This is a non-copywrited press release, so I'm posting in full. There is also more information at the link below.
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PRESS ADVISORY: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Obama Administration Recognizes Joshua Tree National Park’s Importance To The American People
Contact:
Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager, CREDO Action: (415) 369-2000
Jessica Lass, Natural Resources Defense Council: (310) 434-2300
Donna or Larry Charpied, Citizens for the Chuckwalla Valley: (760) 392-4722
Eagle Mountain, CA: On Friday, February 25, the Obama Administration dealt a heavy blow to the proposed Eagle Mountain dump at Eagle Mountain, nestled in the arms of Joshua Tree National Park. After nearly 24 years of defending the dump in court, the Department of Interior reversed its longstanding position and opposed the dump developer’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. This substantially weakens the developer’s case and may persuade the Supreme Court to reject the petition, leaving in place lower court rulings that protect the park.
CREDO Action, the activism arm of CREDO Mobile, alerted the Public to the severe consequences to Joshua Tree National Park if the dump would go to fruition. The Action Alerts said in part,
“…Landfill impacts have a nasty habit of creeping over borders and boundaries. And Eagle Mountain would be an especially nasty neighbor.
The landfill would take in 20,000 tons of garbage per day, 16 hours a day, six days a week, for 117 years—posing a profound threat to the desert ecosystem and imperiled species that the next-door National Park is designed to protect.
The Department of the Interior has twice sided with the developers in favor of the landfill—but so far hasn’t taken a position on their appeal to the Supreme Court. The agency’s position could impact whether or not the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. And if that happens, it likely won’t be good news for Joshua Tree.
The Department of the Interior has a deadline of February 25th to submit its position to the Court. Secretary Salazar needs to hear from us this week that he must act to protect Joshua Tree National Park…”
“We were stunned by Kaiser Venture’s outrageous proposal and overwhelmed by the response from more than 95,000 CREDO Action members who love Joshua Tree and took action to protect it. It’s thrilling that Secretary Salazar listened to the voices of so many citizens, and made the right decision”, CREDO’s Elijah Zarlin exclaims.
Donna Charpied, a long time dump foe, desert activist, and recent recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award said she is proud of the government for not siding with the polluters again. “This may well be the death knell for the dump project. During these times with partisan politics and brutal negativity, it is quite refreshing to witness a step in the right direction”.
Larry Charpied, speaking for Plaintiffs Desert Protection Society, and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, is cautiously optimistic. “We have steadfastly worked to protect Joshua Tree National Park and desert communities from this dump. The land trade BLM approved here would have literally “trashed” a spectacular national park whose outstanding natural values have earned it designation as a World Biosphere Reserve. Shy of Yosemite Valley, I cannot think of a worse place to dump LA’s trash for the next century than the fragile desert wilderness adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park.”
The response to the action alerts put out by NRDC and CREDO provided the necessary tool for supporters of Joshua Tree National Park to reach the Obama Administration. NRDC staff attorney Damon Nagami said, ‘We have supported the efforts of those seeking to protect this majestic park for many years. Working with CREDO and desert activists to craft and publish action alerts was an effective tool to raise awareness, particularly with Secretary Salazar.”
Kaiser’s dump project would have transformed 4,654 acres of canyons south and west of Joshua Tree National Park into the world’s largest garbage dump, which would have received 20,000 tons of garbage per day, 6 days a week, for up to 16 hours per day, with dumping operations going 24 hours a day. Kaiser would have received 3,481 acres of public lands in exchange for 2,846 acres of private land and $20,100. The thousands of acres of undisturbed canyons that would have been covered with trash presently provide habitat for the threatened desert tortoise and sensitive bighorn sheep, and provide a spectacular visual backdrop for those hiking and camping in Joshua Tree National Park’s remote wilderness areas. Now it is time for these exchange lands to be returned to Joshua Tree National Park, where they originated.
http://dpcinc.org/index.php/site/article/obama_joshua_treeNP/
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