sonoran, Mojave, and Great Basin deserts, Mojave National Preserve is a hotbed of diversity and is home to more than 700 plant species, the world's largest Joshua Tree forest, and 200 animal species, including the threatened desert tortoise and bighorn sheep. It also houses prehistoric petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks.Despite its rugged appearance, the Mojave National Preserve is extremely vulnerable to human impacts. Unfortunately, federal legislation was recently introduced that could irreversibly harm the fragile desert landscape. Senators Reid and Bryan and Congressman Gibbons of Nevada have introduced bills (S.930 and H.R.1695, respectively) to authorize the sale of public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to Clark County, Nevada. The land would become the site of a large cargo airport that would eventually be converted to a passenger airport serving Las Vegas.

The proposed facility would be located in the Ivanpah Valley, only 10 miles from the Mojave National Preserve. Construction of the airport facility, airplane traffic, and supporting infrastructure and development will have a disastrous impact on the Mojave Preserve. There are many procedural, economic and environmental issues that call us to oppose this legislation. Here are just a few reasons: The legislation specifically obstructs public comment and oversight that, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, is required whenever public lands are being transferred to the private sector.

National Park Service policy mandates protection for parks' natural resources and values, including "scenic vistas, natural quiet and clear night skies." The proposed airport will likely destroy all of those values. Flights over and near the Preserve will shatter the area's natural quiet and impair the public's ability to hear the natural sounds of the California desert. The night sky visibility over Mojave would be degraded from the airport and surrounding development.A large cargo/passenger airport will generate supporting infrastructure and new commercial development such as hotels, casinos, and new roads in a relatively undeveloped area. Unchecked growth will undermine the buffer of protection this region provides between Las Vegas and the Mojave Preserve. The airport and associated development will be in desert tortoise habitat and adjacent to a desert tortoise reintroduction and recovery reserve. Increased ground traffic generated by the cargo/passenger airport will exacerbate current congestion problems on the I-15, worsening air pollution.

The bills provide no assurance that substantive measures will be taken to reduce impacts to Mojave National Preserve. Although the legislation states the Department of Transportation should "consult" with the Department of the Interior to develop flight management plans that, "to the extent practicable," restrict arrivals and departures over the Mojave, this provision is VAGUE AND not binding.

Here's What You Can Do: Using the information provided below, write or call your senators and representative and ask them to oppose this legislation. Tell them it degrades a fragile national park unit, and it fast tracks the airport facility proposal without appropriate public input and study of alternatives.

Write: The Hon. [name of your congressman]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Write: The Hon. [name of your senator]
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Call: Capitol Switchboard, 202/225-3121

For more information, you can contact NPCA Washington Representative, Marcia Argust at margust@npca.org.