| Senator Feinstein Urges President Clinton to Save Superior Valley |
9/1/99 Washington: Today, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, author of the California Desert Protection Act, sent a letter to President Clinton urging him to stop the Army's proposed expansion into desert tortoise Critical Habitat in the Superior-Cronese Desert Wildlife Management Area that is being pushed in Congress by Rep. Jerry Lewis. This is an important step in the fight to save this essential part of the Mojave Desert. Without saving the Superior Valley, the future existence of the desert tortoise in the west Mojave is placed in severe jeopardy. The text of Senator Feinstein's letter is given below.
September 1, 1999
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton,
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As you know, the U.S. Army is developing a plan to expand the National
Training Center (NTC) at the Fort Irwin Military Reservation in the Mojave
Desert in Southeastern California. One parcel of the proposed expansion,
the Paradise Range, harbors the healthiest population of desert tortoises,
a federally listed threatened species in California.
In 1997, the Army and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS) which included several alternatives to
expand the National Training Center while minimizing environmental impacts.
The Army and the Department of the Interior are currently working to
develop preferred alternatives to be included in the final EIS to provide
an appropriate balance between military training and species recovery in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered
Species Act.
To date, the Army has stated that the acquisition of the Paradise Range is
imperative to a successful Fort Irwin expansion. The BLM and the Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) continue to assert that transferring this land to
the Army will pose significant threats to the desert tortoise. The BLM's
recently released tortoise count and the FWS's own survey of the Mojave
Desert suggests that the Superior Valley offers the best habitat for the
desert tortoise. To mitigate for the significant impact on the tortoises,
the Army has proposed a tortoise relocation plan. This plan would probably
result in a tortoise mortality rate of about 50%, a figure that I find
unacceptable.
Although I support the Army's plan to expand the NTC, I oppose doing so at
the expense of a healthy desert tortoise population. I am hopeful that the
Army can work with the Fish and Wildlife Services and the Bureau of Land
Management to find alternative expansion plans as quickly as possible.
I hope that you will become involved in this issue and direct Secretary
Babbitt and Secretary Cohen to examine possible alternatives that address
the Army's need and still protect tortoises. I appreciate your support on
this matter and would be happy to discuss this issue with you further at
your convenience.
Sincerely yours
Dianne Feinstein
Senator Feinstein's web site
West Mojave Information Page
|
