Boxer, Reid huddle over strategy for massive resources bill

Colleagues enlist Reid's help with last-ditch push for massive water, lands, wildlife package

By Paul Quinlan, John McArdle and Patrick Reis
E and E Publishing

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Harry Reid (D-NV)



The full-court press is on to assemble and pass a monumental package of waterways, public lands and wildlife bills in the final days of this Congress.

Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last night to discuss packaging a slew of waterways bills that won bipartisan endorsements from her committee with measures that emerged with similarly broad-based support from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee aimed at protecting more than 2 million acres and creating new national parks, monuments, wilderness areas and wildlife sanctuaries.

"It was great," Boxer said of her meeting with Reid. "What we're doing is we're talking to the Republicans now who voted for all the bills in my committee to see if they will go along with doing a package of bills."
Boxer added it was unlikely that such a bill could pass the Senate with unanimous support; thus, work is under way to obtain the necessary 60 votes.

"I think we have a good chance because they are bipartisan bills," Boxer said.

Reid spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle declined to discuss the meeting's outcome but said a package was possible. "We do not discuss private meetings, but this is on a list of possible items for consideration this work period," she said in an e-mail.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee's National Parks Subcommittee, said his committee's bills have "broad support" and that he was working down a list of Republican colleagues to ask if they would be supportive.

"There's a lot of conversation occurring right now," Udall said. "There's been a lot of hard work the last two years, and it would be disappointing, to say the least, if a lot of these targeted bills died because the Senate couldn't find the time to move them forward."

Others, like Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who sits on Boxer's committee and hopes to pass a Great Lakes bill he is co-sponsoring as part of the package, spoke more pessimistically about the odds of success in a badly divided Senate chamber with an already swamped agenda for the lame-duck session.

"I think it's a problem getting anything done at this stage in the game," Voinovich said. "Anything now is going to be tough."

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who wants to include a Chesapeake Bay bill that would backstop the Obama administration's ambitious, U.S. EPA-led effort to clamp down on farm and stormwater pollution, also warned of the long odds.

"Lame ducks are always uncertain," Cardin said. His bill, the most controversial of the waterways bills, eventually won bipartisan committee support after negotiations with the GOP. "Significant changes were made because of their concerns. I think we got it right."

Environmental groups continue to push for action on what they say would be a landmark package. The waterways bills up for consideration, which sailed through Boxer's committee in June, would protect and restore the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, Long Island Sound, Gulf of Mexico and San Francisco Bay. Most would authorize, but do not appropriate, money for EPA to set up new program offices relating to the major waterways, award grants and increase accountability.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is running an ad in tomorrow's editions of Roll Call and Politico that will urge Republicans and Democrats to pass the bipartisan wilderness legislation, which the ad says would "give permanent protection to more than two million acres of breathtaking landscapes in thirteen states -- from Washington State's Alpine Lakes to Idaho's Boulder-White Clouds to Tennessee's Upper Bald River."

"Hunters, anglers, business leaders, conservationists and other local citizens who've worked together to get these measures this far are counting on Congress to take action before it adjourns," the ad says, against a backdrop of New Mexico's Organ Mountains, which include lands in line to receive protection.

Route 66 business dream rooted highway's heyday

Gus Lizalde bought Chambless, a title town and former pit stop in Route 66's hey-day. With the interest of solar development and a national monument, he hopes to revitalize the rest stop.(Kurt Miller/The Press-Enterprise)

By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise

His love of the automobile and the way a sunset illuminated a Mojave Desert mountain range inspired Gus Lizalde two decades ago to invest in a piece of Route 66 history.

He bought Chambless, a wide spot at the corner of Cadiz Road and National Trails Highway, part of old Route 66. It's a far flung outpost, halfway between Barstow and Needles, that once offered gas, food and lodging to motorists headed into or out of California.

Lizalde's dream of restoring Chambless to its mid-20th century heyday remains unfulfilled.

The gas station, store, restaurant, motel cabins and RV spaces are surrounded by barbed wire. Rattlesnakes hide out in the crumbling buildings. Only a few dozen cars pass by in a day.

But the Mojave Desert sunshine that dominates the landscape may soon be Chambless' economic savior, or so Lizalde hopes.

Dozens of large-scale solar energy projects are proposed on the publicly owned land that extends as far as the eye can see in every direction.

Lizalde, an Escondido resident and a manager at a San Diego County car dealership, said energy construction would bring workers who might want a convenient place for gas, a burger, a few groceries or a bed for the night.

"To bring this back, I need commerce," Lizalde said. "I need people coming through the front door. These solar projects will mean commerce."

SOLAR OPPORTUNITY

One of the solar developments would blanket eight square miles along Route 66 just west of Lizalde's property. Two more to the south are proposed on some 80 square miles.

The federal Bureau of Land Management is processing 78 applications for desert energy projects between Ridgecrest and Mexico. So far, none has been approved.

Lizalde's excitement about the solar projects explains why he is worried about a move to create what backers have called a Mother Road National Monument. It would honor Route 66 and its colorful past as a conduit for dust-bowl refugees flooding into California and later as an east-west ribbon of freedom for vacationing Americans.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is drafting federal legislation that would create the monument on public land in eastern San Bernardino County, from the Mojave National Preserve on the north to Joshua Tree National Park on the south. It is expected to prohibit energy development in some areas.

Monument supporters fear development of too many wind and solar projects in territory used by the desert tortoise, a threatened species, and other wildlife.

Environmentalists are especially concerned about projects, such as the two near the Cadiz Valley south of Chambless, that would be built between wilderness areas, said Elden Hughes, a longtime environmental activist who has fought to protect the desert. Developing in such areas can impede animals that range between protected territories; such travel helps maintain their health and genetic diversity, experts say.

Standing in front of his boarded-up buildings, Lizalde pointed out a passing BNSF freight train to the south and a white limestone pit mine to the west.

"This is a good place for solar," he said. "It's not pristine."

A stocky man with a dark complexion, Lizalde looks younger than his 45 years. He radiated enthusiasm as he walked by scraps of twisted metal, old pipes and other debris. He described his vision for a multimillion-dollar makeover.

"It's going to be a full-blown restoration to the way it was built," Lizalde said. "I want to bring back that nostalgia."

The renewed Chambless would feature "totem" gasoline pumps with meters that look like clock faces. Lizalde said he wants to track down original pump bodies and retrofit them with modern gas-delivery and metering systems.

The main building would have a 1950s-style diner, a tavern and a souvenir/convenience store. He intends to fix up the nine concrete cottages behind the main building and build a swimming pool in the shield shape of the Route 66 road sign.

For the trailer park area, Lizalde envisions hauling in about 50 vintage Airstream trailers, refurbishing them and renting them out.

Why Airstreams? "They are so cool," he answered.

PIT STOP HISTORY

Chambless, or Camp Chambless as it was once known, was built by local settlers of the same name and opened in the early 1930s to serve the motorists using Route 66, which ran between Chicago and Santa Monica.

The business suffered after Interstate 40 opened in 1973, bypassing Chambless and a few other gas station-café stops that depended on Route 66 traffic.

Lizalde, a car buff who played with Hot Wheels as a kid and restored a 1967 Porsche as young man, said he was driving a Mustang in 1989 to visit family in Laughlin, Nev., when he first saw Chambless. The view and the history captured him, and four months later, he found himself signing papers to buy the property for about $250,000.

He said he took two years off to run the gas station, store, restaurant and motel, catering mostly to employees of a nearby agricultural operation, Cadiz Inc.

He had to close the businesses in 1993, he said, when environmental regulations forced him to remove underground fuel-storage tanks and clean up gasoline-contaminated soil at a cost of about $250,000. Other Route 66 gas stations that had been struggling to hang on also closed, Lizalde said.

With too little traffic passing by, he couldn't justify the investment needed to re-open the Chambless business, he said.

Time and nature have taken a toll on the place.

A wind storm blew off the roof extension that had shaded the gasoline pumps. To make the area safe, Lizalde said, he had to remove the concrete pillars that held it up.

Meanwhile, he has paid property taxes, fencing costs and other expenses.

"It reminds me of the movie, 'The Money Pit,' " he said.

Albert Okura, who owns the town of Amboy about 13 miles west of Chambless, said he wishes Lizalde success on his renovation.

"It's going to be an uphill battle," Okura said. "Gus is a good idea man, but it is hard to translate ideas into money."

It won't be easy, Lizalde acknowledged.

But construction of the solar plants should provide about three years of businesses, giving him time to market the place as a Route 66 destination.

"This will probably be the biggest restoration project all the way to Chicago," he said. "It will be the nicest facility on the road. And that will be a pretty good brag."

Desert monument idea is starting to shine

By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise

Land around the Old Woman Mountains is part of the area supporters want considered for a monument. (Rodrigo Peña / The Press-Enterprise)

Efforts to establish a national monument in southeastern San Bernardino County appear to be gaining momentum as some solar-energy developers drop plans to build on land targeted for protection.

Oakland-based BrightSource Energy announced late last week that it has stopped pursuing development of a solar plant on about 5,100 acres near Broadwell Dry Lake, east of Barstow, because the land there is being sought for a national monument.

"BrightSource Energy has ceased development activity at the Broadwell site in light of the proposed monument and is looking at other sites within California and out of state," John Woolard, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement.

And an official with Stirling Energy Systems, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company that also has an application to build a solar plant near the dry lake, said Tuesday that the company will put its primary focus on projects outside the monument area.

"We want to a find a solution that will be agreeable to everyone concerned," said Sean Gallagher, Stirling's vice president of marketing strategy and regulatory affairs.

The companies' apparent willingness to avoid some areas in the eastern Mojave Desert has bolstered the hopes of monument backers

"It is very good news," said David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy in Oak Glen. Myers' organization is dedicated to protecting natural places in the desert and elsewhere.

As the energy companies reconsider their plans, the monument idea has been gaining support among some of the nation's leading environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Both groups said they support renewable energy development to combat global warming, but they have agreed with monument supporters that wild areas should be protected.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said last spring that she plans to introduce a bill to create a national monument in the Mojave Desert. She noted her intention to protect thousands of acres of formerly private land that was purchased in the 1990s, largely through the fundraising efforts of The Wildlands Conservancy, and given to the government.

Myers has said he believed the land was to be protected, but the federal government accepted applications from companies that wanted to build solar plants on some of the acreage.

Feinstein has not yet introduced the legislation, but monument advocates said it could cover much of the public land between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve and include a 70-mile stretch of Historic Route 66. The name "Mother Road National Monument" has been suggested in honor of the highway.

Efforts to protect public land in the area are running up against state and federal efforts to encourage alternative-energy development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Last month, the Schwarzenegger administration wrote Feinstein, saying a monument "must not" interfere with renewable energy projects.

But monument supporters, including Feinstein, say the desert has room for energy projects that don't destroy what they see as the pristine public lands.

The BrightSource project at Broadwell Dry Lake would have ruined one of the more striking valleys sought for the monument, said Elden Hughes, an environmental activist in Joshua Tree.

"It is really one of the most beautiful vistas in the desert," Hughes said. "I have seen yellow flowers there that went all the way to the horizon."

Hughes said he is encouraged. "This monument is getting much closer," he said.

But 30-year Yucca Valley resident Mike Hawkins opposes the monument idea. It would force energy developers and military base expansions to use land needed for off-road recreation, he said. The monument also would take land that has mining potential.

"We don't need more land locked away," Hawkins said.

Alliance to promote Mother Road

By MARJ DARIO
Needles Desert Star

NEEDLES - In the novel “The Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck wrote, “(Route) 66 is the mother road, the road of flight,” when referring to the 1930s migration of Dust Bowl refugees who headed west hoping to find jobs in the fields of California. After describing the long journey from the central plains, Steinbeck continued,“There's California just over the river, and a pretty town to start it. Needles, on the river.”

A proposed Mother Road National Monument project may soon regain positive recognition for Needles.

The “driveable monument” concept is all about preserving a 70-mile section of historic Route 66 between Needles and Barstow in the Mojave Desert. It would pass through Goffs, Essex, Amboy, Ludlow and a few other small towns which became neglected after Interstate 40 was built. Needles is expected to be the eastern anchor for the monument road.

Collaboration by several entities including Sierra Club, Nevada Desert Committee, Wildlands Conservancy and Route 66 preservationists has produced an initial plan which is being presented to government officials. Several concerns are expected to be worked out through negotiations among all parties involved.

Designation of a national monument would attract tourism and provide historical preservation, but the purpose is also to protect open desert lands surrounding a number of wilderness areas. Construction of wind and solar plants in the area and expansion of the U.S. Marine base at Twentynine Palms is expected to be carefully considered.

Conservationists are asking that all existing uses be preserved, military expansion be well planned, renewable energy plant placement be prudent and the 189,000-acre Johnson Valley off-highway vehicle area be kept intact. The intent is to promote responsible development to avoid disturbing the area's natural beauty and wildlife.

Senator Dianne Feinstein has been approached about the proposed project. She is introducing legislation to protect former Catellus lands, some 600,000 donated and purchased acres which are sprinkled throughout public trust lands in the Mojave Desert; however, she has not actually endorsed the mother road concept or related plans as detailed.

The Needles Downtown Business Alliance has been energized by the national monument proposal and intends to elevate publicity for the portion of Route 66 which runs through town. The alliance meets on the first Thursday of each month until October, when twice-a-month meetings, on the first and third Thursday, resume.

Meetings begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Wagon Wheel restaurant along Needles Highway. The public is invited. The alliance is dedicated to the preservation and beautification of historic downtown Needles. Send e-mails to needlesdba@aol.com.

Monument plan creates rift

MOJAVE DESERT: The Schwarzenegger administration fears the preserve may interfere with energy projects.

By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise

A plan to create a national monument across a large corner of the Mojave Desert threatens to "halt all current planned renewable energy projects" there, the Schwarzenegger administration said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

The senator has not yet introduced the legislation, but advocates of a bill to create the monument have said it could cover much of the public land in southeast San Bernardino County, between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve.

One supporter said Tuesday that the senator now is working on a more modest plan than initially discussed.

The Aug. 28 letter, signed by state Natural Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman and released Tuesday, said Feinstein's California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act "must not" interfere with renewable energy projects. Schwarzenegger has made renewable energy a priority, and the state has aggressive standards requiring utilities to rely increasingly on solar, wind and other alternative sources.

Feinstein and a spokesman for Chrisman's office both said Tuesday that the legislation is still being shaped. And both said they want to conserve pristine lands while allowing development of solar and other renewable energy.

"We have mutual goals," Chrisman spokesman Sandy Cooney said in a telephone interview.

Feinstein released a prepared statement Tuesday.

"The vast majority of proposed large wind and solar projects on both public and private lands fall outside the boundaries under consideration for the monument," she said.

Earlier this year, preservationists said they sought Feinstein's support to create a 2.4 million-acre preserve to protect public land from military use and energy development. The area would be called the "Mother Road National Monument" because it would include 70 miles of historic Route 66.

15 PROJECTS PROPOSED

Included in the monument would be about 600,000 acres of former railroad land purchased with $40 million in donations raised by The Wildlands Conservancy, based in Oak Glen, along with $18 million appropriated by Congress. Although the land was turned over to the federal government for conservation, about 15 energy projects have been proposed on some of the acreage, according to a Wildlands Conservancy official.

Protecting that land was part of the impetus for Feinstein's move to create a monument.

David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy, said Tuesday that when he and his group donated the land, the Clinton administration assured them that the property would be conserved. The Bush administration later allowed energy applications targeting the acreage.

Myers said representatives of several energy companies have told him they are willing to build their projects outside the monument area. But not all are willing, he said.

One company, BrightSource Energy, wants to develop a solar project that involves some of the donated land, near Broadwell Dry Lake, east of Barstow.

Keely Wachs, a spokesman for BrightSource, said the company plans to build there and has been working with Feinstein's office on legislation that would balance conservation needs and energy development.

SMALLER THAN PLANNED

Elden Hughes, a member of the Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee and a Joshua Tree resident, said Feinstein is crafting legislation for a smaller monument than envisioned earlier by conservationists.

He said he hopes the Schwarzenegger administration doesn't stop Feinstein's effort, because a monument designation would protect corridors for wildlife to move between Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve. Such swaths of undisturbed land will be especially important as global warming changes habitat, he said.

"Severing the desert would be a huge mistake," Hughes said. "We need the wildlife and plant corridors to remain open."

Chrisman's letter said Feinstein intended to introduce the monument legislation this month along with another bill support renewable energy projects.

Staff writer Jim Miller contributed to this report.

Reach David Danelski at 951-368-9471 or ddanelski@PE.com

CLARIFICATION:

After this story was posted, a BrightSource Energy spokesman clarified that while the company has filed an application with the federal Bureau and Land Management for a solar development on public land near Broadwell Dry Lake, it will not move forward until questions are resolved about whether land would be included in a national monument. The company spokesman, Keely Wachs, also said Wednesday that BrightSource is considering alternative sites.

Desert clash in West over solar power, water

Advocates of alternative energy stymied by overtaxed aquifers, tiny fish

Associated Press



Mike Bower, left, a biologist with the National Park Service, with Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor Cynthia Martinez in Devil's Hole, the endangered Devil's Hole pupfish's only natural habitat, in Death Valley National Park in Nevada.

OAKLAND, Calif. - A westward dash to power electricity-hungry cities by cashing in on the desert's most abundant resource — sunshine — is clashing with efforts to protect the tiny pupfish and desert tortoise and stinginess over the region's rarest resource: water.

Water is the cooling agent for what traditionally has been the most cost-efficient type of large-scale solar plants. To some solar companies answering Washington's push for renewable energy on vast government lands, it's also an environmental thorn. The unusual collision pits natural resources protections against President Barack Obama's plans to produce more environmentally friendly energy.

The solar hopefuls are encountering overtaxed aquifers and a legendary legacy of Western water wars and legal and regulatory scuffles. Some are moving to more costly air-cooled technology — which uses 90 percent less water — for solar plants that will employ miles of sun-reflecting mirrors across the Western deserts. Others see market advantages in solar dish or photovoltaic technologies that don't require steam engines and cooling water and that are becoming more economically competitive.

The National Park Service is worried about environmental consequences of solar proposals on government lands that are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It says it supports the solar push but is warning against water drawdowns, especially in southern Nevada. In the Amargosa Valley, the endangered, electric-blue pupfish lives in a hot water, aquifer-fed limestone cavern called Devil's Hole.

"It is not in the public interest for BLM to approve plans of development for water-cooled solar energy projects in the arid basins of southern Nevada, some of which are already over-appropriated," Jon Jarvis, director of the Park Service's Pacific West Region, wrote to the BLM director in Nevada.

'Water is a big concern'

Jarvis' e-mail from February, obtained by The Associated Press, noted that the rare pupfish's dwindling numbers prompted Nevada to ban new groundwater allocations within 25 miles of the pool.

Jarvis urged the BLM to promote technologies that use less water and hold off on permits until it finishes its assessment of the solar program next year. The BLM tried suspending new applications last year but relented under pressure from industry and advocates of renewable energy.

"Water is a big concern and the desert tortoise is a major concern, and the amount of site preparation is a concern," said Linda Resseguie, a BLM project manager. The government in reviewing each project wants to make careful decisions over what it considers "a potentially irreversible commitment of lands," she said.

Water is among the complications in deserts where more than 150 solar applications have been submitted for hot spots in Nevada, California, and Arizona, plus a few in New Mexico.

Companies are wrestling with routes for long-distance transmission lines and habitat for the threatened desert tortoise. They also are worried about a proposal being developed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for a Mojave national monument, which could put up to 600,000 acres off-limits alongside already protected park and military lands. It could affect at least 14 solar and five wind energy proposals.

The Spanish-owned energy company, Iberdrola, has submitted 12 applications in four states. Its solar managing director, Kim Fiske, said her company is planning to use photovoltaic technology in Amargosa Valley but elsewhere will evaluate each site's feasibility for water. Photovoltaic systems use conducting material to convert sunlight directly to electricity and need only nominal amounts of water to wash their solar panels, compared with the traditional steam-turbine solar that uses much larger volumes of water for cooling towers.

"Water usage is becoming the larger issue. Some companies still want wet cooling and say it's less efficient to do dry cooling, and they need 10 percent more land to get the same output," said Peter Weiner, an attorney representing solar companies. Some are exploring hybrid systems that use water during the hottest part of the day.

Plans in flux

The government won't say how much water would be needed by applicants because those proposals are still in flux. But National Park Service hydrologists last fall tallied more than 50,000 acre feet per year — nearly 16.3 billion gallons — proposed by applications in Amargosa Valley alone, or enough to supply more than 50,000 typical American homes. Nevada previously said the basin could support only half that. Since then, some companies have dropped out or switched to photovoltaics, making that estimate of 16.3 billion gallons outdated.

Nevada's policy and legal mandates restrict water in the driest areas. California regulators warn that wet-cooled projects face an uphill climb. The two under review there so far on government land use minimal water. First up is Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource Energy's five-square mile, air-cooled, mirror complex near the Mojave National Preserve.

In Arizona, most solar proposals are away from populous areas with the most water restrictions.

Water is "a hot button for everybody," said Fiske. "Everyone is concerned about water. It's probably one of the biggest issues."

Alliance proposes establishing Route 66 national monument

By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise

Preservationists worried about military expansion and renewable energy development in the California desert are pitching a plan to create a vast national monument east of Twentynine Palms and protect 70 miles of historic Route 66.

The groups have been meeting with government leaders in recent weeks to enlist support for their far-reaching plan, which would:

Designate "Mother Road National Monument," which could be twice as big as Joshua Tree National Park.

Preserve an off-road vehicle area southeast of Barstow that has been threatened by expansion of a military training base.

Protect more than a half-million acres of scattered desert land donated to the federal government as open space but now subject to energy development.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., signaled this week through an aide that she will craft legislation to protect the donated property.

Large-scale solar and wind energy projects are proposed on thousands of those acres.

The monument would encompass as much as 2.4 million acres in southeastern San Bernardino County, said Elden Hughes, a member of the Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee.

The region is defined by desert valleys, stark mountain ranges and forgotten towns along the old Route 66, a major east-west route until interstates replaced it.

The Wildlands Conservancy, based in Oak Glen, raised about $45 million to buy Mojave Desert land from the Catellus Development Corp., a former arm of the Santa Fe Railway.

By donating land and cash, the group helped the federal government acquire nearly 600,000 acres to add to public land in the desert.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management controls most of it.

Feinstein has not endorsed the Mother Road National Monument concept and other specific provisions sought by The Wildlands Conservancy, Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee and Route 66 preservationists, said Feinstein spokeswoman Laura Wilkinson.

However, the senator plans to ensure the former Catellus land is protected, Wilkinson said.

"Senator Feinstein expects to introduce new legislation to protect additional desert lands in California, which would include a monument designation for the former Catellus lands," Wilkinson said in an e-mail.

Feinstein's office is evaluating what other desert lands may be suitable for protection, Wilkinson wrote.

David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy, said he is encouraged by Feinstein's interest.

"This legislation could keep the Mojave Desert, the largest desert in California, intact for perpetuity," he said.

The monument idea drew a cautious response from the county supervisor who represents the area.

Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said he is worried about haphazard energy development and supports Route 66 preservation efforts.

"The idea of protecting Route 66 tourism and history is something I totally support," Mitzelfelt said. "Whether this is the way to do it, I am not sure."

History And Nature

The Mother Road National Monument would be named after John Steinbeck's description of Route 66 in his 1939 novel, "The Grapes of Wrath," which portrayed 1930s Dust Bowl refugees entering California to seek farm labor jobs.

The monument would contain about 70 miles of the route from Needles through the desert outposts of Goffs, Essex, Amboy and Ludlow.

It would be a tribute to American workers, Myers said.

Jim Conkle, chairman of the Route 66 Alliance, said the monument could become a destination for tourists wanting to experience Route 66's heyday -- the 1940s, '50s and '60s.

Crumbling buildings that housed midcentury gas stations, diners and motels could be renovated for those seeking retro kicks, he said.

Such an opportunity has been lost on other stretches of the route, where original roadside amenities have been torn down.

"We are trying to protect what's left," said Conkle, a retired AAA employee who lives in Phelan, west of the Cajon Pass. "We want people to get out and enjoy it."

The monument, however, would preserve much more than motoring history.

It also would take in a vast area between Twentynine Palms and the Colorado River, and the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park.

The designation would bring protection to patches of open desert surrounding 10 wilderness areas, created in the Desert Protection Act of 1994, said Hughes, of the Sierra Club. It would allow wildlife free movement.

Diverse Interests

The monument designation could block development in about a dozen areas where the BLM is processing applications for wind or solar projects at a time when the Obama administration and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are pushing for such projects to cut greenhouse gases and create jobs.

A new monument also could limit options for proposed expansion of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms.

The coalition of environmentalists and history buffs have been working hard to overcome such obstacles through negotiation

"Right now we are going through vetting with user groups," Myers said. "There are a lot of moving pieces."

The proposal the groups are working on would preserve all existing uses on the affected federal lands and leave room for military expansion and solar and wind projects, he said.

Conkle said a key provision would keep the 189,000- acre Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area permanently open to off-roaders.

Hundreds of off-roaders crammed public meetings last fall after the Marine Corps announced an expansion plan that could take in Johnson Valley.

Hughes said the monument proposal would include military expansion into the Bristol Dry Lake area.

San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has plans for an 800-megawatt solar generation plant on 5,120 acres along Route 66 east of Amboy, a development Conkle said would spoil the view for motorists.

A monument designation could force the company to build elsewhere, he said.

Jonathan Marshall, a utility spokesman, said in an e-mail that alternative-energy projects "can be responsibly sited and developed in a manner that does not interfere with these conservation efforts."

Jim Conkle, chairman of the Route 66 Alliance, holds photos of the Mojave Desert near Amboy. The left photo shows the desert as it is, the right one as it would look if a proposed array of solar panels is built. The alliance is one of several history and environmental groups seeking to preserve the desert along historic Route 66 by establishing Mother Road National Monument, comprising about 2.4 million acres of the Mojave Desert. Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise