Organizations Support Mitzelfelt Land Sale Policy

From Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt’s
JoinBrad.com blog

This week I received a big boost in my effort to limit what have been virtually free acquisitions of land by conservation groups and the federal government in order to remove such property from public access and private ownership. Three well-established and highly respected property rights groups have came out in support of my proposed policy, which will be considered by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

The first organization to support my proposal was the Property Owners Association of Riverside County (POARC), the leading land rights organization in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association (LVEDA) and the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA) also have voiced their support.

The POARC was formed to protect the rights of landowners. The association is a nonprofit, public policy research, advocacy, and educational organization founded in 1983. The organization serves owners of large and small properties, including farmers, homebuilders and others whose interests are affected by land use regulation.

"We strongly support the proposed county policy," said Bruce Colbert, Executive Director of POARC. "Property often goes into tax-default due to government restrictions placed on property to serve conservation group constituencies. These restrictions deny the landowners all economic use of their property. It is becoming an all too common racket that needs to be stopped by policies such as you are proposing."

The Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association is an 800-member non-profit organization devoted to the preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the Mojave Desert. The MDHCA currently manages 900 acres in and around the Mojave National Preserve, including historic open space.

MDHCA President Chris Ervin said his group’s support is based on both a concern for the disposition of land acquired by the federal government as well as concern about a shrinking tax roll. "We are alarmed by the neglect and destruction of resources as they come under the control
of the National Park Service," said Ervin. "Erosion of our tax roll revenue is a real threat as the loss of income would likely affect county services or require their elimination."

Chuck Bell, secretary of LVEDA, expressed his group’s concerns about Chapter 8 tax sales. "We support these efforts by Supervisor Mitzelfelt because this has been a long-standing issue of concern for our group," said Bell. "These outright gifts of land to the federal government need to be stopped."

Existing tax laws allow qualifying non-profit organizations to purchase residential or vacant property that has been tax defaulted for five years or more prior to the property being sold by the County at auction. The organization must then agree to use residential property for low-income residential purposes, or to dedicate the vacant land to a public use. These types of sales of tax-defaulted properties to non-profits are set forth in Chapter 8 of Part 6 of Division 1 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code and are commonly referred to as "Chapter 8 Sales". This process is often used to acquire land at below market prices because only the taxes due and an administrative fee are typically charged.

Land conservancies have been acquiring large amounts of private land in San Bernardino County, only to transfer the land to the federal government, thereby removing the property from county tax rolls and in some cases closing off access to public lands. Our county has lost 735,807 acres of tax base and ranches since 2000 to conservancy acquisitions for parks, wilderness inholdings and habitat mitigation.

The intent of my proposal is to return such tax defaulted properties to viable residential and other economic uses, and to maintain the properties on the tax rolls of the County whenever possible to help pay for public services. The policy would give supervisors more say about which groups can acquire land using the Chapter 8 provisions, where it can be acquired and to what use it would be dedicated.

The policy would allow the Treasurer-Tax Collector to approve Chapter 8 sales in many cases where conservation is the only possible beneficial use, and under other limited circumstances. But the policy would also close a loophole that the federal government has used by having non-profits acquire land on its behalf. The Federal Government is not allowed to acquire land under Chapter 8.
Removing private property from the county tax rolls results in a loss in revenue to the county - revenue that could be used to build roads, hire Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters, or to provide other public improvements.

We have lost about 150,000 acres of private land in the Mojave National Preserve to such conservation acquisitions. There are only about 100,000 acres of private property left there.
Private property ownership not only helps the County provide services by bringing in property tax revenues. It also has a role in protecting the natural environment.

Human activities such as ranching have been beneficial to the environment in the past by providing "eyes and ears" on the ground in case of fires, vandalism and other concerns. Humans have also developed and maintained water sources that have benefited species recovery and provided additional sources of water for firefighting.

Livestock grazing has helped keep fire fuels (vegetation) under some degree of control in the past. However, with the continued acquisition of ranches and grazing rights and with water sources being dismantled, we are losing this benefit. We have seen this phenomenon contribute to disastrous wildfire conditions.

Even if denied a tax sale under Chapter 8 — which wouldn’t always be the case depending on circumstances and the supervisor whose district the property is located within — non-profits would be able to still buy the land at auction at a regularly scheduled county tax sale. In that case they would have to pay the going price and potentially have to compete with private bidders. Implementation of my proposed policy would give more private citizens an opportunity to buy such lands. Currently under Chapter 8 sales, the public doesn’t get the right to bid on such properties.

If we are going to lose properties in perpetuity from our tax rolls and possibly lose public or private access, I want to at least make sure the taxpayers receive the market value of the property.

Foster private ownership of land

Riverside Press Enterprise
By BRAD MITZELFELT

I am responding to Cassie MacDuff's column, "Tax rolls, my foot" (May 18), in which she characterized my proposed county tax-sale policy as a disingenuous and politically motivated effort to block the good works of conservation organizations.

Such organizations for years have been acquiring private land at below-market prices and then conveying that land to the federal government. In so doing, they have used a loophole in state law to skirt a prohibition against the federal government purchasing such lands without going to public auction.

MacDuff's assumption that my policy would prevent conservation groups from purchasing such land altogether is incorrect. It would only require that county taxpayers receive a fair price for the land.

MacDuff inappropriately compares this situation to the county's recent purchases of two buildings necessary to house a courthouse and a jail. She argued that the county's desire to keep tax-defaulted properties on the tax rolls also means that the county should have preferred to lease rather than buy the two buildings to keep them in private ownership, paying property taxes.

These two buildings, the Adelanto jail and the "303" courthouse building, were indeed purchased by the county. But I believe this is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Leasing those buildings would have cost far more than the 1 percent valuation the county would have received in property taxes because of the lost equity that would have resulted. Owning the buildings gives the county assets it could sell or borrow against if necessary.

MacDuff said my proposed policy is about my opposition to the Desert Protection Act of 1994. My policy has nothing to do with the Desert Protection Act. She asked my opinion about the act, so I told her. But she had no basis to equate those two separate issues.

My motivations in this matter are simple and straightforward: to promote and preserve private ownership of land and encourage human stewardship of lands in our desert. I also want to ensure that taxpayers receive fair-market value for county-owned land by requiring tax sales to be publicly held at auction.

Finally, I want to keep properties in private ownership whenever possible so that the tax revenue collected can help pay for critically needed infrastructure and public services, such as police and fire protection.

Brad Mitzelfelt is a member of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

Preserve to House Employees at Kessler Springs

The National Park Study finds no Significant Impact for Employee Housing at Kessler Springs Ranch

Mojave National Preserve Press Release
Contact: Danette Woo, (760) 252-6107

The National Park Service (NPS) has concluded a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed construction of permanent employee housing at Kessler Springs Ranch in Mojave National Preserve.

Under the National Park Service Trailer Replacement Program, three existing trailers in the Park will be removed and replaced with one single family dwelling and one two-unit duplex at Kessler Springs. Utilities will be replaced and upgraded to correlate with the new structures.

The Selected Alternative addresses the need for employee housing at Mojave National Preserve, and provides for protection of the cultural and natural resources at Kessler Springs. It also incorporates sustainable design and materials into the proposed housing units, such as solar-generated power, certified wood products, high energy efficient windows, maximum insulation, fluorescent lighting, low-flow fixtures, natural landscaping, and nontoxic finishes. The Selected Alternative was also identified as the Environmentally Preferred alternative in the Environmental Assessment.

The FONSI has been posted on the National Park Service’s Planning & Environmental Public Comment database, at http://parkplanning.nps.gov, at on Mojave National Preserve’s website at www.nps.gov/moja/. Inquiries and requests for copies of the FONSI may be directed to:

Superintendent
Mojave National Preserve
2701 Barstow Road
Barstow, CA 92311

Riding the electricity superhighway

Nevada in the path of new power corridor

Las Vegas Business Press [Las Vegas, NV]
BY BOB SHEMELIGIAN

Today, a half-century after President Dwight Eisenhower created the federal interstate highway system to relieve traffic congestion, the federal government is applying Ike's solution to the nation's power grid.

Last week, the Department of Energy issued two draft National Interest Electric Corridor (NIEC) designations. It's an effort to set the utility industry on a path to modernize the nation's constrained and congested electric-power infrastructure.

Megan Barnett, a DOE spokeswoman, explains that the designation of National Corridors is a necessary first step in providing the federal government (through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) siting authority that would supplement existing state authority, in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

In other words, if a utility is denied state approval to build a new transmission facility within the designated corridor, it could seek permission from FERC ... overriding state authorities.

The Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor runs north-to-south from the southeast corner of New York State through eastern Pennsylvania, and along the Atlantic Seaboard toward Maryland and the District of Columbia.

WILDERNESS AT RISK?

The Southwest Area National Corridor covers practically all of Southern California, part of southwest Arizona and practically all of Clark County. This concerns local environmental officials, who question whether the corridor threatens some of the nation's last great open spaces, including the Mojave National Preserve.

"Reliability is one thing but two of the main reasons for the corridors going into Nevada are both very bad from an environmental perspective," said Launce Rake, communications director at the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada.

Rake explains that much of the power that would be transmitted along beefed-up transmission lines running through the Southwest Area National Corridor would come from coal power plants proposed for White Pine County by LS Power and Sierra Pacific Resources "which would pump soot into the air over the Great Basin.

"In addition, he explained, the biggest power consumer would be the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which plans to take water from central Nevada and western Utah, a move that Rake says would defoliate a huge part of the Great Basin.

"We don't need the growth down here and we don't need environmental destruction up there," Rake complained. "Like the electricity grid itself, these issues are interconnected. Those who work for real estate developers and coal-burning, greenhouse-gas producing electric companies are working against the best interests of the American and Nevada public."

A RAVENOUS APPETITE

But DOE and utility industry officials say something must be done to update the nation's overtaxed transmission grid, to satisfy the nation's ever-increasing appetite for more and more electrical power. They point out that average American homes are nearly 50 percent larger than those built in the 1970s. The modern high-tech age of huge, flat-screen TVs and the explosive growth of computer equipment all combine to draw more and more power from the electric industry. "It's a reliability issue," Barnett said.

The North American Electric Reliability Corp., an industry self-regulatory organization, estimates demand for electrical power will increase nearly 20 percent in the next decade, but mileage of transmission lines will increase only seven percent.

"Despite increasing demand, we have (paradoxically) experienced a long period of underinvestment in power generation, power transmission and infrastructure maintenance," Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said last week, adding that the nation's power grid is becoming more susceptible to such natural disasters as hurricanes and ice storms, as well as the threat of terrorism.

CALIFORNIA, HERE IT COMES

The designation is supported to different extents by several utility groups, including the American Public Power Association.

"It is extremely difficult to site transmission lines," said Madalyn Cafruny, the association's communications director. "The APPA strongly supported the portion of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that created the designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. (We) advocated that a more streamlined, predictable siting process (which) gives the federal government limited authority to ensure the siting of interstate transmission lines is essential to achieving a more robust transmission grid.

"Public power systems own about 8 percent of the nation's high-voltage transmission lines, so many are transmission-dependent and rely upon services provided by other utilities, Cafruny explains.

Ironically, while the corridor runs though Southern Nevada, one local utility expects that power running through it to be diverted from the Silver State to California.

"It really doesn't affect us here very much," said Faye Anderson, spokeswoman for Sierra Pacific Power. "Our state has been very supportive in locating transmission lines to serve the load and benefit our customers but this is really a California issue. The DOE's report doesn't mention Nevada at all."

A GROWTH ISSUE

But Stan Johnson, tasked to manage situational awareness and infrastructure security for NERC, disagrees. "The Southwest Corridor will benefit your area as well as California," Johnson said. "This is a whole-area issue, not just California. Just look at your population growth. You're going to need more infrastructure to carry the electricity and the more capacity to transmit the power, the less it costs.

"Still, some utility officials in Nevada say a better solution to the nation's power infrastructure problems would be the improvement of transmission systems on a regional basis.

"Eisenhower started the interstate freeway program that has helped to fuel the economy of America for the past 60 years. An interstate transmission system (on a regional basis) that takes us from a system of single-lane roads would help everyone," said Delmar Leatham, general manager of Overton Power District.

Such a system would allow better access for smaller power companies, like those throughout rural Nevada, Leathem explains. "Hey, we can all drive on the interstate regardless of the car we own."

S.B. County supervisor's tax-rolls explanation doesn't hold water

Press-Enterprise [Riverside, CA]
OPINION
CASSIE MACDUFF


Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt's proposed policy to put tax-defaulted properties back on the tax rolls is really a thinly veiled attempt to thwart conservation groups from expanding parkland in the desert.

Conservancies and other nonprofits under state law have gotten first crack at buying properties the county sells when owners fail for at least five years to pay property taxes.

Conservation groups have bought up nearly 750,000 acres in the desert this way and turned the land over to the federal government to be added to the Mojave National Preserve, held as wilderness or habitat mitigation.

Mitzelfelt says this deprived the county of tax base and prevented competitive bidding by private parties at tax-sale auctions.

He acknowledges these remote, vacant parcels would bring in only a few hundred dollars in property taxes each year, but he insists it would be better to keep the land in private hands.

If keeping property on the tax rolls is so important, why has the county recently purchased two multimillion-dollar properties with large, existing buildings on them, far more valuable than desert land?

In 2005, the county bought the former state office building catty-corner from the San Bernardino Courthouse from private investors for $23 million.

The investors wanted to lease it to the county, and they would have continued paying property taxes. But the county decided to buy it outright, thus removing it from the tax rolls.

Same with the Adelanto private prison. The county was going to lease it from the owner to use as a High Desert county jail but decided in 2005 to buy it for $31 million instead, taking it off the tax rolls.

Mitzelfelt said buying those buildings was good public policy because the county now has equity in the properties and can sell them later.

But the county is going to stay in those buildings a good long time, meaning they're off the tax rolls for many years into the future, as Mitzelfelt himself acknowledged when I asked.

So this is really about the Desert Protection Act, which created the Mojave Preserve in 1994.

A former Building Industry Association official, Mitzelfelt told me he opposed the act because it jeopardized the future of mining, put large swaths of land off-limits to cattle-grazing and public uses and was "overall a detriment to the (county's) economy."

Mitzelfelt's proposed policy was on the Board of Supervisors' agenda Tuesday, but the board put off action on it until June 5 to give his fellow supervisors a chance to figure out whether they think it's a good idea.

I hope they think carefully before putting sole authority over selling off vacant parcels larger than 20,000 square feet -- less than half an acre -- in the hands of the supervisor whose district the land is in.

Mitzelfelt and his predecessor as First District supervisor have been holding up the sales of tax-defaulted land in the High Desert for five years while this policy was being drafted.

Why did it take so long? It wasn't on the front burner, Mitzelfelt said.

Meanwhile, conservation groups including the Yucaipa-based Wildlands Conservancy and Mojave Desert Land Trust are being held at bay on 141 parcels they want to buy.

Their wait isn't over yet.

County policy seeks to limit `land grabs'

Brad Mitzelfelt
San Bernardino Sun

Land conservancy groups have been helping the federal government to skirt state laws for years in an effort to transfer private lands to federal control while paying far below market value for the property.

I have proposed a new county policy to limit those land acquisitions by closing this loophole.

State law makes it possible for local governments and nonprofits to buy land that has been in tax default for more than five years. The organization must agree to use residential property for low-income residential purposes, or to dedicate the vacant land to a public use. These types of sales are set forth in Chapter 8 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code and are commonly referred to as "Chapter 8 sales."

The problem is, conservancies have been acquiring large amounts of private land and then turning the land over to the federal government, thereby removing the property from county tax rolls and in some cases closing off access to public lands. San Bernardino County has lost 735,807 acres of tax base and ranches since 2000 to conservancy acquisitions for parks, wilderness inholdings and habitat mitigation.

That results in a loss in revenue to the county revenue that could be used to build roads, hire sheriff's deputies and firefighters or to provide other public improvements.

We have lost about 150,000 acres of private land in the Mojave National Preserve to such conservation acquisitions. There are only about 100,000 acres of private property left. Private-property ownership not only helps the county provide services by bringing in property tax revenues, it also has a role in protecting the natural environment.

Human activities such as ranching have been beneficial to the environment in the past by providing "eyes and ears" on the ground in case of fires, vandalism and other concerns. Humans have also developed and maintained water sources that have benefited species recovery and provided additional sources of water for firefighting.

Ranching has helped keep fire fuels (vegetation) under some degree of control in the past. However, with the continued acquisition of ranches and grazing rights and with water sources being dismantled, we are losing this benefit. We have seen this phenomenon contribute to disastrous wildfire conditions.

The policy I am proposing was developed with the intent to return such tax-defaulted properties to viable residential and other economic uses, and to maintain the properties on the tax rolls of the county whenever possible.

Approval of my proposal would establish a new county policy that would give supervisors more say about which groups can acquire land using Chapter 8 provisions, where it can be acquired and to what use it would be dedicated. The policy would allow the treasurer-tax collector to approve Chapter 8 sales in many cases where conservation is the only possible beneficial use, and under other limited circumstances.

As mentioned previously, the policy would close a loophole that the federal government has used by having nonprofits acquire land on its behalf. The federal government is not allowed to acquire land under Chapter 8.

My proposed policy wouldn't prohibit conservancies from acquiring private property. But it would prohibit conservancies from using Chapter 8 access to these sales and avoiding having to pay market value at auction, then later turn the land over to the federal government.

Even if denied the tax sale under Chapter 8, nonprofits will be able to still buy land at auction at a regularly scheduled county tax sale. However, in that case, they would have to pay the going price and potentially have to compete with private bidders.

If we are going to lose properties in perpetuity from our tax rolls and possibly lose public or private access, I want to at least make sure the county receives the market value of the property.

Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt represents San Bernardino County's 1st District, which encompasses more than 17,000 square miles of the county's vast Mojave Desert region.

Supervisor's plan would tighten land acquisition

By DUANE W. GANG
Riverside Press Enterprise

A San Bernardino County supervisor is proposing a policy aimed at limiting the ability of conservation groups to buy land through back-tax sales.

The new policy, up for a vote today, is an attempt to keep property on the county's tax rolls and prevent nonprofit organizations from transferring the land to the federal government.

The federal government owns vast stretches of the county and pays no property taxes.

"Land conservancies have been acquiring large amounts of private land in San Bernardino County, only to transfer the land to the federal government, thereby removing the property from county tax rolls and in some cases closing off access to public lands," Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, the policy's architect, said in a statement.

"Our county has lost 735,807 acres of tax base and ranches since 2000 to conservancy acquisitions for parks, wilderness inholdings and habitat mitigation."

The new policy would give the county, and individual supervisors, a greater say in what groups can buy land and where. It would make it more difficult to transfer the land to the federal government.

But local land conservancy groups say the new policy would severely limit their mission -- acquiring land to help national parks and other wilderness areas.

Much of the land the organizations seek is in remote and often mountainous areas, places difficult to develop, said Shelton Douthit, a consultant who works with nonprofits in acquiring land through back-tax sales.

"None of them have any economic viability. If they did, the prior owner would have kept them," Douthit said. "We do it because we believe there is a national purpose: To see these national jewels protected. This defeats that."

Under current state tax law -- known as Chapter 8 sales -- nonprofit organizations can buy residential or vacant property that has been in tax default for at least five years. They can purchase the land at a greatly reduced price before it goes to a public auction.

Mitzelfelt, who did not respond for a request for an interview, said in his statement that he wants the land returned to viable residential or other economic uses and not turned over to the federal government or closed off to the public.

The federal government is barred from buying land through Chapter 8 sales.

Nothing in the proposal would prevent a nonprofit from bidding on property during a normal public auction, meaning a higher price would have to be paid, he said.

"If we are going to lose properties in perpetuity from our tax rolls and possibly lose public or private access, I want to at least make sure the county receives the market value of the property," Mitzelfelt said.

The new policy, among its details, would:
Allow the treasurer-tax collector to approve a sale of residential land to a nonprofit for conservation when that is the "only possible beneficial use."

Allow the approval of all sales of vacant, buildable land less than 20,000 square feet in size to nonprofits that agree to dedicate the land for public use. The land would have to be "totally surrounded" by other property already dedicated for public use.

For property larger than 20,000 square feet, or land not totally surrounded, the treasurer-tax collector would refer the application to the supervisor whose district includes the property.
That supervisor would have the power to approve or deny the sale.

The Riverside Land Conservancy has acquired land near the Mojave National Preserve, a 1.6 million-acre area run by the National Park Service.

Gail Egenes, the conservancy's administrative director, said the new policy is vague, making it hard to weigh in on it. She expressed concern about an individual supervisor being able to decide whether the nonprofit organizations can acquire land.

"It leaves a lot open to interpretation, especially when the decision-making lies with one individual," Egenes said. "We certainly feel (buying land at Chapter 8 sales) is an effective and good way to make the best use of some of these very remote and undevelopable areas."

Mitzelfelt wants more options for land

Conservation groups are buying up land in the 1st District

Victor Valley Daily Press
RYAN ORR Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO — A policy proposed by Brad Mitzelfelt would give supervisors more sway over conservation groups that are buying county land.

Land conservancies have been acquiring large amounts of private land in San Bernardino County, especially in the 1st District.

"Our county has lost 735,807 acres of tax base and ranches since 2000 to conservancy acquisitions for parks, wilderness in holdings and habitat mitigation," said Mitzelfelt, San Bernardino County 1st District supervisor.

The Riverside Land Conservancy, a non-profit organization, has been buying tax-defaulted properties in the Mojave Preserve. The group can acquire the property before it is sold at auction in what is called "chapter 8 sales."

The process is often used to offer land at below-market price because the organization has to pay only the taxes owed on the property and an administrative fee.

The proposed policy that Mitzelfelt came up with is intended to return such tax-defaulted properties to viable residential and other economic uses, and to maintain the properties on the tax rolls of the county whenever possible to help pay for public services.

"Citizens in this county have a right to enjoy the desert as much as the animals in this county," Mitzelfelt said.

He said that he is optimistic that the other supervisors will support the policy.

I-40 bridge work speeds along

A dozen bridges demolished, replaced in 14 months

San Bernardino Sun
Andrew Silva, Staff Writer

Twenty-eight days.

A contractor working for Caltrans tore down a bridge and erected a new one on Interstate 40 in less than a month.

And that was only one of 12 bridges demolished and replaced in 14 months on the southern edge of the Mojave National Preserve.

"It's pretty amazing," said John Diskin, chief engineer for Skanska USA, the contractor that did the accelerated work.

The final bit of work is scheduled to be completed this week.

In March 2006, Caltrans engineers discovered the 12 bridges - six in each direction of the divided interstate - were failing along a 17-mile stretch between Kelbaker and Essex roads.

While planning and building road projects usually moves along like a snail with stomach cramps, the state can blaze through a project if it's an emergency.

"When it's a dire situation, the state has the ability to go around normal avenues to get a project done sooner," said Traci Peterson, a spokeswoman for Caltrans.

This time the state required some innovative construction techniques, including the first-ever use of precast bridge abutments, installed on the Marble Wash Bridge about 80 miles east of Barstow.

And all 12 bridges used precast and prestressed girders, dramatically cutting down on the construction time.

On the dozen bridges, built in the early 1970s, the steel rods that secured the bridge decks to the pillars had sheared and the concrete was eroding.

Traffic was reduced to one lane on each bridge and the speed limit was lowered to 45 mph.
After the bridges were temporarily shored up, traffic in both directions was diverted onto the westbound side, and Skanska started demolishing the six eastbound bridges, one a day.

The $35 million project basically became an assembly-line operation, with crews working on all the bridges at once, moving from one to the next as each step was finished.

"We put together a tight schedule and kept to it," Diskin said. "Everybody, including the subcontractors, just bought into the project. It was just one of those things that really clicked."

It took only four months to complete the six eastbound bridges. Then the crews switched to the westbound side.

The precast girders, assembled by Pomeroy Corp. in Perris, meant crews didn't have to build them in place.

The real innovation was bringing in already completed abutments, the beefy ends of the bridge that support the whole thing. Each weighed roughly 180,000 pounds.

It took only a few hours using a 500-ton crane to lift the abutments off flatbed trailers and drop them in place.

That compares to several weeks to set up forms, create the steel mesh of rebar and then pour the concrete and let it set.

Diskin said next time, he'd prefer the abutments perhaps be in two parts, which could then be joined.

"They were definitely big chunks of concrete," he said.

The Marble Wash bridge was demolished in a little more than a day on March 30 and opened to traffic April 26.

"This is an amazing accomplishment when you consider the size of this structure and its remote location," Hector Davila, Caltrans deputy director of construction, said in a written statement.

It's even more impressive if you consider the crews took Sundays off. That means the bridge was actually built in 24 working days.

Mojave town recaptures one-room school house history

San Bernardino County Sun
Trevor Summons, Correspondent

Out in the middle of the Mojave Desert, Goffs is one of those dusty, almost forgotten places where people gathered in years gone by to try their luck with the harsh terrain.

It was the railroad coming through that gave some of their workers the idea of a school, and in 1914 the present structure was built on an acre of land to cater to the children of the employees of the Santa Fe Railroad.

Jo Ann and her husband Dennis bought the schoolhouse and surrounding area back in 1990, and have spent the past 17 years turning it into an interesting look at history.

The schoolhouse itself is a sanctuary to daily life almost a century ago, when a dozen or so children would be sitting at their desks under the control of a single teacher. The first of these was Clara Rippeto. The last ones, when the school closed in 1937, were Anna and Daniel Stern. By then, two teachers were employed to teach the first through eighth grades in the single room.

In the following years, the building was at one time used as a cafeteria by World War II troops in the area, but then it gradually fell into disrepair. It was in 1982 that Dennis Casebier passed through the area. He was saddened by what he saw and said that being convinced that it would eventually completely disappear; he took several photos of the dilapidated scene.

A couple called Jim and Bertha Wold bought the place soon after this and began to restore it before they put it on the market in 1990. It seemed prophetic that the Casebiers should then become the owners of the site, and their important work began.

Today, the schoolhouse contains many of the artifacts that were so familiar to the original occupants, and there is an atmosphere of caring and vibrancy that must have been totally absent when Casebier took his pictures.

The name of Goffs is cause for some speculation. It was one of the alphabet towns preceded by Fenner and followed by Homer. These towns were planned to stretch east of Amboy by Southern Pacific Railroad who were in deadly competition with Santa Fe.

Almost certainly it was named after a particular man, and in the records, there is one called Isaac Goff, who was a railroad locator for A&P, a subsidiary of Santa Fe Railroad, who eventually pushed the line through to the Pacific Ocean.

The present scene is shown as it was intended but there were other uses for the building. It was occasionally used for dances, and back in 1928, during one such event, a shot was fired from a Colt .45 and a man was killed. The victim, Leo Sweeney died at the scene and a suspected perpetrator, Doug Craig was charged with murder. The charge was eventually dismissed and Craig went free.

This was not the only piece of violence in the remote desert area. There is one grizzly artifact on the back wall of the schoolhouse.

In 1908, one Joseph "Hootch" Simpson was hung in Death Valley County by an angry citizenry, tired of his ways. The Press tore out to witness the scene but Hootch had already been cut down.
Nonetheless, in pursuit of a hot story the press persuaded those in attendance to re-hang Hootch so they could get photos. One of these is in the case with the actual noose that sent Hootch to the hereafter.

For the regular youngsters 412 in all who passed their days at the schoolhouse, no doubt there were some happy times away from the heat and dust of the desert, and a lot of evidence to that fact has been gathered by the enthusiastic owners of the site.

Goffs Schoolhouse is opened by appointment and you can find more information at (760) 733-4848 or on the Web site: www.mdhca.org.

Utah fighting the laws of the land

The state is helping pay for legal challenges to federal jurisdiction, much of it, critics say, without oversight.

By Julie Cart, Times Staff Writer
LA Times

RECAPTURE CANYON, UTAH — It's a small gesture of defiance — a narrow metal bridge that allows off-road vehicles illegal access to this archeologically rich canyon. But the modest structure, built by San Juan County officials on U.S. government land, is a symbol of the widespread local resistance to federal authority across much of southern Utah's magnificent countryside.

Historically, people in the rural West have challenged federal jurisdiction, claiming ownership over rights of way, livestock management and water use. But nowhere is the modern-day defiance more determined, better organized or more well-funded than in Utah, where millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent fighting federal authority, and where the state government is helping to pay the tab, much of it, critics say, without oversight.

For the last decade the Utah Legislature and two state agencies have been funneling money to southern Utah counties to bankroll legal challenges to federal jurisdiction. Most recently, a state representative persuaded the Legislature to provide $100,000 to help finance a lawsuit by ranchers and two counties seeking to expand cattle grazing in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Grand Staircase is one of a dozen parks and monuments that draw tens of millions of visitors to the region every year to take in the spectacular high desert and red-rock canyons that have awed travelers since John Wesley Powell voyaged down the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869.
Settlers, on the other hand, have been famously indifferent to the scenery. "A hell of a place to lose a cow," is how 19th century homesteader Ebenezer Bryce is said to have described the labyrinthine landscape now known as Bryce Canyon National Park.

"This is a beautiful and unique land," said Bill Smart, retired editor of Salt Lake City's Deseret News. "It's distressing that we can't all be more appreciative of the values that other people see here. To me it's very disappointing that our own people can't see what we have."

In southern Utah, where the U.S. controls nearly 90% of the land in some counties, many residents feel they are permanent tenants on land their ancestors pioneered. The resentment hardens whenever the Washington, D.C., landlord imposes restrictions on ranching, mining, energy development and motorized recreation.

"Who gets to control the land is the great American story," said Karl Jacoby, associate professor of history at Brown University. "In part it is about economics, but a lot of it is about identity and who we are as a people."

Officials of one county have written a bill pending in Congress that orders the sale of federal land, with the proceeds given to the county. Other Utah counties have said they will follow suit. And officials from the two counties surrounding Grand Staircase have lobbied in Washington to dramatically reduce the 2-million-acre national monument.

Elected officials have flouted federal authority by bulldozing roads in the Grand Staircase monument and Capitol Reef National Park, and by tearing down signs banning off-road vehicles in Canyonlands National Park. A handful of counties have developed transportation plans that declare roads open that federal land managers have closed.

Selma Sierra, Utah director of the federal Bureau of Land Management, insisted that the agency's relationship with counties was good. "The BLM manages a substantial amount of land in this state. Yes, those lands belong to everyone in the country, but the decisions we make affect those individuals more so than anywhere else."

But federal officials say increases in motorized recreation and scarring of the landscape from energy exploration are threatening unique historic and cultural treasures and damaging wildlife habitat.

A recent BLM archeological assessment of 3rd century Anasazi ruins and cliff dwellings in Recapture Canyon found evidence of looting and off-road vehicle damage. According to the assessment, the new, county-built bridge "can be expected to hasten and increase indirect impacts to cultural resources here."

"It's quite common in Utah to hear people say, 'The federal government should give the land back to the state.' But the state never owned it," said Daniel McCool, director of the American West Center at the University of Utah.

McCool said rebellious county commissioners no longer represented the demographic of the American West. "There is a new rural resident," he said. "They didn't move here to ranch and raise cattle. They moved here for the amenities value of the public lands. That's what's driving the economy now. Today, the single largest nongovernmental components of Utah's economy are tourism and recreation. Mining, grazing and agriculture are about 3% to 4% of the economy."

According to an economic analysis commissioned by the National Parks Conservation Assn., national parks generate at least $4 for state and local economies for every dollar in the parks' budgets. Zion National Park, in southwest Utah, had 2.5 million visitors last year and provided nearly $100 million in annual recreational benefits to the surrounding county, the study said.

Grand Staircase was responsible for "substantial" economic growth, higher employment and increased personal income in two surrounding counties, according to a 2004 study by the Sonoran Institute, a nonpartisan research group in Tucson.

But Utah Lt. Gov. Gary R. Herbert said in an interview that the state had endured an "erosion of rights."

"We're not going to sit back anymore, we're going to be proactive, we are going to protect our rights," he said.

State Rep. Mike Noel, a Republican from the southern community of Kanab, said: It gets down to "sovereignty and autonomy. It's Western independence. We own the water, we have the right to graze, the minerals are still available, and the roads belong to us. By dang, we are not going to give them up."

Noel is part of a self-styled "cowboy caucus" in the Legislature that has helped direct hundreds of thousands of state dollars to counties bickering with the federal government.

In addition, the Constitutional Defense Council, established to protect state and county interests on federal land, has paid out more than $10 million, much of it to assist southern counties in legal battles against the BLM and the National Park Service.

The 2-year-old Public Lands Policy Coordination Office last year offered each county in Utah $10,000 to fight for rights of way across federal land and is funding a $1-million study on the economic impact of large federal holdings in the state.

Critics say taxpayer money should not be used to fight these legal battles and argue that there is little accounting of how much money is spent by the Constitutional Defense Council and public lands office. A 2004 state legislative audit of the Constitutional Defense Council concluded that it provided inadequate financial detail about its operations and recommended that it issue regular financial statements.

Even one of the guiding lights behind the creation of the Constitutional Defense Council said he couldn't trace how its money was spent. "There are no records, no agenda, no minutes," said Mark Walsh, executive director of the Utah-based Western Counties Alliance, who wrote some of the language that established the council. "It's a little confounding to me that you've got millions going into that office, but no one knows how it's spent or on what projects."

This month, a federal judge ruled that two southern Utah counties illegally used public funds to pay costs in a grazing lawsuit brought by local ranchers against the BLM.

Bob Keiter, a University of Utah law professor and public lands scholar, suspects Utahans are largely unaware that the state is helping bankroll the counties' legal fights.

"The question is whether or not the citizens of the state realize the degree to which they are subsidizing litigation that cuts across their interests," said Keiter, director of the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment.

Rural interests continue to dominate the state legislative process in a manner that is out of proportion to their representation, Keiter said.

They also have influence with the Bush administration. In 2003, the administration agreed to withdraw 2.6 million acres in Utah from wilderness protection, and recently the BLM reinstated leases that could lead to extensive coal mining in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Man Injured In Accidental Shooting - Mojave National Preserve (CA)

from Blogged In The Desert

On April 7th, rangers received a 911 hang-up call from the Hole in the Wall campground, requesting an ambulance.

As rangers and EMS personnel were responding, a campground host called and reported that a man had suffered a broken leg and that he was being taken by a private vehicle to meet the ambulance.

When contact was made, medics determined that the man – Joseph Mountjoy, 22 – had been shot in the leg.

Ranger Wayne Dingman followed the ambulance to the hospital. Through interviews with Mountjoy and his friends, Dingman determined that Mountjoy had been out hiking, that he’d had a.22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with him, and that he’d been shooting at targets with the gun and other weapons.

After returning to his vehicle, Mountjoy attempted to unload the .22. When a round failed to eject and the slide fell forward, the weapon discharged, hitting Mountjoy in the leg above his knee. He underwent surgery at the hospital to remove the bullet.

Mountjoy, who was scheduled to attend a local police academy in May, was cited for possession of a loaded weapon and illegal target shooting.

[Submitted by Kirk Gebicke, Supervisory Park Ranger]

Wilderness bill raises storm

Big Bear Lake officials say it would hurt fire-suppression efforts

San Bernardino Sun
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer

BIG BEAR LAKE - Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Hilda Solis want to have a 6,000-plus acre patch of forest on Sugarloaf Mountain declared wilderness area.

But city, fire and water officials are fighting that effort, concerned that such a designation would thwart firefighting and forest-thinning efforts and quell the possible future expansion of a water- treatment plant near the proposed wilderness area.

The proposal by Boxer, D-Calif., and Solis, is part of their California Wild Heritage Act of 2007, introduced Feb. 6 in the House of Representatives. It aims to designate 2.4 million acres of wilderness and segments of wild and scenic rivers throughout the state and calls for, among other things, 6,336 acres of designated wilderness land on Sugarloaf Mountain and about 17,920 acres in the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

"From a fire-suppression standpoint, fire suppression efforts will be limited," said John Morley, chief of the Big Bear Lake Fire Department. "Generally, the (fire) equipment isn't allowed in a wilderness area. You're not supposed to take dozers in there. You're not supposed to take engines in there, and you're not allowed to take chain saws in there."

Approval to access a wilderness area during a wildland fire is possible, but it generally has to be approved by federal officials in Washington, Morley said.

"When you have a fire going on and are trying to get approvals from someone outside this area, I don't think it's in the best interest of public safety," Morley said.

In a prepared statement Friday, Boxer said, "Under my wilderness bill, federal officials have been given full authority to act in every way they deem necessary to prevent and extinguish fires.

"Most Californians want to see these God-given wilderness areas protected for future generations. But if this community is so united against this potential designation, I certainly will take that into account as the bill moves forward."

According to Section 102(d) of the proposed legislation, the agriculture secretary may take appropriate measures to control and prevent fire through federal, state or local agencies and jurisdictions. Such measures include the use of mechanized and motorized equipment for fire suppression, including aircraft for fire retardant and water drops.

Early last week, the Big Bear Lake City Council approved a resolution opposing the designation of the wilderness area, and will send it to Boxer's and Solis' offices, city planner Sandra Molina said.
"We'll also send it to other representatives in the Senate and (House), and we're also going to be asking the local boards to join us in opposing the designations," she said.

In 1964, Congress enacted the Wilderness Act to protect designated federal lands from being encroached upon by humans and to retain their "primeval character and influence." The act prohibits, with certain exceptions, commercial enterprises and permanent roads from being built on the land.

In the last six years, the San Bernardino Mountains have been vexed with drought and a bark-beetle infestation that have combined to destroy more than 1million trees. In October 2003, the Old Fire cut an eastward path across the mountains from Waterman Canyon to Highland, destroying hundreds of homes.

The threat of fire still weighs heavily on the minds of those living both in the mountain communities and the valleys below.

"We don't want some overlay of that land that's going to inhibit the ability for people to go and do fuels work," Morley said. "I think clearly that everybody who lives in this valley is here for a reason, and we enjoy the environment, but I think sometimes things can be done to the environment that can pose a danger to citizens in this valley, and that's what we're concerned about."

State sues San Bernardino County over global warming

Victorville Daily Press
by Ryan Cox

SAN BERNARDINO — Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed a lawsuit Friday against the county of San Bernardino’s recently-updated general plan because it did not properly address global warming.

The lawsuit came just two days after a similar lawsuit was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the San Bernardino Audubon Society and the Sierra Club.

Brown filed the lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act on the basis that San Bernardino County failed to evaluate and disclose the impending impacts of the plan on climate change and air quality.

"This is a tremendously important action by the attorney general," said Adam Keats, attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.

First District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt questioned the value of the state suing the county.

"If this is true, I would suggest that the state of California should be helping local governments build infrastructure and protect citizens from crime instead of suing us over what is at best a federal environmental issue," Mitzelfelt said Friday. "In my opinion the attorney general’s comments were adequately addressed in the General Plan update."

During the plan’s development, the attorney general along with the conservation groups had submitted comments that urged the county to analyze greenhouse gases and climate change in its blueprint for the future.

According to a press release sent out by the Center for Biological Diversity, the county chose to ignore the comments.

Mike Zischke, an attorney that specializes in the Environmental Quality Act and is working with county counsel, said the county’s position is solid and they will defend the General Plan.

9th Circuit to decide 'Mojave Desert Cross' fate

OneNewsNow.com
Ed Thomas

The National Legal Foundation and its attorneys are awaiting a decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following Monday's hearing on a case challenging the right of a World War I memorial cross to remain on public land in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

In the case of Buono v. Kempthorne, the National Legal Foundation (NLF) is fighting the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in an effort to save the Mojave Desert Cross. The large, white memorial cross has been located on Sunrise Rock in the Mojave National Preserve near the California-Nevada border since 1934, when it was given and erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Attorney Joe Infranco is with Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which argued an amicus brief for NLF at Monday's hearing. He says one of the last acts of Bill Clinton's presidency was his executive order authorizing the establishment of the land the cross stood on as a federal preserve.

"The ink was barely dry, and a local ACLU affiliate was filing a lawsuit," Infranco notes. The lawsuit challenging the monument's constitutionality alleged that its placement on federal land in the Mojave Desert violated the First Amendment's guarantee of separation of church and state and that the memorial cross should therefore be removed.

Supporters of the Mojave Desert Cross hoped to reach a settlement of the suit with the Department of Defense's transfer of the memorial land to private ownership in 2004. However, the ACLU claimed before the 9th Circuit that the property transfer was invalid -- a point ADF helped dispute in this week's appeals court hearing.

Such transfers already have legal precedent in several federal court cases, the ADF attorney notes. He says a number of federal appellate courts have already held that government property may be transferred to private ownership to prevent challenges based on the Establishment Clause, which, he notes "is that part of the First Amendment that is cited as the basis for the so-called separation of church and state." Although the jurisdictional circumstances were different, ADF recently helped defend a similar land transfer to save San Diego's Mount Soledad Cross in California.

Based on the precedents cited in the amicus brief, Infranco says ADF and the other cross supporters in Buono v. Kempthorne are hoping their argument that the transfer of the WWI memorial cross to private ownership was legal will prevail.

Surreal Mojave Cross video

S.B. County errs on desert preservation

OPINION

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin [Ontario, CA]

Despite creation of the Mojave National Preserve years ago to protect desert lands, the war of public conservation vs. private interests goes on. And it is being waged quietly by the county Board of Supervisors, as it selfishly tries to keep tax-defaulted lands on the tax rolls rather than see them acquired for public use.

We think land conservencies have a vital role to play without extra hurdles being thrown in.
Under state law, public entities, namely nonprofit land conservancies, can apply to redeem tax-defaulted properties before they are sold at public auction, and then give the land to a federal preserve - for the benefit of everyone.

But choosing to see such land acquisitions as unforgivable giveaways that cut into the county's tax base rather than gifts for the greater good, the county has blocked the indirect transfer of 90 parcels, amounting to at least 2,500 acres, from private hands to park status.

The stonewalling began three years ago under then-Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and his chief of staff, Brad Mitzelfelt, and continues with Mitzelfelt now supervisor for the 1st District.
Frequently, the parcels in question are remote, miles away from any road or infrastructure.

But even so, Mitzelfelt said that years ago, he and Postmus became concerned that conservancies were snatching up land that might have a "higher use," meaning apparently that they might have a higher economic significance to the county.

While Mitzelfelt said his office remains skeptical that handing off land to the federal government is a better choice than keeping it in private hands, such a dim view of how parklands serve the public does not serve desert constituents well.

Mitzelfelt said he ultimately hopes to see direct land sales to conservancies largely eliminated. Conservancies still would be able to buy the land at public auction, he said, but they would have to outbid others for the privilege.

But such land grabs, though ostensibly to augment the county purse, fail to take into account the greater good of desert conservation and holding the land in a public trust for all to enjoy.

The aim of giving conservancies dibs on the property isn't to give the land trusts a break.

It is to benefit average citizens by ensuring their access to lands that, by all rights, should become part of the public's holdings via the national preserve.

Profile of County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt

Hesperia Star
By PETER DAY Star Editor

While his clean-shaven, bespectacled predecessor, Bill Postmus, looks like a political-candidate poster child, the bearded, unassuming Brad Mitzelfelt comes off more like a college professor, or perhaps a park ranger.

Although the two share ideological similarities, their styles differ. Mitzelfelt, who for more than six years served as Postmus’ chief of staff, isn’t really interested in the chess game of politics.

“Politics isn’t what gets me up in the morning. Policy is,” said Mitzelfelt, who last November was appointed to complete Postmus’ two remaining years as supervisor of the county’s first district. “I see politics as a means to an end. It’s not an end to itself.”

Already in his first few months, Mitzelfelt, who lives in Wrightwood, has several accomplishments under his belt. The most notable is his request of $500,000 to help purchase equipment for a new aerospace mechanics-training program at the Southern California Logistics Agency (formerly George Air Force Base). Victor Valley College, the county, the city of Victorville and a non-profit consortium spearhead the program. Last month, the Board of Supervisors approved Mitzelfelt’s proposal.

“I’m very excited about it.”

During a recent Hesperia Chamber of Commerce Coffee Club gathering, Mitzelfelt outlined other priorities. They include cracking down on gangs, tracking sex offenders and protecting consumers from identity theft. He also believes it’s time the county be more aggressive with illegal dumping and make more headway with freeway congestion and transportation issues.

“I take things issue by issue. I look at each issue and how it will benefit my constituents.”
Recent gang sweeps are helping the Victor Valley get a handle on the gang problem, but that highlights a shortage of jail space.

“We are the No. 1 county for sending people to prison,” Mitzelfelt said. “That’s kind of good and kind of bad. We’ve got a big problem [in jail overcrowding]. We just don’t have nearly the capacity that we need.”

Regarding transportation, he cited rising costs of freeway construction as a huge obstacle. “Costs have gone through the roof,” he said.

But he agrees with regional economics and politics guru John Husing that “logistics is the job engine for our economy.” Local jobs keep tax money at home and families in one place. The SCLA program should help do that by providing a number of jobs paying $48,000 to $75,000 a year.

“Young people can work here.”

Later, during a one-on-one interview with the Hesperia Star, Mitzelfelt credited a new county ordinance that puts more teeth into fighting illegal dumping. Perpetrators can be fined as much as $10,000, and tipsters are encouraged to contact authorities.

“Illegal dumping is a huge problem in the High Desert. We’re not going to put up with it anymore.”
Mitzelfelt also is working with the Bureau of Land Management to solve land management issues.

Several years ago after former President Bill Clinton tried to shut down cattle grazing in the High Desert the county took away “dumping cards,” which allowed BLM workers to discard refuse at area landfills. Recently the cards were given back, and he is hoping to meet with representatives of the agency on a quarterly basis.

“I do want to improve our relationship with the BLM.”

By improving the relationship with BLM, the county also can help solve illegal off-roading issues. Many BLM-maintained areas are OK for off-roaders, for instance.

“There’s a lot we can do together with BLM.”

Newly-revised, larger restaurant grading cards are also a help to local businesses and consumers, according to Mitzelfelt.

“The new ones are being phased in. They contain more information. An ‘A’ letter in a window is good for business.”

The son of physician-turned-orchestra-conductor H. Vincent Mitzelfelt, Mitzelfelt grew up in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. He was a talented distance runner who ran three miles in around 15 minutes and a mile under 4 minutes 30 seconds.

“I like to fish, mountain bike and run.”

He studied piano under Pasadena-based master pianist Surajeet Chatterji, who currently teaches classes at Hesperia High School, and owns two pianos. Saying he plays at an intermediate level, Mitzelfelt says Mozart’s “Rondo alla Turca” is favorite classical piece.

“It’s the hardest thing I know, so it’s my favorite.”

Mitzelfelt is a Marine Corps combat veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He served as a combat correspondent, a position which earned him several awards.

In July, Mitzelfelt is planning on getting married to his fiance.

“It’s a big year for me.”

While Mitzelfelt brings a different leadership style, he believes Postmus has tremendous strengths.
“He is a very talented political strategist. He’s a talented leader. He’s also good with budgets and managing people.”

Moreover, it appears Postmus is enjoying his new position.

“He’s modernizing that department. He really has a job he enjoys.”

Although Mitzelfelt doesn’t prefer the political part of his job, he recently entered fresh political waters when he held a fundraiser to kick off his 2008 election campaign. Attracting 300 supporters, he raised $165,000.

“It was a great success. I have no doubt I’ll have the funds to get the message out. I’ve done this before. I know how to win campaigns.”

Wildlife service accepts comments on raven assessment

Desert Dispatch [Barstow, CA]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a draft environmental assessment suggesting ways to reduce raven predation on the desert tortoise and other animals found in the deserts of Southern California.

Raven populations increased more than 700 percent in some areas of the California desert between 1969 and 2004, according to a Fish and Wildlife Service press release.

Alternatives for raven management include lethal and non-lethal techniques. To view the assessment online, go to www.fws.gov/ventura. Copies are also available at public libraries in the desert or by calling (805) 644-1766.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will accept public comments until May 7. Written comments should be submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Raven Management Environmental Assessment, c/o Judy Hohman, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003.

Comments can also be e-mailed to FW8draftravenea@fws.gov with "Raven Management" in the subject line.

Food vendor needed at Kelso Depot

Desert Dispatch [Barstow, CA]

The National Park Service is accepting proposals for food concessions at the Kelso Depot Visitor Center at the Mojave National Preserve. The concession contract will run for 10 years.

The park is looking for a private concession operator to serve meals at the 1920s-era lunch counter, which was rebuilt as part of a renovation project.

For more information about making a concession proposal, go to http://www.concessions.nps.gov/Prospectus.cfm or call Kim Gagliolo, the concession management analyst, at (510) 817-1368.

County runs afoul of desert preservation

OPINION
Land conservancies have a vital role to play without extra hurdles being thrown in.

San Bernardino Sun [San Bernardino, CA]

Despite creation of the Mojave National Preserve years ago to protect desert lands, the war of public conservation vs. private interests goes on. And it is being waged quietly by the county Board of Supervisors, as it selfishly tries to keep tax-defaulted lands on the tax rolls rather than see them acquired for public use.

Under state law, public entities, namely nonprofit land conservancies, can apply to redeem tax-defaulted properties before they are sold at public auction, and then give the land to a federal preserve - for the benefit of everyone.

But choosing to see such land acquisitions as unforgivable giveaways that cut into the county's tax base rather than gifts for the greater good, the county has blocked the indirect transfer of 90 parcels, amounting to at least 2,500 acres, from private hands to park status.

The stonewalling began three years ago under then-Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and his chief of staff, Brad Mitzelfelt, and continues with Mitzelfelt now supervisor for the 1st District.

Frequently, the parcels in question are remote, miles away from any road or infrastructure. But even so, Mitzelfelt said that years ago, he and Postmus became concerned that conservancies were snatching up land that might have a "higher use," meaning apparently that they might have a higher economic significance to the county.

While Mitzelfelt said his office remains skeptical that handing off land to the federal government is a better choice than keeping it in private hands, such a dim view of how parklands serve the public does not serve desert constituents well.

Mitzelfelt said he ultimately hopes to see direct land sales to conservancies largely eliminated. Conservancies still would be able to buy the land at public auction, he said, but they would have to outbid others for the privilege.

But such land grabs, though ostensibly to augment the county purse, fail to take into account the greater good of desert conservation and holding the land in a public trust for all to enjoy.

The aim of giving conservancies dibs on the property isn't to give the land trusts a break. It is to benefit average citizens by ensuring their access to lands that, by all rights, should become part of the public's holdings via the national preserve.