Desert Renewable
Energy Conservation Plan
DRECP Protected!
Biden Administration Restores the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, Protecting 2 million acres of National Conservation Land.
In his term’s 11th hour, then-President Donald Trump took aim at the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan and began a rollback of key conservation protections in the framework that aims to balance clean energy and conservation on federal land in the Southern California desert. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s administration announced it will halt that action, leaving the original plan intact.
The proposed changes would have resulted in a nearly 2 million-acre reduction in lands designated as “areas of critical environmental concern.” They also would have modified or eliminated 68 “conservation and management actions,” which set rules for development in the desert.
The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan represents an unprecedented partnership between the federal government, the state of California, and local citizen stakeholders to balance our country’s equally important goals of facilitating renewable energy while ensuring that lands in California’s deserts are set aside for conservation and recreation. With the plan’s integrity intact, we can now focus on the implementation of the DRECP and protecting our beloved California Desert for generations to come.
Learn more by reading our press release
Background
The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, or DRECP, is a land use plan designed to allow renewable energy development on least conflict public lands, and balance that with conservation and recreation on public land. The plans covers over 22.5 million acres of the California desert. This plan, finalized in 2016, is the result of over 8 years of collaborative planning by a diverse range of stakeholders throughout the state. The DRECP process can permanently protect California’s diverse and unique desert communities while siting renewable energy projects in the most appropriate locations.
The DRECP was one of our region’s most important achievements. The final plan struck a balance between the interests of industry, conservationists, recreationalists, government, and local residents. The effort to reopen the plan shows disrespect to hundreds of thousands of people who worked to achieve that balance, and threatens areas that Desert residents love.
The DRECP protected 6.5 million acres of the Desert’s most sensitive natural and cultural landscapes and designated 3.6 million acres for recreation, such as hiking, camping, rockhounding, and off-road recreation. Development would destroy these lands and reduce opportunities for local residents to enjoy them. Preserving the DRECP is about preserving our quality of life – Desert residents don’t want to see these places inappropriately developed.
Friends of the Inyo is hard at work, educating the public on the DRECP and how it benefits the lands we love. With the Biden Administration assuring the integrity of the plan, Friends of the Inyo and local stakeholders will focus on implementation and protecting the National Conservation Lands established by the DRECP. Many National Conservation Land sites like Conglomerate Mesa and Panamint Valley are still threatened by inappropriate development. Friends of the Inyo will be there every step of the way to protect these landscapes we all love.
Take Action
Updates
We Need Your Help: Imminent Threat to Conglomerate Mesa *Update: Double your donation An anonymous donor has offered to match the next $10,000 in donations. Your donation will be doubled and your support will go twice as far. Click the image above or scroll to the bottom of the page to make a donation today. The Threat We’ve Been Watching For is Here. A Canadian mining company, K2 Gold, recently took over the Conglomerate Mesa gold exploration plan. Although helicopter access at seven drill sites is currently permitted, K2 clearly has bigger plans. They have now proposed drilling 30 additional sites…
Haiwee Geothermal Development Update In January 2020 the BLM released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a project that will expand the Haiwee Geothermal Leasing Area to 22,805 acres, almost triple in size. With this growth, BLM will change the management provisions of National Conservation Lands and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern to allow for geothermal energy production, infringing on Mojave ground squirrel populations, sacred tribal sites, desert tortoise land and more. Part of the leasing area is proposed to expand into a Development Focus Area (DFA) which was established by the DRECP. Friends of the Inyo is pushing…
A special day for the CDPA October 31st, 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act. The act that established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, the Mojave National Preserve and 69 wilderness areas. While the National Parks are certainly highlights of the act, it also protected places like Mal Pais Mesa Wilderness and Suprise Canyon Wilderness. In total, the California Desert Protection Act increased protection for 8.6 million acres of the California desert. The incredible work of inspired citizens, Senator Feinstein, conservation groups, agency partners, cities, counties, recreation groups, and so many more allow…